CA-7 Claim for Compensation: What Injured Federal Workers Should Know

What the CA-7 Claim for Compensation Is

The CA-7 is the form injured federal workers use to claim compensation for wage loss under FECA. Filing the claim forms that open a case is one thing; the CA-7 is how you actually get paid when your accepted injury keeps you off work or on reduced hours. Core Medical Center provides the physician documentation that CA-7 claims depend on, as part of federal injury care in Blue Springs serving the Greater Kansas City metro.

In short: the CA-7 claims compensation for wages lost to your accepted work injury. It is typically filed when continuation of pay ends after a traumatic injury, or from the start for occupational disease claims, and it must be backed by current medical evidence of disability.

Five Things to Know Before You File

1. The CA-7 pays wage loss, not medical bills. Authorized treatment for an accepted claim is billed to the Department of Labor separately. The CA-7 covers the paycheck side.
2. Timing follows continuation of pay. After a traumatic injury reported on a CA-1, continuation of pay covers up to 45 calendar days. When it ends and you are still disabled, the CA-7 is the next step. Occupational disease claims filed on a CA-2 have no continuation of pay, so wage loss starts with the CA-7.
3. Intermittent time needs a CA-7a. Partial days, therapy appointments and reduced schedules are itemized on the time analysis form so nothing claimed is unsupported.
4. Medical evidence carries the claim. The Department of Labor pays compensation for disability the medical record establishes. A current CA-20 attending physician’s report and consistent CA-17 duty status documentation are what make the claimed hours credible.
5. Filing is usually electronic. Most agencies process claims through ECOMP, the Department of Labor’s portal, and your agency completes its portion after you submit yours. Official forms and guidance live on the DOL OWCP site.

Where CA-7 Claims Go Wrong

The most common problems we see are documentation gaps, not eligibility problems: a disability period with no physician report covering it, restrictions on file that contradict the hours claimed, or a stale medical record that has not been updated since the claim opened. Because our medical, therapy and rehabilitation teams work under one roof, the treatment record and the duty status reporting stay aligned, which is exactly what a wage-loss claim needs behind it.

If your CA-7 or the medical evidence behind it has been questioned or denied, our OWCP Claims Assistance service rebuilds that evidence, and the OWCP Forms Library explains how each form in your file fits together.

The Medical Side, Handled

We do not decide compensation, the Department of Labor does. What we do is keep your medical evidence current, objective and consistent, so your wage-loss claim stands on solid documentation. Bring your claim number and your agency’s forms, and your provider will take it from there. Same-week appointments are typically available, and treatment for an accepted claim is billed through the Department of Labor rather than to you. For the full treatment picture, start with our OWCP Doctor page.