Federal Comp Delays Turn Injuries into Disabilities

One major difficulty for injured government employees is that it takes much too long for them to acquire workers’ compensation payments. Due to a shortage of staff, difficult procedures, and an increase in claims, injuries that should have been readily treated are becoming permanent impairments.  

According to NBC, Joshua Lejeune, a police officer was injured while on duty at a VA hospital and required knee surgery. He has been waiting for clearance to undertake his life-saving surgery since March 2022. He won’t be able to undertake possibly life-saving knee replacement surgery unless he obtains this approval. Because of his personal problems, his dilemma has taken on a new urgency; he is unable to securely carry his little daughter up the stairs of his home.  

The occurrences at Lejeune are hardly noteworthy. From the Bureau of Prisons to the United States Postal Service, there has been a broad outpouring of dissatisfaction and impotence among government personnel. The situation has been brought to the attention of the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP), which is in charge of giving these clearances.

They are aware of the growing concerns and are working to resolve them. Nonetheless, many candidates find the process difficult, given the possibility of face-to-face disagreement and bureaucratic red tape. These delays have terrible emotional and physical consequences. The tale of Pete Hobart highlights this concept. After injuring his back at the Dalles Dam, he waited ten months before being cleared for surgery.

Because of the stress of waiting for so long, his leg’s reflexes have been impaired. The story of Jim Karney, who injured both shoulders and had to wait weeks for an MRI, is also incredibly poignant. The outcome was less than ideal since the delay caused irreparable muscular injury in one shoulder.  

The Biden administration is taking efforts to address the problem now that it is aware of its full scope. They’ve employed more people to help, and they’ve streamlined the difficult processes. There are still difficulties to be handled. Many employees describe feeling alone and unsupported during the claim procedure, in addition to physical suffering. The negative impact of these stalemates has been extensively lamented by both union officials and members.

They underline how serious this issue is and how devastating a lengthy approval procedure may be. When someone’s health is weak, each passing day may be difficult, adding to an already difficult situation. The sheer number of complaints offers useful information about the nature of the problem. Under the FECA program, 182,303 new injury claims were filed in FY2022. There has been a considerable 62% increase since 2013.  

The administration has taken speedy action. To improve the efficiency of the FECA program for claimants, they hired 281 more claims examiners and 55 medical treatment adjudicators. They have hired an ombudsman to investigate particular claims, in addition to simplifying processes to handle frequently requested questions.  

However, there are still several obstacles to overcome. They are squandering time in an endless loop of appeals and denials. As a result, many persons who submit claims experience extreme depression and anxiety.  

Overall, the federal workers’ compensation system is striving to reduce backlogs, but there is still more work to be done. The examples of Lejeune, Hobart, and Karney demonstrate how critical it is to implement institutional reforms to guarantee that veterans receive the care they need on time.