Injuries
Accidents and injuries are relatively rare among volunteers. Whether volunteers are building and maintaining trails, greeting visitors in an office, or picking up trash in campgrounds, volunteers have an excellent safety record. However, accidents do happen.
For the purposes of accidents and injuries, volunteers are considered employees (Volunteers in the National Forests Act of 1972; section 3(c)) and covered by the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA) for all reasonable and necessary medical expenses. The Federal Employees Compensation Act is administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, not the USDA Forest Service. The U.S. Department of Labor makes the final determination for claims on service-related injuries.
The Importance of a Signed Volunteer Agreement
It is critical that the volunteer agreement is signed before service begins. The agreement documents the "hiring" of volunteers and makes them eligible for workers compensation. In addition, it includes a volunteer's service description and duty hours. In the event of an injury, the service description and duty hours become extremely important. Under the volunteer agreement, volunteers are entitled just to compensation for service-related injuries—not injuries incurred while the volunteers are outside the scope of their service or off duty.
If the volunteer agreement does not provide these details, volunteers injured while off duty could make a claim for compensation. If the volunteer agreement does not stipulate the service description or duty hours, volunteers would be assumed to be in the scope of their service or on duty, and the unit would be liable for the injury.
Individual Volunteers and Sponsored Volunteers
When a volunteer is signed up under an individual volunteer agreement, the Forest Service is solely liable for the medical expenses related to a volunteer's service-related injury. When volunteers are signed up under a sponsored volunteer agreement, the procedures are more complex. If the sponsoring group does not have medical insurance for service-related injuries, the Forest Service covers the expenses. If the sponsored group has insurance for service-related injuries, the group covers the medical expenses for the injury. If the group's insurance does not fully cover the medical treatment's cost, then the Forest Service would cover the rest.
Some groups that provide volunteers under sponsored volunteer agreements carry activity insurance that covers volunteers for injuries during the course of their volunteer service, whether the injuries are service related or not.
Injuries to a Volunteer's Family or Friends
When volunteers are performing their service, their friends or family may be present. To understand the complexity of such situations, review the following campground host example described in the "Determining Whether Injuries Are Service Related."
Consider:
What if…the host's granddaughter who is visiting for the week (camping with the host, but not signed up on a volunteer agreement) gets hurt while the host is contacting the public.
In this situation, the granddaughter was helping the host, but was not signed up as a volunteer. Her medical expenses would not be covered.
The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) may determine that the granddaughter should be covered. The office may determine that it was common practice for the Forest Service to allow family members to help with host duties (if the coordinator was aware of the practice and didn't stop it, the coordinator was actually approving the activity), making the Forest Service liable for injuries.
It is wise to ask volunteers not to take their family or friends with them while serving. If the volunteer's friends or family members truly want to participate in the activities, sign them up under a volunteer agreement. Make sure these individuals are actually providing voluntary services. The Forest Service does not want to accept responsibility for anyone who simply wants to come along with a volunteer.
Determining Whether Injuries Are Service Related
The following examples from the Pacific Northwest Region's volunteer guide help explain the difference between service-related injuries and nonservice-related injuries. In both examples, assume that the volunteer agreement stipulates the duty hours include any time the volunteer is performing tasks listed in the service description.
Injured on a Trail Project
The tasks to be performed is "trail clearing, removing brush from the sides of the trail as well as logs across it. Involves cutting, chopping, lifting and disposing of limbs and small trees. Tools to be used include chopping, cutting, and digging tools"...and incidentally, we provide a campsite for the volunteer to camp at for the night before the project, also listed on the volunteer agreement....
What if...the task is performed by a volunteer signed up on an individual volunteer agreement, and... the volunteer slices his or her leg while brushing the trail and needs medical attention?
Under these circumstances, the volunteer was injured while performing service-related duties as listed in the volunteer agreement. As a result, the volunteer's medical expenses would be covered.
What if...the same volunteer slips on the way to the bathroom while camped in the campsite and hurts his or her arm?
Under these circumstances, the volunteer was not within the scope of the service description when the injury occurred. As a result, the volunteer's expenses would not be covered. However, it is prudent to document the injury. If the volunteer believes the camp site was unsafe and the Forest Service was negligent, he or she could file a tort claim lawsuit, which would be handled by the Forest Service's Office of General Counsel.
Injured While Serving as Campground Host
Tasks to be performed as a campground host includes: greeting visitors, providing information about recreation activities, making daily rounds of the campground for public contact purposes, taking an active part in the litter incentive program, cleaning restrooms as assigned, and special projects as identified.
What if...the host trips or falls and sprains an ankle while making public contact rounds?
Under these circumstances, the volunteer was injured while performing service-related duties as listed in the volunteer agreement. As a result, the volunteer's medical expenses would be covered.
What if...the host in this example has a quiet afternoon and chooses to go to the store to buy groceries for personal use and trips or falls and sprains an ankle?
Under these circumstances, the volunteer was not performing one of the service duties. Therefore, medical expenses would not be covered.
How to Handle an Injury
If volunteers have been injured, their health and welfare is the most important priority. Seek medical assistance immediately.
The Albuquerque Service Center's Human Capital Management Workers' Compensation section is the initial point of contact for processing and managing all service-related injury and illness claims. This includes all volunteers. No other personnel or subunits in the Forest Service should be maintaining compensation files, contacting OWCP, authorizing medical care using either the CA-16 or FS-6100-16, or counseling volunteers.
If volunteers require immediate medical attention for a service-related injury, the volunteers, the volunteers' immediate supervisor, or another responsible party can call the Albuquerque Service Center's Contact Center at 877–372–7248, press "2" for Human Capital Management, and then press "5" for the Workers' Compensation section (between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m., m.d.t.). If you are the person calling, advise the Contact Center representative that this is a request for authorizing medical treatment and you need to speak with someone in the Workers' Compensation section. Your call will be transferred directly to the Workers' Compensation Section after you provide information needed by the Contact Center. If the volunteers are injured on a weekend or after hours, call 505–280–7691. If you still cannot reach anyone at the Workers' Compensation section, the volunteers can get medical care from their chosen physician or the hospital emergency room. Someone in the Workers' Compensation section can contact the provider later to provide authorization.
After addressing the immediate needs of the volunteers, have them report the incident to their immediate supervisor and file Form CA-1, Federal Employee's Notice of Traumatic Injury and Claim for Continuation of Pay/Compensation, through the Safety and Health Information Portal System (SHIPS), accessed through the Dashboard application. In most instances, the supervisor will have to access SHIPS for the volunteers. Injuries must be reported as soon as possible, but no later than 1 day after the incident. After the volunteers complete the "Employee Data" and "Description of Injury" sections of the CA-1 form, the supervisor will need to complete the "Supervisor’s Report" portion of the form.
If the volunteers are unable to access SHIPS, they should file a hard copy of form CA-1 without delay. Later, the information can be entered into SHIPS. If there were witnesses to the injury, have them fill out the "Witness Statement" section. Make sure everyone signs and dates the form CA-1. If the volunteers have questions, they can contact their supervisor or call the Workers' Compensation Section at 877–372–7248, press "2" for Human Capital Management, then "5" for the Workers' Compensation section.
Even if medical treatment is not required, or the injury does not appear to be service related, form CA-1 should be filled out to protect the volunteers and the agency if problems arise later.
Keep a copy of the CA-1 form for your files and send the original CA-1 with a copy of the volunteer agreement to the Workers' Compensation section. Fax this paperwork to 866– 339–8583 or mail it overnight via Fed Ex to the address listed below. If forms are faxed, mail the original form to the address below using regular mail. This needs to be completed within two (2) days after the volunteers file the CA-1 form.
USDA Forest Service
Albuquerque Service Center
Human Capital Management–Workers' Comp. Group
3900 Masthead St., NE, Masthead Annex, Mail Stop 118
Albuquerque, NM 87109
The Workers' Compensation section will review and finalize the forms before submitting them to the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment Standards Administration, Office of Workers' Compensation Programs (OWCP) within the required ten (10) working days.
The OWCP will determine the validity of a claim by reviewing all documents, including the volunteer agreement and the supervisor's report. If OWCP validates a claim, it will bill the unit for the expenses about 2 years after the claim was submitted. When this happens, you will need to provide OWCP with a job code for the costs.
Remember, OWCP makes the rules and the final determinations on claims. The situation only gets more complicated when well-meaning Forest Service employees make promises about what they think will occur with a claim.
When Medical Treatment Is Needed Later
After volunteers sustain an injury, they may mistakenly believe they are fine. Later, they may determine the injury was more serious than they originally thought and seek treatment. Contact the Workers' Compensation section for further guidance on obtaining medical treatment for these volunteers.
Volunteers may select the physician or facility to provide their treatment. The provider must meet the definition of "physician" under the Federal Employees Compensation Act (http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-feca.htm) and must not have been excluded from payment under the program.
Volunteers Who Are Injured for an Extended Period
Volunteers are not eligible for continuation of pay. It is critical that Block 36 on the CA-1 indicates that the injured person is a volunteer. This means the agency will deny continuation of pay. Volunteers can make a claim for compensation (using CA-7, Claim for Compensation Form) for the time they are incapacitated. OWCP has a method for determining the compensation. If volunteers are expected to lose any time away from work, the CA-7 should be completed as soon as possible. The determination of a claim for compensation is complicated. The determination is made by OWCP, and you can only complicate matters by guessing what the benefit may or may not be. Don't Do It.
Forms and Additional Information
Form CA-1 can be obtained from the nearest Forest Service office or over the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/regs/compliance/forms.htm.
Information regarding the Federal Workers' Compensation Program can be found at http://www.dol.gov/owcp/dfec/.
After an accident, both the volunteer and the supervisor have certain responsibilities. For more information on how to handle an injury, visit http://fsweb.asc.fs.fed.us/HRM/owcp/workerscomp-index.php.
For additional assistance, volunteers or supervisors should call the Contact Center at 877–372–7248, press "2" for Human Capital Management, then press "5" for the Workers' Compensation section. Injured volunteers will receive the direct phone number of a specialist who will work with them. The Workers' Compensation section encourages questions from volunteers and supervisors.
