Recently, there has been a big back up at the Workers Comp Commission which is causing longer than normal delays. The Commission is going “paperless”. The Virginia Beach office has completely transitioned and is the pilot program. One main technical glitch is that injured workers are filing claims for benefits before the insurance company has filed 1st report of accidents. The system doesn’t know what to do with the documents that come in before the 1st report of accidents, so they are put aside and eventually manually put into the system.
Another glitch is that many accidents are ending up with 3 or 4 claims! If someone electronically files a claim and then mails one in and then the insurance company files a 1st report of accidents, three files are created. People are getting duplicate notices or no notices and important documents are getting put in various files. The manpower and energy in fixing these glitches is delaying many claims.
I have been having hearings 9 months’ to 12 months out from the date of accident. As they get things worked out, it will speed up and hopefully be faster and more efficient than before.
Michele Lewane, Injured Workers Law Firm Attorney. Serving the entire state of Virginia 7826 Shrader Road Richmond, VA. 23294 Call for free consult 804-755-7755
The Injured Workers Law Firm is a Richmond, Virginia based firm solely focused on serving clients with workers' compensation claims in Virginia. If you have questions about your benefits or if you would like more information on the Virginia Workers’ Compensation system, order our book, “The Ultimate Guide to Workers’ Compensation in Virginia” , or call our office today (804) 755-7755.