How long for WC

Cindy Hanna

I have an employee who hurt his neck last year in December. He went to the chiropractor for a while and was ok. He tried to go back to the chiroprator recently and the chiropractor told him he closed the case. The employee wants to know if he is still covered under workers comp. I was wondering if he still is covered under wc and how long is he covered under wc? I think I know but I just want to make sure. I need your expertise.

Thank You
cindy

LindaS

If the chiropractor notified the WC insurance company that the employee reached an end of healing then anything new would be considered a new injury and should be treated as such. The only change to this would be if the doctor deemed that this was a chronic condition and may need additional treatment. If I were you I would check the records to see what type of information you received from the insurance company regading his case. You should have received copies of any letters, physician notes, etc. while the case was open. If you do not have this information you can call the insurance company to get the necessary information.

In any event, unless there was a specific accident that occurred that caused this injury, I would notify the insurance company that you are questioning the validity of the claim and let them get the necessary medical records and ask that they possibly schedule an IME. When it comes to an injury of this type and there is not a specific accident that caused it, I am always leery of the claims validity and make sure the insurance company examines the claim thoroughly to make sure it is compensable. You never know what the future holds a seemingly small claim can grow into a very large one before you know it and once the insurance company deems the compensability of a claim, you are stuck paying for it.