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Showing posts with label Trauma (medicine). Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trauma (medicine). Show all posts

Saturday, August 4, 2012

What Workers Should Do In Case of a Hurricane

Credit: National Hurricane Center
Workers' Compensation insurance provides benefits if an employee is injured because of because of a hurricane. Preparing for a hurricane is important, and that should include reporting work related injuries to your employer and/or insurance company.


While NIOSH has alerted all of us to the dangers of a hurricane, "....Storm and flood cleanup activities can be hazardous. Workers and volunteers involved with flood cleanup should be aware of the potential dangers involved, and the proper safety precautions. Work-related hazards that could be encountered include: electrical hazards, Carbon Monoxide, musculoskeletal hazards, heat stress, motor vehicles, hazardous materials, fire, confined spaces and falls."


Should a worker suffer any injuries then they should seek medical care at once, and report the incident to their employer. Prepare ahead and take your employer's contact information and workers' compensation insurance information with you so you are prepared to provide to authorities and your employer the facts to process your claim without delay.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Monday, September 12, 2011

Workers Compensation Do It Yourselfers Get Help

Workers Compensation claims can be complicated and difficult so some states offer assistance to those who want to handle their own cases. Minnesota is the latest in a series of jurisdictions to offer assistance to both injured workers and employers.

The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has established a new Office of Workers' Compensation Ombudsman to provide advice and assistance to employees and small businesses.

"Our goal is to help injured workers and small businesses who are having problems navigating the workers' compensation system," said Ken Peterson, DLI commissioner. "The ombudsman will complement the other services provided by our agency's Safety and Workers' Compensation Division and will be an additional resource for parties who need in-depth help in resolving problems they encounter in the workers' compensation system."

Various stakeholders have long sought an ombudsman function to help injured workers who are often at a disadvantage because they know very little about how the sometimes complex benefit entitlement system works in workers' compensation. In February 2009, after studying DLI's oversight of workers' compensation, the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor issued a report that encouraged the establishment of an ombudsman function to "help those injured workers who are overwhelmed with the workers' compensation process."

The ombudsman assists injured workers by:
  • providing advice and information to help them protect their rights and to pursue a claim;
  • contacting claims adjusters and other parties to help resolve disputes;
  • assisting in preparing for settlement negotiations or mediation; and
  • making appropriate referrals to other agencies or entities when further resources are needed.

The ombudsman assists small businesses by:
  • providing information regarding what to do when an employee reports an injury;
  • directing them to appropriate resources for assistance in obtaining and resolving issues regarding workers' compensation insurance; and
  • responding to questions pertaining to employers' responsibilities under Minnesota's workers' compensation law.
Hopefully more states will recognize that their to assist employees and employers in what has become a very complicated process. The Minnesotta effort will go along way to relieve stress and anxiety for everyone involved in the process.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.


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Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Turning Over in Bed Not Compensable Event

A NJ Workers' Compensation Court has held that turning over in bed to shut off an alarm clock, an act that aggravating a pre-existing back injury, was not a compensable workers' compensation event. The Court held that the subsequent event, turning in bed, was an intervening, superseding event unrelated to the original work related accident.

The Court enunciated that in workers' compensation claims the injured worker has the burden of proof to establish the causal relationship of the subsequent event to the prior event. This "bridging" of causal relationship is well defined in the law of torts under the so-called "but for rule." The second event, turning in bed, was considered an unrelated intentional act and not compensable.

Judge Philip A. Tornetta stated in his opinion, "... There was not a scintilla of evidence to refute the fact that petitioner’s turning in bed was nothing more than an innocent, unintentional act , which no doctor had restricted him from doing."

Ippolitto v County of Bergen, et al., NJ Division of Workers' Compensation, CP 2007-25283, 2010-17376, Decided August 1, 2011.

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Friday, September 2, 2011

When the Boss Calls

The use of cells phones while driving still remains a serious problem as drivers continue to ignore laws throughout the country. Unenforced and unenforceable laws throughout the nation aren't meeting the well intentioned goal of restricting their use. A major excuse is the need to use it for work and my "boss" required the employee to use it.

The epidemic of distracted driving continues to spread. Economic consequences are not yet frequent enough and severe enough to change the culture of abuse. Industry still hasn't taken the bold steps required to solve the problem.

Even though the genie of the "car phone" is out of the bottle, carefully engineered technology can resolve the problem. The same companies that brought us the unhealthy combination of cell phones and distracted driving can engineer the cure.

Employers seem to lack the economic motivation to take action. Employers who insit on their use for employment reasons can be compared to those employers who remove a machine guard to increase production at the cost of injury. It is senseless and tragic to insist that employees are required to us cellphones for employment. It is time that mandatory technology safeguards be implemented to curb abuse and avoid trajic and unnecessary accidents.
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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

What Hurricane Relief Volunteers Need to Know About Workers Compensation

Hurricane relief volunteers are entitled to workers compensation benefits for injuries and illnesses that occurred as a result of their participation in relief efforts. In order to claim those benefits injured volunteers need to make sure that they follow some simple steps.

1. Make sure that they establish an employment relationship for the agency or company conducting the relief work. In other words, the volunteer, even if earning no money, must be an employee of the the company conducting the rescue and/or relief effort. The best evidence would be a written agreement that the worker is to be considered an employee of the company. 

2. Report to the report if an accident or injury occurs arising out of and in the course of the employment. This report should be made as quickly as possible following the event or manifestation of illness. This should be followed up immediate with a written communication to the employer advising that an injury or illness occurred and that medical treatment, if necessary, is being sought.

3. Record the names and addresses witnesses to the even or exposure.

4. Seek medical care if required. If it is an emergency and you are unable to first notify your employer, seek medical attention first and then report the event. Most emergency rooms will record your event history and notify your employer, but that is not always the case. Therefore, advise your employer where and when you sought emergency medical care as soon as possible.

5. If you are advised by a medical profession to stay out of work, then obtain that information in writing. Make a copy of the lost time order and give the copy to your employer.

6. See the advice of an attorney at law familiar with workers' compensation matters since volunteer work in emergency situations produced a lot of complication issues. Those issue are inherited from the chaos and complications that occur in the wake of a major natural disaster such as a hurricane.

Volunteering for the hurricane relief effort is a noble gesture. Workers, in the emotional haste to assist, must also insure that they remain insured for workers' compensation benefits.
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
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Wednesday, August 24, 2011

What to Do During an Earthquake

Workers' Compensation provides for benefits for workers who suffer injuries, physical and emotional, from natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods, storms. The recent earthquake in the northeast US highlights that workers become aware of what to do in case a hurricane strikes.

Stay as safe as possible during an earthquake. Be aware that some earthquakes are actually foreshocks and a larger earthquake might occur. Minimize your movements to a few steps to a nearby safe place and if you are indoors, stay there until the shaking has stopped and you are sure exiting is safe.
If indoors

DROP to the ground; take COVER by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture; and HOLD ON until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.

Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.

Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.

Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.

Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.

Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.

DO NOT use the elevators.

If outdoors

Stay there.

Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.

Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

If trapped under debris

Do not light a match.

Do not move about or kick up dust.

Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.

Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

Following the earthquake, if you have suffered an injury, physical and emotional, seek medical attention and provide a report to your employer that you have been injured and seek workers' compensation benefits.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
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Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Medical Providers Barred From Lawsuits Against Employers for Benefits

A NJ Appellate Court, in an unreported decision, ruled that medical providers are barred from filing a civil action against an employer for medical services provided to an injured worker. The medical provider must bring the claim before the Division of Workers' Compensation which has exclusive jurisdiction over benefits.

This decision, while permitting contractual issues to be decided in a civil action, is consistent with a prior NJ Supreme Court ruling barring a collection action outside of workers' compensation directly against an injured worker for medical treatment.

The Valley Hospital v L.Q. Management, 2011 WL 3425591 (N.J.Super.A.D.) Decided August 8, 2011. (Not Approved for Publication)

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.

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Saturday, August 6, 2011

An Employer Is Responsible To Compensate For Pain

A NJ Appellate Court, in a dramatic reversal of a compensation judge's dismissal of a case, held that "an employer is responsible to compensate" an injured worker for pain.  The reviewing court held that, "...the judge misapplied some standards bearing upon this case."

The trial judge's conduct, in baring the treating physician from testifying, was also cited as "a discretionary lapse." The trial judge's ruling was reversed and the case remanded for a hearing.

The case involved a long standing injury that required prolonged treatment for a chronic medical condition. The injury occurred in June of 1989 and was the subject of an Order Approving Settlement in January 2004 for 20% of partial total. That award was entered by another trial judge.

Even thought an Order had been entered by the prior trial judge for continued medical treatment and medication, the insurance company unilaterally terminated provision of those benefits without a court order. The claimant's attorney, George Goceljak, was required to file two motions for continued medical treatment and medication benefits. The trial court dismissed the case for lack of prosecution and then subsequently restored the matter for trial and then marked it "not moved" when a minimal one-cycle (3 week) adjournment was requested. Customarily, NJ workers' compensation cases are tried in piecemeal, every 3 to 6 weeks.

The trial judge then mandated that the trial should begin immediately on January 15, 2010, commenting that she was, "...not going to wait" any longer for the the claimant to proceed with his case. She denied a reconsideration of the application of the injured worker to allow the treating physician to testify, and then proceeded in a 5 month stagnated trial ultimately dismissing the case.

The NJ Appellate Division found, "the judge erred is using, out of its context, the simple thought that 'an employer is not required to compensate and employee for pain,' as a basis for denying this petitioner's application. The larger principle...is that, to the extent that a petitioner experiences continuing pain as a result of his work-connected injury, the employer for whom he worked at the time of the injury remains responsible.'"

Noto v. Staples, Inc.,  Docket No. A-0237-10T1, 2011 WL 3273921 (NJ App. Div. 2011) Decided August 2, 2010 
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Pulmonary Embolism Due to Sedentary Work Held Compensable

Workers' Compensation benefits were awarded for a pulmonary embolism causally related to sedentary work activity. A NJ Appellate Court awarded benefits for the development of a pulmonary embolism precipitated by the inactivity of sitting long hours at a desk job.

This is the second time that the Appellate Division review this matter. Previously it denied benefits for an "occupational exposure" type heart condition. This time the Court declared thst the pulmonary embolism as an ordinary cardiovascular incident triggered by a significant event, that being inactivity.

The reasoned, "The workers' compensation judge followed our instructions on remand and applied Section 7.2 which states that:

"In any claim for compensation for injury or death from a cardiovascular or cerebral vascular causes, the claimant shall prove by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the injury or death was produced by the work effort or strain involving a substantial condition, event or happening in excess of the wear and tear of the claimant's daily living and in reasonable medical probability caused in a material degree the cardiovascular or cerebral vascular injury or death resulting therefrom.
Material degree means an appreciable degree or a degree substantially greater than de minimus.
Thus, the question is whether Cathleen's lack of movement at work was more severe than her lack of movement in her daily living, and whether the inactivity at work caused her pulmonary embolism in a material way."

Renner v AT&T, A-2393-10T3, 2011 WL 2518781 (N.J.Super.A.D.) Decided June 28, 2011

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.
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Friday, May 6, 2011

Bilateral Carpal Tunnel Results in Workers' Compensation Total Disability

A NJ Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision awarding total disability workers' compensation benefits to an injured worker who suffers from bilateral carpal tunnel injuries. The 61 year old punch press operator was deemed unable to work as a result of the repetitive motion injury.

The trial court, on remand, found that that the injured worker was unemployable taking into consideration this injuries, and personal factors under the Odd Lot Doctrine, a law law that was adopted from the British common law. Additionally, the trial court , in accordance with NJ State statues, deemed that the loss of use of two major (hands) members, made the worker totally disabled.

The Appellate Division approved the award which also include additional fee to be assessed against the employer. The injured worker is eligible to receive benefits for the his entire life.

Rambough v. C.V. Hill Refrigeration, 2011 WL 1675195 (N.J.Super. A.D.) Decided May 5, 2011.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman  1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational accidents and illnesses.




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