Which statement accurately describes a medical-only claim?

• A. No indemnity payments have been made
• B. Indemnity payments must be made promptly
• C. Indemnity is paid only after a hearing
• D. Indemnity payments exceed medical costs

Answer: (A)

Medical-only claims are when the worker’s injury requires medical treatment but does not cause wage loss or disability. In California workers’ comp, indemnity benefits are wage replacement for temporary or permanent disability. If the injury does not create disability, there’s no wage loss to replace, so no indemnity payments are made. That’s why the statement describing a medical-only claim is that no indemnity payments have been made.

The other ideas don’t fit because indemnity benefits are not guaranteed or required in every medical-only situation, they’re tied to disability and wage loss; hearings aren’t a prerequisite for indemnity payments, and indemnity is not determined by medical costs but by the presence and extent of disability.