Training Resources
Training Resources
The initial evaluation and the subsequent narrative report is the most important thing in an OWCP injury case. The doctor must be able to show a direct connection between the job and the injury / condition in order for an OWCP injury claim to be approved. This is called CAUSATION and it is critical. You must be able to use great detail in describing the injury / condition. For example, nobody simply bends forward, lifts a box, and hurts their back – nobody. Here’s what that injury actually should look like (example only).
The patient is a letter carrier for the United States Postal Service. He woke the morning of the injury pain free and arrived to work on time and able to do his job as a letter carrier. At approximately 3:15pm, just over 7 hours into his work shift, the patient bent forward to lift a large package, weighing approximately 55 pounds. Prior to lifting this package, he reports that he lifted approximately 35 other packages weighting anywhere from 15 to 70 pounds. When lifting this particular heavy package, the patient felt a sharp pain in his lower back causing him to fall to his knees and drop the package. He reports that the pain at that time was a 7 out of 10 and he was unable to stand without assistance. After sitting on the ground for several minutes, he used his arms to lift himself off of the ground by grabbing a hold of the entrance to his mail vehicle. He slowly was able to step into the vehicle and sit down, at which point he called his supervisor and reported that he was just hurt lifting a heavy package. The patient finished his route as he had only 45 minutes remaining in his shift and he immediately returned to his workstation where he parked his mail vehicle and slowly walked back into the station to see his supervisor. The walk from his mail vehicle to the supervisor was very painful and he reports stiffness in his lower back and shooting pain into his right lower leg. His supervisor sent him to the urgent care center where they gave him Tylenol and told him to rest and use ice on his lower back before returning to work the next day. He has not been able to sleep and the pain in his lower back and right leg continues to this day.
Our causation reports use great (truthful) detail that we get from the patient by asking the questions below. Excellent, details are the reason OWCP work injury cases get approved. Weak reports are the reason they get denied, and DENIED CASES ARE FOR OTHER DOCTORS. WE DON’T DO THAT.
Federal employees need help from expert, trained, and compliant doctors and staff who understand their unique needs, concerns, and struggles after they’re hurt at work. Work injuries may be inevitable, but losing is not. We have the power to help them. Federal employees make this country go. When they break, we have to fix them.