Section : General Safety procedures                                             

Date : November 25, 1996

Replaces : November 1 ,1993

Your safety on the job is a concern to us at VCU. The VCU Occupational Safety Section of the Office of Environmental Health and Safety is available to assist you in your goal of an accident free work environment. The Occupational Safety Section is responsible for ensuring that regulations established by Virginia Occupational Safety and Health (VOSH) are communicated to administration and the appropriate actions taken. The section is responsible for safety policy and procedure development, implementation, monitoring and documentation. This is achieved through close cooperation between OEHS, University, MCVH and MCVAP staff. OEHS provides direct and /or contract assistance to departments as well as active committee membership in order to carry out this critical function.

Your supervisor is responsible for seeing that you have knowledge and skills necessary to operate in the university and hospital environment. The Occupational Safety Section can provide assistance when safety questions arise.

While many different kinds of injuries may occur in the work place, back injuries are the most frequent. Improper lifting technique is the most common cause. You will probably have to lift something nearly everyday. If the load is not light enough to be handled easily, use a mechanical lift, such as a hand truck, or ask someone to help you, whenever possible. If you must lift an object by yourself, follow these steps:

          1.      Put one foot next to the load, the other foot behind the load. Stand as close to the load                    as possible.

          2.      Bend your knees, keeping your back and head straight.

          3.      Use your whole hand - not your fingertips - to grasp the load. Bring the load close to                     your body.

          4.      Lift the load by straightening your knees.

          5.      Hold the load close to your body while carrying it, centered over your legs rather than                    to one side of your body.

          6.      Never twist or turn while lifting. Do not bend your back. Instead, use your legs to push                    the load upwards. In this manner, your legs and arms do the work, not your back.

          7.      Follow this procedure in reverse to put the load down.

The Fire And Occupational Safety section of OEHS is available to assist departments in developing and implementing Back Injury Prevention or Proper Lifting Programs, call 828-7899

Section : General Safety procedures                                             

Date : November 25, 1996

Replaces : November 1 ,1993

REPORTING OF ON-THE-JOB INJURIES/ILLNESSES       

Under of the provision of the Workers' Compensation Act (the Act), the University is required to provide certain benefits to employees who incur an injury/illness in the course of official work-related duties. All University employees (faculty, full-time staff, part-time staff, HCPS, and hourly workers,)( NOTE: MCVAP employee procedures are detailed following this section ) are eligible to receive workers' compensation benefits:

If an employee should incur a work-related injury or occupational disease, they should notify         their supervisor as soon as possible so that they do not forfeit any rights they may have to         workers' compensation.

The employee and supervisor should then complete the University's Accident Report of         Workers' Compensation Claim form, P-100, within 24 hours of the accident/illness.

The employee is required to select a physician to treat his/her injury/illness from the panel of         physicians listed on the Physician Selection for Occupational Injuries/Diseases form,         P-101.

Both forms listed above should be made available in every department. A supply of the forms         can be ordered by contacting the Workers' Compensation Office at 8-1533.

The completed forms should be sent or taken directly to Employee Health Services, First         Floor, West Hospital, Box 980134.

Employee Health completes the medical information on the claim form and forwards the claim         to the Workers' Compensation Office.

All claims for workers' compensation are then forwarded to the state's Division of Risk         Management (DRM) upon receipt by the University's Workers' compensation Office.

DRM reviews the claim and determines if it is covered under the provisions of the Act.

Although an employee may have been injured at work, the claim may not always be         considered compensable under the workers compensation laws in Virginia.

The employee's injury must be determined to be " by accident" and "arising out of and in the         course of employment" in order to be covered under the Act. In other words, the employee         must have been injured by an unusual and unexpected event which occurred in the         performance of his/her duties. The accident must also have happened suddenly and at a         specific time. Injuries caused by misconduct, failure to use safety equipment, repetitive motion,         stress, and/or horseplay, are generally not covered under the Act.

DRM will pay for one initial visit to an emergency room as well as all treatment deemed         necessary by the physician the employee selects from the University's/Hospitals' panel. The         employee must select one of these panel physicians, as DRM may deny the claim if the         employee seeks medical treatment from a non-panel physician.

Section : General Safety procedures                                             

Date : November 25, 1996

Replaces : November 1 ,1993

The employee is required to keep all medical appointments and accept the treatment          recommended by the panel physician as well as by any other medical care provider to whom          the employee is referred.

In general, medical coverage is provided for a period of up to 2 years from the date of the         employee's injury/illness. If the employee is disabled from work (as determined by the panel         physician) for more than 7 calendar days, the employee will be eligible to receive medical         benefits for as long as necessary.

Salaried employees who are disabled from work by their selected physician (see above) will          be eligible to receive workers' compensation leave for up to 92 calendar days of disability.

Hourly employees will be paid compensation directly by DRM. Since workers' compensation         does not begin until the employee is disabled for more than 7 calendar days under the Act,          hourly employees will not be paid for the first 7 calendar days of disability.

Under of the provision of the Workers' Compensation Act (the Act), MCVAP is required to provide certain benefits to employees who incur an injury/illness in the course of official work-related duties. For the purposes of being eligible for workers' compensation, an employee is defined as any person on the MCVAP payroll.

To be covered, an occupational injury must arise "out of and in the course of" employment and must take place while the employee is performing work for MCVAP. An occupational disease usually is one that develops over time and medical evidence must show that the disease was caused by the duties of the job and that it did not result from conditions or activities to which the employee was exposed outside of their job.

Procedures for Filing a Workers' Compensation Claim

Inform your supervisor of your injury/occupational disease as soon as possible after it occurs.

If your injury is a medical emergency, you may go to Employee Health Services, the MCVH         emergency room or any other emergency room. Under these circumstances you should notify         your supervisor of the injury immediately after you have received treatment and then complete         and file the required from as explained in the next section.

Complete the MCVAP "Employer's First Report of Accident" within 24 hours of the          injury/disease and submit to your supervisor, your supervisor will then complete his/her          section of the form.

Section : General Safety procedures                                             

Date : November 25, 1996

Replaces : November 1 ,1993

Select a physician to treat your injury/disease from a panel offered by MCVAP in accordance         with the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act. This selection must be made even if you were         treated in an emergency room. A "Physician Selection" form is available from your supervisor         or the Benefits coordinator.

As soon as your supervisor completes his/her section of the form, both the completed accident         report form and the physician selection form should be hand-delivered or mailed through         campus mail to the MCVAP Department of Human Resources, Attn: Benefits Coordinator,         Box 980232. Please do not leave either the accident form or physician selection form in the         emergency room.

Failure to notify your supervisor within 10 days of the date of your accident, or 30 days of the         date of your occupational disease was diagnosed by a physician may result in the loss of         workers' compensation benefits. Failure to file correct MCVAP forms could also result in the         loss of benefits.

Workers' Compensation Claims Process

After receiving both forms the Benefits Coordinator submits them to our Workers'         Compensation insurance carrier.

Once the insurance carrier receives the claim they will review it to determine if the         injury/disease is compensable under the provisions of the Virginia Workers' Compensation         Act. In their review they seek additional information from you, any witnesses to the accident,         your supervisor, the treating physician etc.

If the claim is accepted the Workers' Compensation Insurance carrier pays all medical and         lost-time benefits associated with the claim. If the claim is denied you will be notified by the         carrier and apprized of your appeal rights to the Workers' Compensation Commission. You         may contact the Benefits Coordinator with questions relating to the denial of the claim. If your         claim is denied all medical bills should be filed with your health insurance.

Medical Benefits

Under the provisions of the Virginia Workers' Compensation Act you are required to receive         medical treatment for the occupational injury/disease from one of at least 3 panel physicians         offered by the employer. The list of physicians offered to treat an occupational injury/disease is         found on the MCVAP "Panel of Workers' Compensation Physicians". If you choose your         personal physician for treating a work-related injury, rather than choosing from the panel, the         Workers' Compensation insurance carrier could deny any expenses associated with the         treatment.

Section : General Safety procedures                                             

Date : November 25, 1996

Replaces : November 1 ,1993

Once you have selected a physician from the panel, you are required to keep all appointments         with the selected physician and accept the treatment recommended by that physician, as well         as any other physician or medical care provider to whom you are referred. If you fail to keep         your medical appointments and/or follow the recommended course of treatment you may lose         any compensation and/or benefits you may otherwise be entitled to under the Workers'         Compensation Act.

In case of an emergency the Workers' Compensation Insurance carrier will pay for 1 initial         emergency room visit. Be sure to notify your supervisor of the treatment as soon as possible         after you have received emergency treatments.

If you remain under the care of the selected panel physician and follow the recommended         treatment the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier will pay for medical bills related to the         injury, unless your claim is denied. The carrier will pay for hospitalization, physical therapy,         prescriptions, rehabilitation, etc. which is ordered by the treating physician. It is important for         you to inform the medical care providers that you are being treated for an occupational         injury/disease.

It is recommended that you bring all related medical bills to the MCVAP Department of         Human Resources, Attn: Benefits Coordinator, Box 980232, FAX 342-7605. You should         notify all medical care providers to bill the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier for any         treatments of your occupational injury/disease. If you receive collection notices for any         treatment of your occupational injury/disease notify the MCVAP Benefits Coordinator         immediately.

If you become dissatisfied with the medical treatment you have received from the selected         panel physician or any of the medical care providers to whom you have been referred, contact         the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier and the Benefits Coordinator to discuss the         matter.

If you are disabled from work for 7 calender days or less medical benefits will only be         provided under workers' compensation for 2 years from the date you were injured. If you are         disabled from work for more than 7 calender days you will be eligible to receive medical         benefits for as long as the carrier deems "necessary". The carrier reviews all medical bills to         determine their relevance to the original injury/disease.

If the carrier requests that you submit to an independent medical examination you are required         by the workers' compensation laws to comply with that request in order to receive continuing         workers' compensation benefits.

Section : General Safety procedures                                             

Date : November 25, 1996

Replaces : November 1 ,1993

Lost Time Benefits

If you lose time from work (either totally or partially) as a result of an occupational         injury/disease, you are entitled to compensation. Compensation under Workers'         Compensation is 66^2/3 percent of your average weekly wage at the time of your injury (subject         to legal minimum and maximum amounts designated by the Virginia Workers' Compensation         Act). Compensation does not start unless you have disabled for more than 7 calender days.

If you miss work for those first 7 calender days due to your occupational injury/disease you         must use your accrued sick, annual, or holiday leave. If you have no leave accrued you will be         in a doc situation. If you continue to be on leave after the first 7 calender days workers'         compensation will pay you 66^2/3 percent of your average weekly wage at the time of your         injury. After the first 7 days you will be paid by the Workers' Compensation insurance carrier         and no longer need to use your leave balances.

If you continue to be out for workers' compensation for over 21 days, workers' compensation         will go back and pay you 66^2/3 percent of your average weekly wage for the first 7 days. If         this occurs and you used your leave balances to be paid for those first 7 days, MCVAP will         need to be reimbursed for that time and we will adjust your leave balance.

If you have been instructed by your selected physician to either remain off duty, work         reduced, hours, or work at light duty you are required to comply fully with the physician's         instructions. In addition you must inform your selected physician of any significant activities at         work or at home which might affect your medical status and ability to return to work such as a         second job, traveling, exercise, etc. Leave authorizations will only be granted for time lost from         work as indicated by your selected physician. If you fail to comply with the physician's         instructions, you could lose all of your workers' compensation benefits.

OEHS