Maxwell Q. Bartels, Author at Workers' Compensation Defense

January 27, 2020 Medical Expenses / New York

Treatment Authorization Requests: Ensuring Proper Compliance with 12 NYCRR 325-1.4

Workers’ Compensation Law Section 13 establishes the obligation of the employer to “promptly provide for an injured employee such medical surgical, optometric or other attendance or treatment… for such period as the nature of the injury or the process of recovery may require.”

When requesting authorization for treatment, the provider submits a Board form titled, “Attending Doctor’s Request for Authorization and Insurer’s Response.” The Board code for the form is shortened to C-4AUTH. Unlike a variance request, a request for authorization in a C-4AUTH is …

Taher and Effect on Permanency Awards for Claimants with Both Schedulable and Classifiable Conditions

The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division recently decided the case of Taher v. Yiota Taxi, Inc., in which it addressed the specific situation where a claimant is classified with a permanent partial disability and designated with a loss of wage earnings capacity (LWEC), but has both classifiable and schedulable conditions. The court has determined that a claimant may ultimately receive a schedule loss of use award (SLU) even if they are classified.

Previously, it has been the practice of the Board to …

August 13, 2018 General / New York

Difficulties and Questions Presented by the Board’s New Digital Audio Recordings

Since the inception of the statewide virtual hearing platform in March of this year, there have been many concerns over the efficiency and effectiveness of the new hearing process. One of the major concerns has been whether there will be a clear, concise, and easily accessible record of workers’ compensation hearings. The virtual hearing platform brought with it a digital audio recording system that records all workers’ compensation hearings verbatim. This system replaced the old system of a court stenographer being present for every hearing. …