Upload Documentation for an On-the-Job Injury
As Branch 6000’s OWCP representative, it is my job to assure that our members get the best representation through the OWCP process. Part of that is making sure that the members have access to OWCP materials and provisions well as posses a comprehensive understanding of how it applies to their injury.
The first thing I must make clear is if you sustain an on-the-job injury make sure you report it to Management immediately! It is imperative that this happens immediately after sustaining an injury; before you perform any more Carrier work. After that return to the office and obtain the following forms from Management.
1. CA-1 Report of Injury; this form documents who, what, when where and how involved in the injury.
2. CA-16 Authorization for treatment; this form allows the treating physician to bill the USPS instead of you.
3. CA-17 Duty Status Report. This form descries the physical duties of a Letter Carrier to the treating physician so that he or she can properly prescribe what duties, if any, that you can still perform in light of your injury.
Complete and sign the CA-1, check off either Continuation of Pay or Leave and submit to Management; retaining the receipt on Page 4. The CA-17 must have the left side completed by Management. Take the CA-17 and the CA-16 to your Physician and have him complete the Right side of the CA-17. You should receive your claim number from OWCP within 21 days of the submission of the CA-1.
Once you have your claim number you have the key to one of the latest technological tools offered by the Department of Labor: ECOMP. ECOMP is the Employees Compensation Operations and Management Portal for filing workers compensation claims. ECOMP allows greater flexibility and reduces the time to file and process a claim by allowing employees to electronically file claim forms, compensation forms and track the status submissions. It allows employee to electronically upload and submit documents to existing OWCP claim files. You can register and file claims from your home computer, tablet or cell phone. Go to the ECOMP website, https://www.ecomp.dol.gov/ and click on HELP on the upper right corner of the page. A drop-down menu has a User Guide for Injured Workers. Click on that link to access step-by-step instructions and instructional videos on registering in ECOMP and filing claim forms.
Registration is not required to upload documents. Claimants need only provide a case number, their last name, date of birth and the date of injury to access the user-friendly system. As an added security measure, these four identifiers must precisely match the existing file information. Users who experience difficulty accessing a claim will have to contact the respective OWCP District Office (DO) to acquire the necessary data.
Multiple documents submitted through ECOMP must be uploaded individually, never as a combined document. The Employee will need to categorize each document as Medical or Incoming. The Nurse and Rehab categories are reserved for nurses and rehabilitation counselors working for OWCP’s Nurse Intervention or Vocational Rehabilitation programs. The Medical category is used for all medical documentation such as test results, narratives, physician notes, forms CA-20 and OWCP 5, work tolerance limitations and functional capacity evaluations.
The Incoming category should be selected for documents that do not fit the other three more specific categories, such as limited duty job offers, elections of benefits or even witness statements. The Incoming category can also be used to pose questions to Claim Examiners; however, their responses will be provided by mail.
Users will not be penalized for misidentifying documentation. When the upload process is finished, a Document Control Number (DCN) will be issued as proof of submission and for tracking purposes. To obtain any additional information pertaining to document disposition, the designated OWCP District Office must be contacted. Claim examiners will not need the DCN to locate documents.
ECOMP does have some limitations that should be understood before attempting to use the portal. Adobe Flash Player (at least version 9) is required to use ECOMP. Only files up to 5 mega-bytes will be accepted. The size limitation accommodates most documents related to the claims process. OWCP offers a few tips on its ECOMP FAQ page to help reduce the size of larger documents.
Despite the initiation of ECOMP, there are a few documents that still must be mailed to a specific OWCP address or submitted through the employing agency. Form CA-16, medical bills, reimbursement claims and medical authorization requests should continue to be submitted through the ACS Web portal, valid. or by mail to the U.S. Department of Labor, DFEC, Central Mailroom, PO Box 8300, London, KY 40742-8300.
Additionally; try to smile more. Many studies show that smiling more extends your life, relives stress, boosts your immune system, lowers blood pressure, reduces pain from injury, elevates your mood and smiling is contagious. A special thanks the Shop Stewards for putting themselves last and working tirelessly to help our members.
