The York County Superior Court has reversed the Board's assessment of a penalty for a 'late' First Report.
In Pratt & Whitney v. Workers' Compensation Board, York County Docket No. 06-032, Oct. 19, 2006, the employer knew the employee was "injured" 2 months before the employee claimed it to be work-related. The employer then immediately filed a First Report, but the WCB fined the employer $100 for filing it "late." The employer filed an Rule 80-C appeal to Superior Court, and Justice Paul Fritzsche overtured the fine and suggested that the Board consider amending its First Report form to avoid this problem in the future.
Frankly, we doubt the Board will amend its form. To avoid future misunderstandings by the Board, therefore, we recommend that you enter the dates in boxes 42 and 43 in the First Report in a way that is to your advantage (and the way the Board interprets them), i.e.:
In box 42 regarding the injury, interpret "date employer notified" as meaning "notified that the injury is work-related," not just notified of the injury or condition itself, and
In box 43, regarding incapacity, interpret "date employer notified" as meaning "notified of incapacity from a workers' comp injury," not just notified that the employee was out of work.
(Similarly, when you complete a Notice of Controversy, in box 20b, interpret "date employer notified" as "notified of employee's request for payment of workers' compensation incapacity benefits,", not just notified of a work injury and resulting incapacity.)
That way, you can probably avoid getting a penalty letter from the Board having to respond to it, getting fined anyway, and having to either pay or appeal the fine.
