Often times, the insurance company may initiate payment to you while you are out of work without any direction by the court. However, it is always our practice to always request a hearing if you are out of work. Many of our clients do not understand why a hearing is necessary, if they are being paid. We do this for a few reasons.
The main reason we want a hearing is to get a court direction for payment. This is referred to as a “CCP”, which stands for “Carrier to Continue Payments." The CCP is a court order for payment at a set rate, and it cannot be changed or modified without another hearing or a decision from the court. If the Carrier does change or modify payment when they are under a CCP, they may be subject to a penalty. A court direction for payment provides our clients with predictability in their pay. Without it, the Carrier is free to stop or change payments without any notice to you.
Another reason to request a hearing is to assure that you are being paid correctly. Even though the Carrier may be voluntarily paying you, that does not necessarily mean the rate is correct. Holding a hearing and adjudicating your rate in front of the judge better ensures you are being paid correctly.
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MCV Law has over 30 years of experience with protecting the rights of injured workers.