Our Services
Federal Injury Care in Knoxville, TN
Know Your Rights as an Injured Federal Employee
DOL-OWCP Injury Care
Our Federal Injury Care service guides federal employees through the process of recovering from work-related injuries. Our DOL-certified physicians and OWCP claims specialists can help you get back on the job safely. We work with the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) claims, provide thorough injury evaluations and treatments, and design rehabilitation and return-to-work programs.
OWCP Injury Claims
Below are some of the most frequently required OWCP forms for injured federal workers to submit a claim and select a treating physician (attending physician). Should you require assistance in accessing or accurately completing these forms, please contact us for complimentary claims support.
CA-1 Form — "I Got Hurt at Work"
CA-2 — "I Got Hurt or Sick Over a Long Period at Work"
CA-2a — "My Injury Came Back"
CA-7 — "Pay Me While I'm Out of Work"
CA-20 — "What My Doctor Says"
Your Rights as an Injured Federal Employee
If you’re a federal employee who’s been hurt on the job or developed a condition because of your work, the law is on your side. The Federal Employees’ Compensation Act (FECA) gives you a set of specific, clearly defined rights — and no supervisor, agency, or HR department can take them away. The problem is, most federal workers don’t know these rights exist until they need them, and by then, the clock is already ticking.
We created Federal Injury Centers of Knoxville to make sure that doesn’t happen to federal employees in East Tennessee. Below are the rights every federal worker should know — and the ones our team protects for our patients every day.
01.
You Have the Right to Choose Your Own Doctor
This is the most important right you have — and the one that gets violated the most. Under FECA, you are legally entitled to select the physician who treats your work injury. Your agency cannot assign you a doctor. Your supervisor cannot pressure you into visiting a specific clinic. If someone tells you that you “have to” see the agency’s preferred provider, that is not accurate.
Your initial choice of doctor sets the tone for your entire claim. The medical documentation your provider creates — the language they use, the injury codes they select, the way they describe causation — is what OWCP uses to decide whether your claim gets approved or denied. This is why choosing a provider experienced in OWCP cases matters as much as the treatment itself. At our clinic, your care and your claim are handled together from the start, because we know you can’t separate the two.
02.
You Have the Right to Full Medical Coverage
Under FECA, all medical expenses related to your accepted work injury are paid in full by the federal government. That means no copays, no deductibles, no coinsurance, and no coverage caps. Doctor visits, imaging, physical therapy, chiropractic adjustments, prescriptions, medical devices — all of it is covered at 100%.
You should never be asked to use your personal health insurance (FEHB, Blue Cross, etc.) for a work-related injury. If you’ve been paying out of pocket or using your personal insurance because your provider isn’t set up to bill OWCP, that’s a problem — and one we can help you fix. At Federal Injury Centers of Knoxville, there are no charges, no upfront costs, and no bills sent to you. Your treatment is billed directly to OWCP, the way the law intended.
03.
You Have the Right to File a Claim Without Retaliation
Federal law prohibits your employer from retaliating against you for filing a workers’ compensation claim. You cannot be fired, demoted, reassigned to a lesser position, or subjected to hostile treatment because you exercised your right to seek FECA benefits. Your employer also cannot require you to waive your right to file a claim, and they cannot pressure you into accepting duties that could aggravate your injury or cause re-injury.
If you’re hesitant to file because you’re worried about how your agency will respond, know that your right to claim compensation is protected. And if difficult working conditions do arise after filing, the stress and anxiety caused by those conditions may themselves be compensable under FECA. Our team has helped many patients navigate exactly this kind of situation, and we’re here to walk you through it.
04.
You Have the Right to Continuation of Pay
If you suffer a traumatic injury and need to miss work, you are entitled to up to 45 calendar days of Continuation of Pay (COP) — your full salary, paid by your agency, while your OWCP claim is being processed. COP exists because the government recognized that it can take weeks or months for claims to be adjudicated, and you shouldn’t suffer financially during that window.
COP applies to traumatic injuries only (not occupational diseases), and USPS employees are subject to a three-day waiting period before COP begins. If your disability extends beyond 14 days or results in permanent impairment, those waiting-period days can be restored. The details matter, and getting them right from the start protects your paycheck. If you’re not sure how COP applies to your situation, our team can walk you through it before you file.
05.
You Have the Right to Wage-Loss Compensation
If your injury prevents you from working beyond the 45-day COP period, you are entitled to ongoing wage-loss compensation. The rate is 66 ⅔% of your salary if you have no dependents, or 75% if you have at least one dependent (a spouse counts). These payments are tax-free, which in practice often brings them close to your take-home pay.
There is no arbitrary time limit on how long you can receive wage-loss benefits — they continue for as long as your disability persists and your claim remains active. However, you must continue treating for your injury and providing medical documentation to OWCP. If documentation lapses, OWCP may assume you’ve recovered and move to reduce or terminate your benefits. We keep our patients’ records current and compliant so that nothing falls through the cracks.
06.
You Have the Right to Reimbursement for Medical Travel
You are entitled to reimbursement for transportation to and from medical appointments related to your accepted work injury. This includes mileage (at the current GSA rate), parking, tolls, and in some cases, public transit or special conveyance costs. Round trips of up to 100 miles are generally considered reasonable. For longer distances or travel requiring air transportation or overnight stays, prior approval from OWCP is required.
To claim reimbursement, you submit Form OWCP-957 with your claim number and travel details. Many federal employees don’t realize this benefit exists and absorb the cost of getting to appointments on their own. Our team reminds patients about this right and helps ensure the paperwork is handled correctly — because every benefit you’re owed is one you should receive.
07.
You Have the Right to a Schedule Award for Permanent Impairment
If your work injury results in a permanent loss of use — or a permanent partial loss of use — of a specific body part, you may be entitled to a Schedule Award. Covered body parts include arms, hands, legs, feet, fingers, toes, eyes, ears, and the back. The award is calculated based on the degree of impairment and your pay rate, and it is paid in addition to any other wage-loss benefits you’ve received.
There is no time limit on filing for a Schedule Award. Many federal employees don’t learn about this benefit until years after their injury — and many never learn about it at all. If a past work injury left you with lasting limitations, it’s worth having a conversation with a provider who can evaluate whether you qualify. Our team has helped patients secure Schedule Awards they didn’t know they were entitled to, and we can do the same for you.
08.
You Have the Right to Appeal a Denied Claim
A denial is not the final word. If your OWCP claim is denied, you have multiple options. You can request reconsideration by submitting new or additional medical evidence. You can request a hearing before an OWCP hearing representative. Or you can appeal to the Employees’ Compensation Appeals Board (ECAB) for a review of the written record.
The most common reason for a denial is insufficient or improperly worded medical documentation — not that the injury isn’t real or wasn’t work-related, but that the paperwork didn’t establish the connection clearly enough for OWCP’s requirements. In many cases, the fix is getting proper documentation from a provider who knows what OWCP needs to see. We work with patients who come to us after a denial regularly. In fact, it’s one of the most common reasons new patients reach out to our clinic.
09.
You Have the Right to Return to Your Job
FECA guarantees restoration rights for federal employees who recover from a work-related injury. If you fully recover within one year, your agency must restore you immediately and unconditionally to your former position or an equivalent one. If you recover after one year, you receive priority consideration agency-wide, provided you apply for reappointment within 30 days of your compensation ending.
When you return to work, you are treated as though you never left. If you’re partially recovered and can work in a limited capacity, your agency is expected to make reasonable efforts to find a suitable position. And if you’re unable to return to your previous role at all, OWCP may provide vocational rehabilitation services, including counseling, testing, training, and job placement — all at no cost to you.
Our providers document your recovery progress with precision, so when you’re ready to return to work, your medical records fully support the transition — and your rights are protected on paper.
10.
You Have the Right to Buy Back Your Leave
If you used sick leave or annual leave to cover time off after your injury — instead of filing for wage-loss compensation — you may be able to buy that leave back. Leave Buy Back (LBB) allows you to convert those leave days to Leave Without Pay (LWOP), receive the corresponding FECA compensation for that period, and have the leave restored to your balance. You keep the compensation, and you get your leave back.
The process involves Form CA-7 and Form CA-7b, coordination with your agency, and supporting medical documentation. The math can be a little confusing — you pay your agency the difference between your full pay and your compensation rate — but the net result is that you recover leave days you otherwise would have lost. Not every federal employee knows this option exists, and agencies don’t always volunteer the information. If you used your own leave after an injury and wish you hadn’t, talk to our team. We can help you understand whether LBB makes sense for your situation.
11.
You Have the Right to Claim Benefits for Occupational Diseases
FECA doesn’t only cover injuries from a specific accident or event. It also covers occupational diseases — medical conditions that develop over time due to the nature of your work. Chronic back pain from years of carrying mail. Carpal tunnel syndrome from repetitive keyboard work. Shoulder or knee degeneration from physically demanding duties. Respiratory conditions from workplace exposure.
Many federal employees live with these conditions for years without realizing they’re covered. If your job caused it or made it worse, you have the right to file a claim using Form CA-2 — and you have three years from the date you become aware of the connection between your condition and your employment. Our providers see these cases regularly, and we know how to document the occupational link that OWCP requires. If you’ve been dealing with a chronic condition you think might be connected to your work, it costs nothing to find out.
12.
You Have the Right to Benefits That Don’t Expire
Unlike many state workers’ compensation programs, FECA benefits have no built-in expiration date. As long as your injury remains documented and your condition hasn’t resolved, you are entitled to continue receiving medical care and, where applicable, wage-loss compensation. FECA cases cannot be “settled” or closed out with a lump-sum payout the way state workers’ comp cases can — your benefits continue for as long as you need them.
The tradeoff is that you must continue treating and providing documentation. If you stop seeing your doctor or if your medical records go silent, OWCP may interpret that as a recovery and move to reduce your benefits. This is why maintaining a relationship with a provider who understands the OWCP system is so important — not just in the early months, but for as long as your claim is active. We stay with our patients for the long haul, because that’s what this system requires.
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