Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 14 - INDEPENDENT AGENCIES › Subtitle 09 - WORKERS' COMPENSATION COMMISSION › Chapter 14.09.01 - General Administrative › Section 14.09.01.01 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this
				subtitle, the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined.
(1) "Affidavit" means a written statement the
				contents of which are affirmed under the penalties of perjury to be
				true.
(2) "Automatic award" means
				the order finding the claim compensable when:
(a) The employer or insurer files no response
				to an employee's claim form by the consideration date in accordance with Labor
				and Employment Article, §
											9-713, Annotated
				Code of Maryland;
(b) The employer
				or insurer files a response that the claim does not involve lost time;
				or
(c) The employer or insurer
				files a response that the employer or insurer does not contest the
				claim.
(3) "Certified
				mail" means mail deposited with the United States Postal Service, postage
				prepaid and return receipt requested.
(4) "Claimant" means a person filing a
				workers' compensation claim and includes:
(a)
				A covered employee;
(b) A dependent
				of a deceased covered employee; or
(c) An individual authorized to act on behalf
				of a dependent of a deceased covered employee.
(5) "Commission" means either the Workers'
				Compensation Commission or its designee.
(6) "CompHub" means the Commission's online
				system designed to facilitate the filing and adjudication of workers'
				compensation claims, and to provide other services related to workers'
				compensation benefits.
(7)
				"Consideration date" means the day by which the employer or its insurer must
				begin paying temporary total disability benefits, or file with the Commission
				any issue to contest the claim in accordance with Labor and Employment Article,
				§
										9-713, Annotated
				Code of Maryland.
(8) "Contact
				information" means the name of a person submitting a document or of a person on
				whose behalf a document is being submitted, telephone numbers, personal or
				business addresses, email addresses, employer identification and address, or
				similar facts that make it possible for another to contact a person who is
				named in a document.
(9) "Disputed
				workers' compensation claim" means a:
(a)
				Newly filed claim from the date it is filed until the employer or insurer
				commences paying the claim or until the consideration date has
				expired;
(b) New claim in which
				issues have been filed;
(c) Pending
				claim in which one or more issues have been filed; or
(d) Claim that is pending on
				appeal.
(10) File.
(a) "File" means to submit to the Commission
				a written claim, motion, request, or other document for action by the
				Commission.
(b) "File" does not
				include a submission rejected by the Commission.
(11) "Final award" means the award of
				compensation determined by the Commission after exhaustion of all applicable
				appeals, regardless of whether the award is increased or decreased as a result
				of any appeal.
(12) "Formal
				set-aside allocation" means a document reflecting a comprehensive analysis and
				projection of future injury-related medical needs and associated
				costs.
(13) "Healthcare provider
				delegate" means administrative or support staff designated by a health care
				provider to have access to basic claim information for the purpose of obtaining
				settlement, claim and hearing status information.
(14) "Individual" means a human
				being.
(15) "Insurer" means:
(a) A stock corporation or mutual association
				that is authorized under the Insurance Article, Annotated Code of Maryland, to
				provide workers' compensation insurance in the State;
(b) The Chesapeake Employers' Insurance
				Company authorized under Insurance Article, Title 24, Subtitle 3, Annotated
				Code of Maryland;
(c) A
				governmental self-insurance group that meets the requirements of Labor and
				Employment Article, §
											9-404, Annotated
				Code of Maryland;
(d) A
				self-insurance group of private employers that meets the requirements of
				Insurance Article, §§25-301-25-308, Annotated Code of Maryland;
				or
(e) An individual employer that
				self-insures in accordance with Labor and Employment Article, §
											9-405, Annotated
				Code of Maryland.
(16)
				"Insurer delegate" means administrative or support staff, designated by an
				insurer, to have access to all claim documents in all claims in which the
				insurer is a party for the purpose of filing documents and managing
				claims.
(17) "Non-compromise case"
				means a case in which the employer/insurer has not contested liability or in
				which the Commission has found liability and in which the settlement
				compensates the claimant for anticipated future medical expenses.
(18) "Paper" means a document filed with the
				Commission, whether in physical paper form or electronic form or
				format.
(19) "Person" means:
(a) An individual;
(b) A general or limited
				partnership;
(c) A joint stock
				company;
(d) An unincorporated
				association or society;
(e) A
				municipal or other corporation;
(f)
				An incorporated association;
(g) A
				limited liability partnership;
(h)
				A limited liability company;
(i)
				The State, its agencies or political subdivisions; or
(j) A governmental entity.
(20) "Proxy" means administrative
				or support staff, designated by an attorney, to have access to all claim
				documents in all claims in which the attorney has entered the attorney's
				appearance for the purpose of filing documents and managing claims.
(21) "Role" means the functionality and type
				of account for which a user is authorized in CompHub and includes the following
				and their delegates and proxies:
(a)
				Attorney;
(b) Claimant;
(c) Employer;
(d) Insurer;
(e) Healthcare provider or practitioner;
				and
(f) Vocational rehabilitation
				provider or practitioner.
(22) "Signature" includes electronic
				signature pursuant to Commercial Law Article, §
										21-101(i),
				Annotated Code of Maryland.
(23)
				"State average weekly wage" means the State average weekly wage in effect on
				the date of the accident or date of disablement.
(24) "Subpoena" means a written order
				directed to a person and requiring attendance at a particular time and place to
				take the action specified.
(25)
				"Subscriber" means an authorized user in CompHub having the access applicable
				to the role for which the user is authorized.
(26) "Subsequent Injury Fund" or "SIF" means
				the statutorily created entity, funded by assessments on workers' compensation
				awards and settlements, that may be a party to a claim and which pays benefits
				attributable to a compensable injury to previously injured body
				parts.
(27) "Undisputed workers'
				compensation claim" means a claim in which all issues have been:
(a) Withdrawn;
(b) Resolved by a decision of the commission
				that is not appealed; or
(c)
				Resolved on appeal.
(28)
				"Uninsured Employers' Fund" or "UEF" means the statutorily created entity,
				funded by assessments on workers' compensation awards and settlements, that may
				be a party to a claim and which pays workers compensation awards made against
				an uninsured employer.