Category Archives: Workers’ Compensation
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION: FAMILY MEMBERS CAN BE PAID!
In certain serious Workers’ Compensation cases, it is possible to have family members (usually the injured worker’s spouse) paid to take care of the injured worker. Typically this requires a physician to recommend some form of nursing care and/or Home Health care. If it is determined that the Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier will or… Read More »
WHEN TO RETAIN A WORKERS COMPENSATION ATTORNEY
BY: ROBIN STEELE, PARALEGAL TO RICHARD H. IRWIN, ESQ. If you’ve suffered a workplace injury and are wondering whether to hire a Workers’ Compensation attorney, the answer depends on the severity of your injury and the overall complexity of your case. The moment any complexity is introduced into your case is the moment you… Read More »
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION SETTLEMENTS IN SERIOUS INJURY CASES HITTING HIGH MARKS
With each passing year it seems as if, despite the constraints of the California Workers’ Compensation system, we are able to settle many cases in the high six-figure, and at times, seven-figure range. This is in large part due to the nature of the injuries sustained by the injured worker (which are often considered… Read More »
SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR WORKERS COMPENSATION CLAIM
PART ONE: HOW TO RUIN YOUR “COMP” CASE Workers’ Compensation insurance carriers often hire private investigators to determine whether you are as injured as badly as you claim to be. With social media sites like Facebook, defense attorneys often do not even need private investigators to try and turn a trier of fact against… Read More »
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION RECOVERY WITHOUT AN IMPAIRMENT RATING
When an examining physician finds an injured worker to have received reasonable treatment to help cure an injury, and determines that no further treatment will help improve the condition, the employee is considered stable, as the condition has reached a medical plateau. The employee will then be deemed Permanent & Stationary, or considered to… Read More »
Hospitals Are Hazardous Workplaces
Typically, when one thinks of a hazardous work environment they may think of construction site or manufacturing plants. But not many would think of a hospital as a dangerous place for its employees. Unfortunately, recent findings show that hospitals are in fact one of the most hazardous places to work. According to an online… Read More »
It’s a Crazy System
Currently, in most California Workers’ Compensation cases you are required to treat with a physician within the insurance carriers Medical Provider Network (MPN) – their list of doctor? Then, when a physician, within the defendant insurance carriers MPN, seeks authorization for a specific type of treatment, said request typically is then sent by the… Read More »
Labor Unions and Workers’ Compensation
American labor unions have seen a quick decline in membership for years, but a recent report shows that the diminishing membership has halted, for now. The amount of American workers who belong to labor unions stayed the same in 2013, at 11.3% according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. According to a recent… Read More »
ASBESTOS – AN OLD ENEMY STILL EXISTS!
For years, many individuals in our workforce worked around or in buildings where asbestos or asbestos products were present. This exposure was often associated with the construction industry – such that builders, electricians, plumbers, pipe-fitters, insulation installers were often exposed to asbestos. And, this is just the short list. In certain tragic cases, this… Read More »
POPCORN LUNG DISEASE
About 15 years ago, workers in plants making microwave popcorn began experiencing symptoms including dry coughing, shortness of breath, and wheezing. For many, a diagnosis of Bronchiolitis obliterans, a lung disease where the sufferer’s breathing is constricted due to scarring of the bronchioles (airways), soon followed. Bronchiolitis obliterans, now commonly known as “popcorn lung,”… Read More »
