Mileage – NH Workers’ Compensation – If you are an injured employee receiving New Hampshire workers’ compensation benefits, you are entitled to reimbursement of your mileage to and from medical appointments. Specifically, you are generally entitled to mileage reimbursement for all trips you take to receive medical treatment that is reasonable and related to your work injury, as well as trips you take to attend Independent Medical Examinations scheduled by the workers’ compensation carrier.
Mileage Reimbursement
The mileage reimbursement rate is currently 53.5 cents per mile. The New Hampshire Department of Labor generally adjusts this rate on January 1 of each year.
Itemization of Mileage
In order to ensure that you receive all the mileage reimbursement that you are due, you should submit an itemization of your mileage on a monthly basis to the adjuster on your claim. Under the New Hampshire Department of Labor regulations, the carrier has 30 days from the date the carrier receives your mileage reimbursement request to issue a payment or deny the request. If the carrier fails to act on your request within 30 days, you should contact the New Hampshire Department of Labor for assistance. The Department can force the carrier to act and may impose a fine on the carrier for failing to adhere to the Department of Labor regulations.
If the carrier denies the mileage reimbursement request, you can appeal the denial of the request to the New Hampshire Department of Labor within 18 months of the date of the carrier’s denial, and the Department will schedule a hearing. If the basis for the carrier’s denial is the relatedness of the medical treatment to the work injury, you will need to prove the relatedness of the medical treatment to the work injury through competent medical evidence. If the basis for the carrier’s denial is the reasonableness of the travel, you will have to present some evidence that there is a reasonable medical advantage in traveling to a certain physician, or a lack of opportunity locally that justifies travel to a physician outside the area.
If you need assistance with a workers’ compensation issue, you should consult with an attorney experienced in representing workers’ compensation claimants such as Benjamin King at Douglas, Leonard & Garvey, P.C. Attorney King can be reached at (603) 288-1403.