§919 Procedure in respect of claims

Summary

You can file a claim for pay with the deputy commissioner after the first seven days you are disabled from an injury, or at any time after someone dies. The deputy commissioner can decide the claim. Within ten days after a claim is filed, the deputy commissioner must tell the employer and any other interested people that a claim was filed. That notice can be handed to them or sent by registered mail. The deputy commissioner will investigate and must hold a hearing if an interested person asks for one. Everyone must get at least ten days’ notice before a hearing. After the hearing, the deputy commissioner must issue a decision by order within twenty days. If no hearing is held within twenty days after the first notice, the deputy commissioner must still decide within that time. Hearings follow the procedures in 5 U.S.C. §554 and must be done by qualified administrative law judges; duties the deputy commissioners had on October 27, 1972, moved to those judges. The decision must be filed in the office and a copy sent by registered or certified mail to the claimant and employer. A benefit award can be made after the injured person dies. A case may be moved to another deputy commissioner, with the Secretary’s approval, for more work or exams. An injured employee must, when required, submit to a medical exam by a U.S. medical officer or a doctor approved by the Secretary. The exam place must be reasonably convenient. If the employee, employer, or insurer wants, they may bring and pay for their own doctor to join the exam. If the employee refuses the required exam, proceedings stop and no benefits are paid for the time of the refusal.