(a) All wounds, diseases or other medical conditions accepted by
OWCP in connection with a single claim are treated as the same injury
for the purpose of computing any required refund and any credit against
future benefits in connection with the receipt of a recovery from a
third party, except that an injury caused by medical malpractice in
treating an injury covered under the FECA will be treated as a separate
injury for purposes of section 8132.
(b) If an injury covered under the FECA is caused under
circumstances creating a legal liability in more than one person, other
than the United States, to pay damages, OWCP or SOL
will determine whether recoveries received from one or more third
parties should be attributed to separate conditions for which
compensation is payable in connection with a single FECA claim. If such
an attribution is both practicable and equitable, as determined by OWCP
or SOL, in its discretion, the conditions will be treated as separate
injuries for purposes of calculating the refund and credit owed to the
United States under section 8132.
