Workers' Compensation

The purpose of the Workers' Compensation Act is to provide compensation to an employee for the loss of his or her opportunity to engage in work when the disability is occasioned by an injury suffered from an accident arising out of and during the course of their employment.

Reporting Work-Related Injuries

Injured employees are required to immediately report an accident or illness to their direct supervisor. Upon the notification of the accident or illness, the department is required to offer the employee a Workers' Compensation Panel of Physicians:

• On-campus departments: The employee must select a physician from the panel of physicians for treatment by completing the Panel Physician Selection form.
• Extended campus departments: Fill in all of the required information online to receive a listing of physicians in your area and have the employee select a physician by completing the Panel Physician Selection form.

The department must submit the signed Panel Physician Selection form to the Division of Human Resources via mail or fax.

Employees needing immediate medical treatment for serious injuries may visit an emergency room and should report the injury as Workers' Compensation at the time treatment is received. Follow-up treatment must be provided by a panel physician.

Once an employee reports a job-related injury, the supervisor or department personnel must immediately file the Employer's Accident Report Form.

Instructions for completing the Employer's Accident Report Form are available. A username and password are not is required, simply click "login."

A claims adjuster from MC Innovations will be assigned to handle the claim once it has been received and processed.

Prescriptions

For approved Workers' Compensation claims, injured employees will be reimbursed for prescription costs. A pharmacy card should be used for all valid Workers' Compensation related prescriptions. To locate a participating pharmacy, call First Script Customer Service at 1-800-791-2080.

Pharmacy receipts must be submitted to the Division of Human Resources, Attn: Teresa Lyons, for reimbursement. Cash register receipts will not suffice for reimbursement. A document signed by the pharmacist showing patient information, medication name, prescribing doctor, amount prescribed, and the prescription cost will be an acceptable alternative to a pharmacy receipt.

Mileage Reimbursement

Employees may complete a mileage reimbursement form to report travel for medical visits relating to the Workers' Compensation injury. Forms may be requested from the Department of Human Resources.

Job Restrictions

It is the employee's responsibility to submit disability slips or job duty restrictions as authorized by the panel doctor to their departmental supervisor. The supervisor must submit the original disability slip for lost workdays to the Department of Human Resources. Please note that it is necessary to submit disability slips in a timely manner for accurate leave reporting purposes. The university does not accept retroactive disability slips.

Return to Work

Executive Order (52) requires Virginia Tech to make every reasonable effort to return those employees to work who have sustained job related injuries or illnesses and, as a result, are prevented from returning to their full former employment. Employees are returned to work on a transitional or full time basis as soon as it is determined to be medically feasible.

The return to work coordinator works closely with injured employees, treating physicians, and departments to facilitate transitional duty assignments until employees return to full employment or are released from medical care. A Physical Capabilities Form is required for all medical visits except for x-ray, MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), and physical therapy. The employee will give the form to the physician for completion. This form must be returned to the employee's supervisor within 24 hours of the medical visit. Faxed copies will be accepted.

Non-medical injuries

Departments should submit the Employer's Accident Report as an "Incident Only" even if medical treatment is not required at the time of injury.