Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP)

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Division of Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation (DLHWC)

Region IV — Employer Requirements

All employers in this District who are covered under the Longshore Act, or its extensions, the Non-appropriated Funds Instrumentalities Act and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, are required by law to report every injury, that results in the loss of one or more shifts of work, to the Jacksonville District Office on Form LS-202, Employer's First Report of Injury or Occupational Disease, within 10 days of the employer's knowledge of the injury, whether or not the employer agrees that an injury actually occurred. The Act provides for a penalty not to exceed $10,000 for failure to submit this report. A copy of Form LS-202 should be sent to the carrier. The carrier should not send us another copy of the LS-202 as this may result in duplicate case creation and further complications down the line.

If the injury causes no lost time from work, the employer should complete Form LS-202 and place it in their personnel folder. The Form LS-202 should not be sent to the U. S. Department of Labor in no lost time injuries because our Regulations will not allow us to keep or record no lost time injuries — we throw them away.

EXCEPTIONS: If the no lost time injury is to an extremity which would be covered under the schedule award provisions of Section 8 of the Act, and the injury may result in permanent disability, then Form LS-202 should be completed and sent to the U. S. Department of Labor even though the claimant has lost no time from work because the claimant will eventually be entitled to a schedule award.

Also remember that Occupational Injury claims such as hearing loss and asbestos exposure cases are considered compensable cases under the Law even if they don't result in any lost time from work. LS-202 should be submitted to this office on those claims as well.

Authorization of Medical Care

Another of the employer's responsibilities is to authorize initial medical care to the claimant. Under the Longshore Act, the claimant gets one free choice of physician and after that no change may be made without the authorization of the carrier or the U. S. Department of Labor. However, if the doctor chosen is not of the appropriate specialty, then another choice should be granted. We also don't consider a consult as a free choice of physician. There can be no list of doctors for the claimant to choose from, and it is strongly suggested that the employer have the claimant sign a statement confirming that the doctor he is authorized to see is his free choice. That one action will avoid many problems for all of us down the road.

Notification of Carriers Upon Return to Work

The employer's only other responsibility is to advise the carrier in the event the claimant returns to work to avoid an overpayment of compensation. Form LS-210 may be used for this purpose, although it is not a required form.