TWCC IMPOSES NEARLY $2M IN FINES:

The Texas Workers’ Compensation Commission issued penalties totaling almost $2 million between Sept. 1, 2003 and Aug. 31, 2004, for administrative violations committed by system participants. A total of 2,195 Notices of Violation (NOVs) were issued during the 2004 Fiscal Year amounting to $1,981,686 in penalties. Out of the funds collected from these penalties, the initial $100,000 is appropriated to the Commission while the remainder goes to the state’s general fund as required by the General Appropriations Act. Of the NOVs issued, 85 percent were sent to insurance carriers for administrative violations. These violations included late payment of income benefits to injured workers. Thirteen percent of the NOVs were issued to health care providers for violations such as late filing of required reports. The remaining 2 percent of the NOVs were issued to other system participants. Summaries of enforcement activities by the Commission’s Compliance and Practices Division are posted on the Commission’s Web site at: www.twcc.state.tx.us, under “Fraud and Enforcement.”