Proposal addresses causation, multiple conditions in workers comp claims

A bill presented to lawmakers in Texas on Wednesday aims to tackle the murky issue of causation in workers compensation. 

House Bill 233, sponsored by Rep. Nicole Collier, D-Fort Worth, calls for medical causation narrative reports to be paid for by insurers when they dispute a correlation between one condition and that which is directly related to the workplace injury.

A medical causation report is “an original report created by a doctor that explains a causal connection, if any, between a compensable workplace injury and the diagnoses or conditions specified in the insurance carrier’s plain language notice disputing the extent of the injured employee’s compensable injury,” per the bill. 

The employee could request the report following a letter denying care and the insurer would have to pay for a report for each dispute letter it issues, according to the bill. 

The bill was referred to the Business and Industry Committee on Thursday.