West Virginia Offices of the Insurance Commissioner 2009 Annual ...

Non-Workers’ Compensation Matters:
Third Party Claims Arising under the Unfair Trade Practices Act: Pursuant to W.Va.
Code §§33-11-4a(h) and §33-2-10, the OIC receives complaints arising from alleged
unfair methods of competition or unfair or deceptive acts or practices of insurance
policies and insurance contracts, except workers’ compensation insurance. The Office
of Judges has been designated as at least one responsible entity to conduct hearings,
receive evidence, briefs, memoranda or motions and issue a recommendation to the
Insurance Commissioner. The Commissioner will enter a final order following the
hearing. The hearing will be conducted in accordance with the West Virginia
Administrative Procedures Act.
WV Health Care Authority: Pursuant to Executive Order No. 3-99, the Office of Judges
is designated as the entity to review final decisions of the West Virginia Health Care
Authority with regard to their final written decisions on matters related to certificates of
need for new institutional health services and to rate setting of hospitals pursuant to
West Virginia Code §16-2D-1, et seq. and §16-29B-1, et. seq. The review is conducted
in accordance with the West Virginia Administrative Procedures Act.
In the wake of the statutory reforms enacted in 2003, and the onset of privatization in 2005, the volume
of litigation before the Office of Judges substantially decreased. While litigation continues to decline,
it is declining at a less rapid pace than in prior years.
I. Recent Initiatives
Recent initiatives at the Office of Judges have been aimed at adapting the operation to better
serve West Virginia’s newly-privatized workers’ compensation market. In Fiscal Year 2010, the Office
of Judges continued to make improvements to our work product with regard to quality and efficiency,
including continued improvements in our goal of creating a Judge-centered system that recognizes the
unique elements of each case and addresses the growing complexity of the issues placed in litigation.
We believe these changes will improve the overall degree of satisfaction of the litigants participating in
the appeals system.
The OOJ continues to work in the area of public outreach and provides a statistical report to the
Workers’ Compensation Industrial Council on a monthly basis, as well as provides a monthly update
on litigation trends to the Workers’ Compensation Committee of the West Virginia State Bar. Also in
FY 2010, the Office of Judges held legal workshops in Charleston and Morgantown. These workshops
are designed to provide the workers’ compensation practitioner with pertinent information related to
practicing before the Office of Judges, including litigation statistics, updates on the law and procedural
practice pointers.
In FY 2010, the Office of Judges successfully consolidated operations in our Charleston office
by incorporating the hearing venue, previously separate from our main office, into our primary office
space. The old hearing space was relinquished back to the building owner, resulting in additional
financial savings. The new hearing rooms were upgraded with traditional courtroom style furniture, as
well as modern recording equipment. We believe these improvements will lead to greater satisfaction
in the litigation process. The increased decorum assists our office in expressing to our litigants that
judicial review is a serious matter and that they always receive substantial due process when appealing
their workers’ compensation matter to the Office of Judges.
142