What is an Age of Injury Report?
An Age of Injury Report (AOI) is typically used in workers’ compensation medical claims to estimate the time frame in which an injury occurred. An age of injury report helps determine whether an injury is recent, healing, or older. This information can be crucial in determining a workplace injury and if the worker’s condition is pre-existing or work-related.
What are the elements of a good Age of Injury Report?
Age of injury reports are important for all stakeholders of a workplace claim including the injured worker, employer, claims administrator, and treating physician. A good AOI report can include:
- Imaging Analysis: MRI’s, X-rays, and/or CT Scans show fractures, inflammation and the stages of healing.
- Medical Examination Findings: The report should include the degree of bruising, swelling, tissue response and healing patterns.
- Histological Analysis: When needed, this analysis, done with microscopic examination, examines and explains tissue changes over time.
- Expert Interpretation: At BICMD our physicians give their expert opinion and provide an accurate estimate of the injuries likely time of occurrence.
How does an Age of Injury Report save time and cost in workers’ compensation claims?
The age of injury is crucial in workers’ compensation claims because it helps determine the following:
- Is the injury work-related, or is it pre-existing?
- Older injuries show signs of prior damage and subsequent healing. This may determine if the injury was caused by work related activities.
- Timely reporting:
- Did the employee report their injury in a timely manner, as required by their employer? Claims may be denied if the injury occurred long before the report.
- Liability and Cause of Injury:
- Workers’ compensation cases are strengthened if the injury appears recent and aligns with the timeline reported incident
- If medical evaluation indicates the injury is old, or occurred long before the incident report, the claim may be denied.
- Workers’ Compensation Benefits:
- The severity of a workplace injury, as well as the timing of reporting, strongly impact the compensation amounts, medical coverage and other wage-loss benefits.
How does an Age of Injury (AOI) report help the workers’ compensation claims process?
If an employee is injured on the job and the age of injury is being questioned, an expert AOI, done by one of our Best In Class Doctors (BICMD) will help determine liability. We do this by:
- Expert examination of medical history:
- We look for prior injuries or conditions that could explain the worker’s symptoms or complaint.
- BICMD will examine prior medical records, looking for inconsistencies when compared to new records.
- Imaging and expert evaluation:
- We offer an unbiased independent medical evaluation (IME) to assess the injury’s age.
- Signs that show healing within the imaging suggest that the injury occurred prior to the reported incident. We can determine the age and progression of healing -vs- timeline of the reported incident.
- Identify possible insurance claims discrepancies:
- We look for prior injuries that may have caused the current injury. For example, a prior fracture that did not heal properly. We can also assess any congenital conditions that may have contributed to the injury.
How does an age of injury report save time?
An Age of Injury Report can save time in workers’ compensation claims by quickly establishing key facts about an injury, reducing delays, and helping all parties reach a resolution faster. BICMD’s AOI report does the following:
- Speeds up claims’ decisions
- Reduces disputes and added investigations
- Prevents unnecessary medical examinations and procedures
- Our quick turn-around helps claims adjusters settle the claim quickly
Why should you use BICMD for an Age of Injury Report?
BICMD (Best in Class MD) provides a non-biased, timely Age of Injury Report, done by board-certified specialists in the medical area needed for your specific case. We have proven expertise in orthopedics, radiology and neurology. Our fast turn-around time offers a quick and efficient way to get assessments remotely which helps reduce delays in workers’ compensation claims and saves money in the claims process. Call BICMD for your AOI report today!
