Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Workers Compensation, Pensions and Bankruptcy
The rush to offset everything from workers compensation awards, including pensions, may cause some injured workers, to their longterm detriment, not to pursue a compensation claim. Should the pension be compromised in the future for lack of funding, as what is happening in a municipality in Rhode Island, then the injured worker maybe unable to seek workers' compensation because of a waiver for failing to file a claim originally. Injured workers and the attorneys may need to rethink their strategy for workers compensation.
Incorrect Offset of Temporary Benefits
The incorrect offset of temporary Workers' Compensation benefits is not the basis for an interlocutory appeal ruled a NJ Appellate Court.
"Appellant Linda Scott appeals from a determination by the Judge of Compensation that her former employer, the County of Bergen (Bergen), is entitled to an offset pursuant to the provisions of N .J.S.A. 34:15-43 and N.J.S.A. 34:15-29, permitting Bergen to avoid the payment of temporary compensation benefits to appellant due to her receipt of an ordinary disability retirement pension from the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS). We dismiss this appeal as interlocutory because it does not present an issue that should be decided at this time and no application for leave to appeal was filed. R. 2:2-4.
"Leave to appeal was not sought nor does appellant argue such leave should be granted. Scott is receiving the ordinary disability pension; thus, the lack of additional funds from a temporary disability payment does not leave her destitute. This appeal neither presents a situation where the interests of justice require us to rule on the merits nor does it address a legal issue of general importance likely to recur often.
Scott v The County of Bergen, Not Reported in A.3d, 2011 WL 2651957 (N.J.Super.A.D.)
"Appellant Linda Scott appeals from a determination by the Judge of Compensation that her former employer, the County of Bergen (Bergen), is entitled to an offset pursuant to the provisions of N .J.S.A. 34:15-43 and N.J.S.A. 34:15-29, permitting Bergen to avoid the payment of temporary compensation benefits to appellant due to her receipt of an ordinary disability retirement pension from the Police and Firemen's Retirement System (PFRS). We dismiss this appeal as interlocutory because it does not present an issue that should be decided at this time and no application for leave to appeal was filed. R. 2:2-4.
"Leave to appeal was not sought nor does appellant argue such leave should be granted. Scott is receiving the ordinary disability pension; thus, the lack of additional funds from a temporary disability payment does not leave her destitute. This appeal neither presents a situation where the interests of justice require us to rule on the merits nor does it address a legal issue of general importance likely to recur often.
Scott v The County of Bergen, Not Reported in A.3d, 2011 WL 2651957 (N.J.Super.A.D.)
Monday, July 11, 2011
The Debt Ceiling and Workers Compensation
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President Barack Obama talks with members of his staff in the Oval Office following a meeting with the Congressional Leadership, July 7, 2011. Pictured with the President, from left, are: Chief of Staff Bill Daley; Rob Nabors, Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs; Bruce Reed, Chief of Staff to the Vice President; National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling; Jason Furman, Principal Deputy Director of the National Economic Council; Office of Management and Budget Director Jack Lew; Senior Advisor David Plouffe; and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza) |
As The Debt Ceiling Crisis continues to fester in a sluggish economy, the attack on public health programs like Medicare and Workers Compensation remain targets of cuts. Basically the medical delivery system just can't be supported and is imploding bringing down the entire house of cards.
Workers' Compensation, a patchwork of state programs, has a target on its back. The system is a massive Ponzi Scheme that now lacks a base of economic support and can no longer provide delivery of benefits in either the arena of medical or indemnity. It is the promise to Labor that just can't be kept.
Angry critics from cost to coast have targeted the system with a plethora of lame excuses why the system is ailing and why it is too costly to maintain as presently structured. While Industry continues somewhat to the downfall of workers' compensation, it cannot be blamed entirely. The compensation system was build on the foundation of the Industrial Revolution and a massive insurance scheme of the early 1900s that no longer realistically exists. Medical science has been transformed from the ancient French medical practice of the use of leaches, no anesthesia and zero sterilization, to an era of modern medicine with modern modalities, complex diagnostic and treatment and research protocols.
As the debate unfolds in Washington DC on the debt ceiling, the focus with become more directed upon public entitlement programs and benefits that need to be modernized and revamped to meet the current changes to the economy and health of the nation. One of those targets will ultimately be workers' compensation and this time the politicians should look at it not in the light of negativity but rather for all the positive benefits workers compensation brings the nation.
Better Control Over Asbestos Contaminated Sites Required
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| Senator Max Baucus (MT) |
The recent discovery of the spread of asbestos contamination in Libby MT, which had been declared a Public Health Emergency, is shocking. Asbestos, a known carcinogen, associated with mesothelioma, is reportedly still lingering throughout the community.
Montana's senior U.S. Senator Max Baucus vowed to find answers regarding reports today of asbestos-contaminated bark and wood chips being sold in Libby, MT and beyond.
"We've made tremendous strides in the effort to help Libby heal with health care and environmental cleanup. But trust is essential to Libby's ability to heal psychologically and economically. Now it appears EPA's actions may have put that trust in jeopardy, so you can bet I'll be holding EPA's feet to the fire to find out exactly what they knew, when they knew it, and whether action is needed to ensure the safety of folks in Libby and across the country who were exposed to this bark," Baucus said. "The people of Libby have already been poisoned in the name of greed and I won't allow them to be victimized again because of negligence. We need to work together to make sure safety information is complete and transparent so the community can move forward and create jobs with faith in the agencies and processes that are supposed to protect them."
Since news reports first linked widespread deaths and illness to exposure to deadly asbestos fibers at the defunct W.R Grace and Co. mine, Baucus has visited Libby more than 20 times, secured millions for healthcare and cleanup, brought numerous White House cabinet secretaries to the town, helped save the CARD clinic, and has dogged the EPA to keep cleanup efforts moving forward.
As far back as 1999, Baucus wrote a letter to then Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala requesting immediate medical help and assistance to the area. He further lambasted the EPA's decision to not declare a Public Health Emergency, calling it an "outrage."
In 2008, Baucus released a report detailing a 2002 attempt by the EPA to declare a Public Health Emergency in Libby that was thwarted by the previous Administration's Office of Management and Budget. And on June 17, 2009, due in large part to Baucus' efforts, the EPA declared its first ever public health emergency in Libby, Montana.
Earlier this year Baucus was announced as the 2011 Tribute of Hope Award recipient by the Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization (ADAO) for his tireless efforts fighting on behalf of residents of Libby, Lincoln County and Asbestos victims everywhere. In March, the Senate unanimously passed Baucus' resolution to designate the first week of April 2011 as "Asbestos Awareness Week," and call attention to Libby and other victims of asbestos-related disease.
The continued spread of this contamination is yet another reason why the US must finally ban asbestos entirely.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Portal (WCMSAP)
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is currently Pilot Testing the Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-aside Portal (WCMSAP), a web-based application. This new initiative will allow submitters of Workers' Compensation Medicare Set-Aside Arrangements (WCMSAs) to directly enter case information, upload documentation, and receive case status information through the use of a secure Web portal.
This secure Web portal will greatly improve the efficiency of the submission process for WCMSAs, including receipt of the proposal by its Workers' Compensation Review Contractor (WCRC). The WCMSAP, a web-based application, will allow attorneys, beneficiaries, claimants, insurance carriers, representative payees, and WCMSA vendors to:
• Create a work-in-progress case
• Submit WCMSA cases
• Perform case lookups
• Append documentation to a case
• Submit WCMSA cases
• Perform case lookups
• Append documentation to a case
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Distracted Driving Increases Workers' Compensation Risks
For the complete interview click here.
National Cell Phone Ban Proposed by Congress
Cell phone abuse while driving has been proposed by Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY4). Distracted driving accidents are soaring and are now emerging as a major cause of work-related accidents.
Distracted riving claims are a major liability issue for employers and their insurance carriers. Liability falls upon the employers for workers' compensation benefits, potential liability damages by innocent injured third-parties, and subject employers to fines by regulatory agencies such as The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).
McCarthy, a victim of an accident caused by testing while driving, is a former nurse who has made public health and safety a hallmark of her tenure in Congress, has announced new federal legislation that would create a single national standard prohibiting the use of handheld mobile devices while driving.
“Driving while making a phone call, texting or using apps can be as dangerous as driving drunk, and much more common,” Rep. McCarthy said. “With some basic commonsense rules that are already in place in some parts of the country, we can reduce injuries and save lives in America.”
The Safe Drivers Act of 2011 focuses on two primary efforts. First, it directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish minimum regulations that ban the use of hand-held mobile devices on a public road while operating a moving or idling motor vehicle, except in the case of an emergency. There are exclusions, including voice-operated, vehicle-integrated devices, as well as voice-operated GPS systems.
The bill also requires the DOT to conduct a study on distracted driving, focusing particularly on the issue of cognitive distraction and the impact of distraction on young and inexperienced drivers. In two years, the DOT must report the findings of this study to Congress and provide recommendations for revising the minimum distracted driving prohibitions and penalties states must comply with.
The penalty for not complying with the DOT’s minimum standards within two years of enactment would be a withholding of 25 percent of a state’s federal highway transportation funding.
The legislation is modeled after the nation’s federal Blood Alcohol Content standard, the violation of which also results in a withholding of federal transportation funds (though no state has been in violation of the federal BAC standard). States that are penalized can actually receive their funds as soon as they are in compliance with federal law. Click here to read the full legislation.
With a potpourri of laws in different states, including some states with no laws whatsoever limiting cell phone use while driving, distracted driving is rapidly becoming a deadly problem across the nation.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 5,474 people died as a result of driver distraction in 2009, making up about 16 percent of all fatalities as a result of auto crashes that year.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, using a cell phone makes a driver four times more likely to be in an accident that causes injury.
Right now, 13 states have no laws addressing handheld voice calls. They are Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Ten states have no laws addressing texting while driving. They are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota.
Eight states have no laws whatsoever limiting the use of cell phones while driving, whether for voice calls or texting. They are Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and South Dakota.
Only 8 states prohibit all drivers – including novice drivers, bus drivers and regular adults – from using handheld cell phones while driving. They are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington.
According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, immediately after New York banned cell phone use while driving in 2001, cell phone use declined an estimated 47 percent. Since then over time, handheld cell phone use by New York Drivers is down an estimated 24 percent.
Kelly Cline, a Buffalo, NY-area mother who lost her 20-year-old son A.J. Larson in a texting-while-driving accident in 2007 and co-founded the 1,000-member Families Against Texting While Driving organization, gave the Safe Drivers Act of 2011 a very personal endorsement.
“I know all too well the tragic outcome that distracted driving can lead to in a split second,” Ms. Cline said. “No one should lose their life because of an easily avoidable problem that society hasn’t made a serious issue of. I hope that what happened to my family serves as a wake-up call to our legislators, and I thank Congresswoman McCarthy for her leadership. Hopefully we can raise awareness about distracted driving and stop another tragedy from happening.”
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