As an injured workers’ OWCP Representative, I have assisted numerous physicians in establishing a causal relationship.
Unless a doctor is well-schooled in the nuances of the Federal Employees Compensation Act [FECA] requirements to establish a causal relationship, the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) will deny the claim. Medical reports that a doctor can write that are perfectly acceptable in the private sector, by the State or even with Federal Employee’s Health Benefit Insurance Carriers just won’t be sufficient with the OWCP. For it is not what the physician says but how he says it that will get cases accepted and medical procedures authorized. Most times, after numerous rejections by the OWCP, the physician will just throw in the towel. I would estimate that the majority of cases denied by the OWCP are due to the failure of the attending physician to establish a causal relationship.… Continue Reading