Bwc (self Insured) Question?
Hey all I decided to settle with my employer on a workers comp claim. This company is self insured. I just got a letter from my attorney stating that he had filed for settlement in my claim with the BWC and that they would now process the papers. He also said and I quote : “The Bureau will evaluate this application and contact me to negotiate a final figure. I will then contact you for your approval. You will then receive an amended application to sign and return to me. The processing tim in these cases is from 4 to 6 months.”
Now I will be contacting my attorney tomorrow to discuss this because I am totally confused. I decided to settle with the insurance company and signed paperwork on the amount in early April. I should be getting my settlement at the end of this month (my attorney advised me of this). Is the bureau of workers comp a different settlement all together or do I have to wait another 6 months for my settlement with the insurance company?? Thank you in advance…
PS This is in Ohio btw
A judge has to approve the settlement, it sounds like.
No, it’s not a different settlement.
In Ohio, employers can either self-insure for workers compensation OR pay premiums for coverage through the BWC (Bureau of Workers Compensation).
If your employer is self-insured for workers comp, then the BWC would not have any financial liability for your claim.
I can see why you’re confused about the letter you received. lol. The BWC doesn’t pay out any money for employers who choose to self-insure Work Comp. For self-insured employers, the BWC’s only role is to oversee and make sure they are following the law.
Since the BWC does still set the rules that self-insured employers have to follow, the only thing that might even remotely make sense is that perhaps the BWC had to review your settlement w/the self-insured company to make sure it complied with regulations? Not sure – that letter does seem odd, based on my experience with work comp in Ohio!
You’ll definitely have to clarify things with your attorney! (One other slim possibility is that your employer changed at some point from being self-insured to being fully insured through BWC, and that there is some sort of shared liability for your expenses? Its a slim possibility, but might at least explain some of the conflicting info?)