COHN COHN Workers Compensation and Legal Aspects 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'subrogation' in the context of workers' compensation?
- The employee's right to choose their own physician
- The insurer's right to recover costs from a liable third party (Correct answer)
- The employer's right to terminate an injured employee
- The process of appealing a denied workers' compensation claim
Correct answer: The insurer's right to recover costs from a liable third party
Subrogation allows the workers' compensation insurer to seek reimbursement from a third party whose negligence contributed to the worker's injury.
Question 2: Which of the following best describes 'light duty' work in occupational health?
- Work performed by part-time employees only
- Modified job tasks assigned to an employee within their medical restrictions (Correct answer)
- Administrative paperwork tasks given to all injured workers
- Work that does not qualify for workers' compensation
Correct answer: Modified job tasks assigned to an employee within their medical restrictions
Light duty assignments accommodate the injured worker's medical restrictions while keeping them productive and facilitating their recovery.
Question 3: What is the role of an independent medical examination (IME) in workers' compensation?
- To provide treatment recommendations by the employee's personal doctor
- To obtain an objective medical opinion on diagnosis, causation, or work capacity (Correct answer)
- To determine the employer's liability in a court of law
- To authorize emergency surgery for workplace injuries
Correct answer: To obtain an objective medical opinion on diagnosis, causation, or work capacity
An IME is performed by a neutral physician to provide an unbiased assessment of the worker's condition, causation, or ability to return to work.
Question 4: The FMLA entitles eligible employees to up to how many weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave per year?
- 6 weeks
- 10 weeks
- 12 weeks (Correct answer)
- 16 weeks
Correct answer: 12 weeks
FMLA provides eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave per year for qualifying medical and family reasons.
Question 5: Which document is typically the first step in initiating a workers' compensation claim?
- A lawsuit filed in state court
- A first report of injury (FROI) filed by the employer (Correct answer)
- A physician's disability certification
- An OSHA 300 log entry
Correct answer: A first report of injury (FROI) filed by the employer
The FROI is the employer's official notification to the workers' compensation insurer that a workplace injury or illness has occurred.
Question 6: A workers' compensation case is classified as 'permanent partial disability' (PPD). What does this indicate?
- The worker is fully recovered and returned to full duty
- The worker has a permanent impairment but retains some work capacity (Correct answer)
- The worker is permanently unable to perform any work
- The worker's injury is still under investigation
Correct answer: The worker has a permanent impairment but retains some work capacity
PPD indicates the worker has reached MMI with a residual permanent impairment but can still perform some type of work.
COHN COHN Workers Compensation and Legal Aspects 2
What is 'subrogation' in the context of workers' compensation?