OWCP 3rd Party Claims
The solution to your pain lies at our fingertips.
- Home
- OWCP 3rd Party Claims
OWCP Claims
OWCP 3rd Party Claims
Box 30 of the CA-1 form asks if your injury was caused by a 3rd party. The most common 3rd party accident is a car wreck. Some sources say letter carriers at the US Post Office get into 200+ car wrecks every day nationwide. Other federal employees who drive as part of their jobs suffer from these OWCP auto injuries as well.
3rd party injuries, such as car wrecks, are OWCP injuries that should be covered by federal workers compensation. Far too many people get into on-the-job car wrecks and treat the accident like a standard personal injury (PI) case. They call a PI lawyer and pursue/sue the other driver’s car insurance. That is the first and biggest mistake a federal employee can make when they get into a federal employment car accident.
Never call a personal injury lawyer when you’re injured in a car wreck as a federal employee. PI lawyers usually don’t understand the rules of OWCP, and they will treat your claim like any other PI claim. Your OWCP injury will likely never be approved. You’ll eventually get a settlement from the 3rd party, but the doctor and lawyer are going to get a majority of any settlement you may be entitled to. That means very little of the money will go in your pocket, but the worst part is you will not be entitled to lifetime medical benefits, reimbursement for time off work and money spent out of your own pocket, or a schedule award. Later, if your condition comes back or worsens, you’ll have nowhere to turn except for your own personal health insurance, which means copays and deductibles paid out of your pocket.
Steps You Must Take
If You’re Injured in a 3rd Party OWCP Auto Accident, Here Are the Steps You Must Take to Have a Successful OWCP Experience:
Call 911 if your injury is severe or an emergency.
Call your supervisor immediately to report your accident.
Get a police report. Do not leave the scene of the accident, even if the other party does.
Call a lawyer that handles Federal OWCP 3rd Party Injury Claims. Do not call a local PI lawyer.
Go immediately to your supervisor and request to file an OWCP injury claim by filling out a form CA-1 with your supervisor.
Get a form CA-16 from your supervisor that pays all of your medical bills for the first 60 days after the injury.
Get complete copies of all pages of the CA-1, including the Receipt of Notice.
Request a form CA-17 Duty Status Report from your supervisor to take to your doctor in case you need work restrictions or need to be taken off of work temporarily.
Contact an injury doctor in your area and make an appointment to go get a narrative written that will cause your OWCP injury claim to be approved.
Follow all of your doctor’s recommendations and treatment plan so you can get better and back to work full duty as soon as medically possible.
Expert help with your OWCP injury claim
If you are one of the 200+ people who are in a federal car wreck every day in this country, and you need expert help with your OWCP injury claim, then check the Locations tab on this site to find a doctor near you. The combination of a good federal lawyer and a trained doctor can make all the difference.