AEA Accident Report Vs. Workers Comp Forms

[Rebbe]

Is it appropriate to submit an AEA Accident Report preventatively?  As in a situation where an actor gets a minor injury and doesn’t want /need medical attention, but wants the incident to be “on file” with in case there are unforeseen complications from this down the road?  I seem to remember the workers comp forms being time sensitive, and if that’s the case, I don’t think just having the AEA form on file would help the actor get their treatment covered. 

[loebtmc]

Always note and report injuries, it protects both actor and producer. I have seen actors 1) injured off site or 2) choosing not to give an injury attention as needed and then trying to have the producer take medical responsibility OR have had producers try to wriggle out of things that, because I had noted them in the rehearsal or performance reports and submitted an injury report to AEA, had a paper trail. No one wants injuries, and no one wants them to affect future hiring or future health, and documentation is the solution.

[juliz1106]

I was actually hoping this topic would address an issue I recently encountered, which is more specifically related to using the AEA Accident Report vs. the Workers Comp form.

When I first joined Equity, an Accident Report was included in my kit, and I was able to make copies to have this form on hand.  Last fall, when a cast member was injured, I realized I didn't have any of these forms in my kit and went online to download it.  That's when I realized that this form has changed and no longer applies to me, or my casts, and that I was out of luck with reporting injuries to the Union.  The reason for this is that for some reason the new form very specifically states "Broadway, Off-Broadway, and LORT only,"  and is now simply a list of injuries to be filed weekly.  So, in order to file this one injury for my actor, I went online and downloaded my state's Worker's Comp form and made a bunch of copies of that instead, because how else was I to make a record of this (or any other) injury?

Why is it that only NYC and LORT Equity Companies have access to an Accident Report now?  Why are the rest of Equity's contracts no longer allowed to file Accident Reports with the Union?   It seems strange to me that Equity would suddenly no longer want to know about the status of injuries in Companies under AEA's numerous other Agreements and Codes.  I found this especially strange because the "Injury/Illness Report Cover Letter" (also downloadable) doesn't mention the restrictive nature of the reports, and seems concerned with the recent uptick in injuries - which is not exclusive to Production, Off-Broadway, and LORT Contracts, by the way.

This incident also led me to realize how naive I might have been to rely on Equity's form all these years anyway, as my state's Injury Report was much more specific, and would probably lead to faster reconciliation of Worker's Comp issues.  After all, this is a form that more employers are familiar with, and the information required for it would be missing from the form Equity provides.

While I find it a bit of an affront that Equity seems no longer interested in smaller contracts and their Companies' rate of injury, and though I can just fill out a regular Worker's Comp form instead, I would like to be able to report injuries to Equity like I always have.  I think Equity should know about the rate of injury with some of the smaller contracts, as I know that it can affect contract negotiations.

Anyone have any idea what launched this change, and why us little folks are now left out of the system?

[MatthewShiner]

In reality, state by state workman's comp forms are specific for that state.  Reporting to the union has nothing to do with workman's comp, that insurance process - but rather just a report of the injury - for tracking purposes - like any other violation of AEA rules.

[ReyYaySM]

There is still an AEA accident form that is not contract specific in the Deputy packets.  You can find it in the documents library on the AEA website.

[juliz1106]

Does it seem strange to anyone else that the Deputy would be the only one to have access to an Accident Report (at least outside of NYC and LORT)?

It's assumed that the SM is the one with necessary paperwork for emergencies, and I haven't often seen my Deputies bringing their Deputy packets around with them in order to have that paperwork handy.

[loebtmc]

this is a long-standing discussion - since yes, the SM shd have it in his/her kit instead (we end up doing all the filling-out anyway

[VSM]

I will bring this up at the next Stage Manager Committee meeting.
I agree it should be in both places...

[hbelden]

Aren't we supposed to write down injuries on the back of the weekly report, the one that we only fill out if there's a violation?  (I don't know for sure, as I haven't yet been in a company that had a violation to report.)

[ReyYaySM]

There is no document in the current SM packet that relates to work sustained injuries other than the one that is exclusive to New York and is a check list of what to do and is not a form to file with AEA.  There is no indication on the weekly report form that injuries should be listed on the back of the form. 

[Rebbe]

In reality, state by state workman's comp forms are specific for that state.  Reporting to the union has nothing to do with workman's comp, that insurance process - but rather just a report of the injury - for tracking purposes - like any other violation of AEA rules.

OK, that's what I was thinking.  I feel like it would be helpful to have something in the SM packet giving a little more guidance about how to handle accident reporting.  Since the AEA form doesn’t go to the producer, they don’t know there is an injury unless you notify them separately, and I’m not sure actors, or deputies, understand this.  I think actors are reluctant to file workers comp claims for “I scraped my hand during the transition,” because they don’t want to put the producer out (though I think filing the initial report is pretty harmless as there’s no money spent unless they actually need treatment).  As an SM, it can be tough to be in the middle of this where I think they need the workers comp forms to really have a safety net if their injury worsens, but they only want to file with Equity. 

Yes, we can talk to company or production management about how they handle injuries, but it’s an awkward situation because the producer may have their own reasons to prefer that we don’t file. Having something to point to and say “Equity recommends filing workers comp for any injury where an accident report is filed” could clarify that this is in the actors’ best interest.

[VSM]

The Equity form is currently in the Deputy Packet.
We are working on getting it included in the SM packet as well.

[hbelden]

I just found the reference I half-remembered.  In the SM Packet, the first page is "Stage Manager General Information."  In the paragraph headed "Accident or Injury", it reads: "Please report all accidents or injuries to Equity on the back of your Stage Manager’s Weekly Report Forms. Also, please be sure the Deputy fills out the Accident Report Form included in the Deputy kit."

Has anyone ever done this?

[nmno]

[ I feel like it would be helpful to have something in the SM packet giving a little more guidance about how to handle accident reporting.  Since the AEA form doesn’t go to the producer, they don’t know there is an injury unless you notify them separately, and I’m not sure actors, or deputies, understand this.  I think actors are reluctant to file workers comp claims for “I scraped my hand during the transition,” because they don’t want to put the producer out (though I think filing the initial report is pretty harmless as there’s no money spent unless they actually need treatment).  <cut>

Yes, we can talk to company or production management about how they handle injuries, but it’s an awkward situation because the producer may have their own reasons to prefer that we don’t file. Having something to point to and say “Equity recommends filing workers comp for any injury where an accident report is filed” could clarify that this is in the actors’ best interest.

Filing a report, whether or not the actor seeks medical treatment DOES cost the company - it drives up the cost of their insurance (the insurer sees it as a higher potential for executed claims).  This is why some producers only file if they really think the actor is going to need treatment.  However, that's a a gamble they take because if they don't file and the actor does later need medical attention, they have other problems (insurance companies have issues with you filing retroactively and if the producers try too often to do that, the insurers will see what they are up to and their cost still goes up.)  Therefore, some producers just go ahead and file for everything - I'm sure the nature of the show and possible injuries also play a factor into this decision.  I think each producer is different in how they want to handle it and I'm guessing Equity's lawyers aren't going to let them give us specific guidelines -  if they were, it would probably be in a rulebook.  They have us report injuries to them, so they can follow up with the actors, make sure they are being taken care of and deal with the producers case-by-case as necessary.

If I have a producer like the former, I have 2 forms: 1 is the state's for (eg, C-2) and 1 is MY form, which is filed with me and the Co Mgr.  Perhaps the injury seems like nothing: actor trips and tweaks his ankle, doesn't feel pain and shakes it off. Doesn't want to fill out a C2, (*Sometimes actors are resistant to filing because they don't want to be seen as trouble, or an expense*) but I can usually convince them to take the time to fill out MY form.  Now, the actor wakes up in the am with pain and swelling and needs a doctor: the info is already in the Co Mgr office and s/he can file with workers comp based on the info from my form.

My most recent shows, I've sent in the weekly injury report/grid to Equity (didn't realize it was only for Lort or higher but that's what I've been working on)