Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/83215
c) If you do not receive an Award or Order to pay, good cause exists for the 20% penalty to be waived by the Commission. Payment must go to the claimant, and not his attorney, unless the Award specifically provided for it to be paid and sent to the office of counsel. Sending a payment to counsel could result in penalties if not timely given to the claimant. The 20% penalty most often arises out of one of three situations: 1. 2. 3. The payment falls off diary because an adjuster is unexpectedly out of the office; An Order is received from the Commission or Appellate Courts, but was not timely paid; or A case settled but the proceeds were not timely paid on time. The statute provides that the payment is late if made more than 14 days after it became due. However, there is an exception to this rule for Orders and decisions that can be appealed. In that situation, the 14 day period is extended by the appeal period. For example, after a Deputy Commissioner or Full Commission Opinion, there is a 30 day appeal period. Adding the 14 days, you will have 44 days to pay. A different situation arises after a Court of Appeals decision. There, payment is late if issued more than 14 days after the Court issues the mandate or certified order. The Court will issue its decision in the case. Typically, the Court waits for the expiration of the appeal period to take the case to the Supreme Court of Virginia (30 days), and then issues a mandate or certified order. Once that document comes out, the clock is ticking. The deadline is not from receipt of the mandate or Order, it is from issuance. Additionally, sometimes it is not exactly 30 days, so it is safer to just pay as soon as an unfavorable opinion is received than try to time the payment.