CA-20 Attending Physician's Report Explained

What the CA-20 Attending Physician’s Report Is

The CA-20 is the form where your doctor goes on the record about your federal work injury: what the diagnosis is, what the findings show, what treatment you received, and whether the condition is connected to your federal employment. It is one of the most consequential documents in an OWCP claim file. Core Medical Center completes CA-20 reporting as part of physician-directed federal injury care in Blue Springs, serving federal employees across the Greater Kansas City metro.

In short: the CA-20 is your attending physician’s report to OWCP. Its most important line is the causal-connection statement, the doctor’s documented opinion on whether your condition was caused or aggravated by your federal job. Claims are routinely decided on the strength of that statement.

What the Form Covers

A complete CA-20 documents:

• The history of how the injury or condition occurred
• The diagnosis, supported by examination findings and any imaging
• The treatment provided and planned
• Periods of disability, meaning when you could not work because of the condition
• The physician’s opinion on causal relationship to your federal employment
• Prognosis and expected recovery

Each answer has to agree with the treatment notes, the CA-17 duty status reports and the rest of the claim file. Inconsistencies between forms are exactly what claims examiners flag.

The Causal-Connection Statement, Done Right

The Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs does not infer causation. A report that says only “patient has back pain” gives the Department of Labor nothing to accept. The medical opinion needs to state the diagnosis and connect it to the documented work event or duties, supported by objective findings. When the mechanism is aggravation of a pre-existing condition rather than a new injury, that distinction needs to be documented too, because FECA covers work-related aggravation when the evidence establishes it. Program details and official forms are available from the Department of Labor’s OWCP program.

This is the standard our providers write to on every federal case. It is also the first thing we review when a claim has been denied for insufficient medical evidence, work covered in depth on our OWCP Claims Assistance page.

When a CA-20 Comes Up in Your Claim

You will most often see the CA-20 requested:

1. With a wage-loss claim. The CA-7 claim for compensation is typically supported by a current CA-20 documenting the disability period.
2. When OWCP asks for medical evidence. Development letters frequently request an attending physician’s report addressing diagnosis and causation.
3. After a denial. A rebuilt CA-20 with objective findings and a clear causal opinion is often the centerpiece of a reconsideration request.

The OWCP Forms Library explains how the CA-20 fits alongside every other form in your file.

Get Your CA-20 Completed by an OWCP-Authorized Clinic

Bring your claim number, your accepted conditions if you have them, and any development letter from OWCP. Your provider evaluates you first, then completes the report so the documentation matches the examination. Treatment for an accepted OWCP claim is billed through the Department of Labor rather than to you, and same-week appointments are typically available in Blue Springs. If you need treatment as well as paperwork, start with our OWCP Doctor page.