OWCP changes case jurisdiction for some FECA claims arising in Maryland to the Philadelphia district office

Continuing a trend that started some years ago, OWCP has taken more cases away from the Washington DC district office and assigned them to the Philadelphia district office. This means that anyone with a claim that has been reassigned should assume that their claim is going to receive a renewed level of scrutiny.

It is critical that your file has current narrative medical reports addressing causation and your ongoing need for benefits from OWCP. Many of the cases being transferred to Philadelphia have not gotten much attention in a long time.

As a general rule of thumb, you should be seeing a doctor regarding your conditions not less than once every four months. OWCP expects to see "current" (not more than six months old) medical information from your doctor about your injury.

If there is not current information in your file you should expect to be shopped for a second opinion examination.

Here is the link from OWCP explaining the reassignment of case jurisdiction.

http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/casejurisdiction.htm