I received a letter from the workers comp board saying that my previous employer that the statutory intrest is to be paid on my past due claim..I have not received a payment in 2 years..my previous employer did file an appeal and it was denied..
If payment was ordered by a Workers' Compensation Judge, and the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board did not grant "Supersedeas" (permission for the insurance carrier) to not pay, then the insurance carrier may be violating the law and a Penalty Petition may be necessary. If you already have an attorney, you should discuss this with your attorney. If not, you should get an attorney.
"Statutory interest" is paid at the rate of ten percent per annum on amounts of compensation that are past due. If you have remained out of work, or you are working with earnings less than your pre-injury average weekly wage, the Board's award should mean that you are owed benefits for your wage loss resulting from the injury, in addition to statutory interest. As my colleague points out, if "supersedeas" was not granted at the time of appeal to the Board (it rarely is), the employer/workers compensation insurance carrier should have been paying you all along. A Penalty Petition would not only force this issue, but could also result in penalties against the employer/insurance company in an amount of up to 50% of any past-due benefits and interest, if the delay in paying you compensation was unreasonable and excessive. The mere fact that they were waiting for an appeal decision would NOT make the delay in payment reasonable. If you like, you may call me for a free consultation so I can learn more about your situation and give you information on what your rights are. See contact information at my websites.
Your question raises more several issues and I don't want to assume any facts. The best thing you can do is speak to your lawyer, if you have one. If not, you need one. Please feel free to contact my office to discuss further.
