There’s an insurance industry radio ad campaign currently running, containing the following warning: Don’t commit Workers’ Comp insurance fraud or you’ll end up in jail and you will shame your family. It’s clearly aimed at injured workers. I get it. What the public generally does NOT see is the other side of the coin…when insurance companies […]

Did you know that some nursing homes have bariatric wards where Certified Nurse’s Aides (CNA’s) must care for obese patients? What happens when, due to staffing issues, the direct caregivers get little or no co-worker assistance with these patients and must care for these extra-heavy patients alone?? And must at all times ensure that their […]

Do you know someone who has been injured or become seriously ill and has been unable to work? Which of these should they apply for? Sick time pay —–Vacation pay——-Workers’ Comp——- Social Security Disability —–Short-term Disability—– Long -term Disability—— Unemployment ??? Imagine your Holidays with no income coming in. Seriously ill and injured people can […]

In my new office’s  waiting room is a framed poster. It says The Labor Movement…The Folks That Brought You …Child Labor Laws….Health Benefits…Workers’ Comp….Equal Pay for Equal Work….The Weekend….(etc.). The poster also contains a quote: Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. (Frederick Douglass.) I love that poster. What’s […]

In a previous essay I wrote about Workers’ Compensation (WC)  permanent injury awards: “Permanent injuries to joints of the body, vision, and hearing, qualify for “schedule loss of use” awards regardless of whether a person is working or not“,  I explained. As a follow up to that, I can tell you that it has become very […]

Since July 1, 2010, the maximum weekly benefit rate for NY workers’ compensation  (WC) claimants has been floating from year to year. It is pegged to the date of accident—meaning, even if there are increases in later years, the maximum rate in your case stays the same: the max in effect on your date of accident. The […]

Clearly one of the biggest misconceptions about Workers’ Comp is that you have to be out of work to collect. That’s because most people have a limited understanding of what benefits are available. In New York, there are many situations where injured workers can collect workers comp money benefits even if they are working: Examples: […]

The Workers’ Compensation Board’s recent and ongoing “BPR Initiative” has asked injured workers several survey questions. Here is one: Question 7 asks “Who told you what to do to receive your benefits? You may choose more than one answer”.   Out of 5,623 responses, 3,579 (63.65%) responded Attorney, 1,178 (20.95%) responded Workers’ Compensation Board, 204 […]

My pet peeve of the week is New York employers who don’t assist their employees—and in fact obstruct them—from getting prompt, non-emergency medical care for injuries sustained at work- i.e., Workers’ Comp injuries. According to Section 51 of the Workers’ Compensation Law, employers must post a notice of workers’ compensation coverage (Form C-105) in a […]

In Workers’ Comp, personal injury, and other legal forums, insurance companies routinely hire “independent medical examiners” (IME’s) to defend the insurance company from the medical part of a claim. As you should know, IME’s are NOT independent. They are “hired guns” paid with insurance company money. Recently, a Supreme Court Judge blasted the conduct of […]