Sugarloaf immortalized this lyric in its 1975 hit.
I was reminded of it when I had a conversation recently, updating me on the efforts of our Clerk's office. As you know our Clerk's office has been working hard clearing up the thousands of duplicate carrier addresses in our database. We are making great progress on that effort.
In the course of that communication, I learned that the clerks are receiving a fair volume of calls and emails each day from carriers and third party administrators. They are calling to tell the Office of Judges of Compensation Claims ("OJCC") that a particular claim, about which they received a document link email, is not their claim. Some callers are asking that we take their company off of that particular claim, on their verbal advisement that this claim is "not theirs."
The OJCC is serving (that is delivering by email) pleadings that are filed by parties in a case. This may be a Petition, a motion, or any other document. The OJCC is sending the link to the carrier or third-party administrator that was selected by the filing party. The same is true when a carrier's adjuster files a Response to Petition for Benefits ("RPFB"). When the RPFB is uploaded by the adjuster, the link is e-served on the claimant's attorney.
In this regard, the OJCC is but a conduit, a path, for the transmission of the document link. The attorney that files the PFB selects the name of the carrier from the list of carriers in e-JCC. The attorney selects the carrier. It is this selection that controls who will receive the email link to the document. If they select the wrong carrier, the email will go to the wrong carrier.
The OJCC in this regard is like the post office. We are "delivering" to the carrier that the attorney designated. You would not call the post office if you received a piece of mail that was addressed to you correctly, but which was not yours. It was delivered to you because it was addressed to you. Calling or emailing the OJCC to tell us that you do not believe you belong on a particular case is no more effective than calling the post office when they deliver an envelope addressed to you. It is coming to you because it is addressed to you. We cannot change this any more than the Post Office can alter the way an envelope is addressed.
Carriers (or anyone) that receive link emails from the OJCC, which lead to documents that are not theirs, should contact the sender (the party or attorney that uploaded the document). The title of this blog should perhaps not have been "don't call us, we'll call you" by Sugarloaf, but instead "Return to Sender," by Elvis, 1962. That, the sender, is who needs to know that their mail went to the party to whom it was addressed, although that is the wrong party. The sender can correct this by finding the correct addressee and have the change made in the OJCC database.
It is not that we do not want to know, it is just that we cannot correct their mistake. I can tell you that finding the correct carrier for a particular employer is not always easy. I recommend that people use the "Proof of Coverage" database maintained by the Division of Workers' Compensation,
This sometimes yields different results than the paperwork which injured workers present when they consult an attorney. The reasons for this are complex, and in the end the real point is finding the right one to serve. When errors are made, we need to get them corrected. The "right carrier" needs to be served, and the case will proceed on its merits thereafter.
Understand that errors will occur, no one is perfect and neither is any source of information. When mistakes happen, contact the sender and it will hopefully be resolved. After all, it is in the best interest of all parties that the correct carrier is identified, noticed, and engaged in the process of the claim.