Blog
TWO YEARS OF COVID: HOW THE WORKERS’ COMP SYSTEM IS RESPONDING
We’ve previously written about the fact that work-related COVID can be covered by workers’ compensation and that essential workers who continued to work in person in 2020 and who contracted COVID should file for benefits. Unfortunately, far fewer workers filed for benefits at that time – and because there is a two-year time limitation to […]
Read More“INDEPENDENT” MEDICAL EXAMINERS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
An injured worker’s entitlement to wage loss benefits, compensation for permanent injury, medical treatment, prescription medication and more depends on their medical provider. In addition to providing medical care, a worker’s treating doctor must be familiar with the workers’ comp system and its reporting requirements in order for the injured worker to receive the benefits […]
Read MoreFEMALE DOCTORS IMPROVE WORKERS’ COMP OUTCOMES FOR FEMALE WORKERS
In the workers’ compensation system, an injured worker’s benefits depend heavily on medical evidence: the reports their doctor files, how familiar with their job and their injuries the doctor is, and most importantly the doctor’s disability opinion. It’s an adversarial system in which the worker’s treating doctor is often opposed by the employer or insurance […]
Read MoreAPPEALS COURT MAINTAINS THAT COMPENSATION SHOULD BE PAID FOR PERMANENT LIMB INJURIES REGARDLESS OF WORK STATUS
When a worker injures their head, neck or back, the only compensation the Workers’ Compensation Law provides is payment for lost wages due to disability and medical coverage. As a result, if the worker is out of work for reasons that have nothing to do with the disability, no wage loss benefits are payable – […]
Read MoreHIGH COURT ALLOWS FULL COMPENSATION FOR MULTIPLE PERMANENT INJURIES TO A LIMB
For many years, business and insurance interests have been campaigning to reduce or eliminate the compensation that an injured worker can receive for permanent injury to a limb – arm, leg, hand, foot, finger or toe (also vision loss, hearing loss, and facial disfigurement). Since 2016, their efforts have received a favorable reception from the […]
Read MoreLABOR MARKET ATTACHMENT
When an injured worker is partially disabled, the Workers’ Compensation Board will generally require them to look for work within their medical restrictions. This is often referred to as “proof of labor market attachment.” In the Board’s view, if a person has the ability to do some kind of work and does not make an […]
Read MoreWORK ACTIVITY AND SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY
People sometimes think that applying for Social Security Disability benefits means that they can never go back to work, or that going back to work in any capacity means they will lose their benefits. Neither of those things is true. In general, Social Security Disability benefits are payable to people who are “insured” (have an […]
Read MoreWORKERS’ COMP AND MEDICAL EVIDENCE
When someone is out of work because of an on-the-job injury their two top priorities are getting medical treatment and being paid for lost wages. In the workers’ compensation system, both of those things depend on medical evidence, in the form of a doctor’s opinion. Workers sometimes believe that a test result, a visible injury, […]
Read MoreTHE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT (FMLA)
The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) entitles eligible employees of covered employers to take unpaid, job-protected leave for specified family and medical reasons with continuation of group health insurance coverage under the same terms and conditions as if the employee had not taken leave. Eligible employees are entitled to twelve workweeks of leave […]
Read MoreTALKING TO YOUR EMPLOYER AFTER AN ACCIDENT
When someone is injured on the job, it’s important for them to know what they MUST talk to their employer about, what they SHOULD talk to the employer about, and what they SHOULDN’T talk to the employer about. Those are three different things – and the picture can become even more complicated if the employer […]
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