Foreign Nationals Working for US Contractors Ill Informed About Federal Workers' Comp Rights
A joint investigation by the Los Angeles Times and ProPublica revealed that the federal workers' compensation program has failed thousands of foreign-born civilian contractors working in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Foreign nationals working on behalf of the U.S. government "have gone without medical treatment and compensation because they were never informed of their right to the benefits. Widows and children have not received death payments for the same reason," according to the newspaper series.
Rey Torres dreamed of a better life for his wife and five children when he left a neighborhood of wooden shacks and burning trash piles to drive a bus on a U.S. military base near Baghdad.
He hoped to send his children to college and build a new home with the $16,000 a year he earned in Iraq — four times what he could make in the Philippines.
Then, in April 2005, Torres, 31, was killed in an ambush by Iraqi insurgents. His widow and children were supposed to be protected by a war zone insurance system overseen by the U.S. government. They were eligible for about $300,000 in compensation.
But Gorgonia Torres knew nothing about the death benefit and did not apply. When she did learn about the insurance, two years later, it was from a reporter. She has since turned down an insurance company's $22,000 settlement offer. Her only hope of receiving full compensation is a legal fight that could drag on for years.
Torres was among tens of thousands of civilian contract workers from poverty-stricken countries hired to support the U.S. war effort in Iraq and Afghanistan. In case of injury or death, they are supposed to be covered by workers' compensation insurance financed by American taxpayers. But the program has failed to deliver medical care and other benefits to many foreign workers and their survivors, a Los Angeles Times-ProPublica investigation found.
Foreign nationals aren't the only casualties in this federal debacle. Many American contractors also have struggled to get medical treatment and compensation for injuries they have suffered on the job. The Los Angeles Times and ProPublica have documented many of those cases
Posted By Dan Deuterman In Workers Compensation Cases | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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Medical documentation is one key to winning a SSDI claim
Most disabled people will learn that hard way how long it can take to begin collecting Social Security Disability benefits.
Applying for SSDI is a lengthy process and most claims are initially denied.
Paul Proto, who has been representing Social Security Disability claimants for more than 30 years, offers an insider's view into what it takes to get a Social Security Disability benefits claim approved.
Claims for Social Security disability benefits succeed, for the most part, on the state of the medical documentation contained in the claim file. There should be a clearly stated list of diagnoses provided by the treating physicians that interfere with full-time work activity. The record should contain medical test results that support the diagnoses. Social Security regulations refer to these as “medically acceptable objective, clinical and laboratory findings”. A person alleging back pain should be able to provide x-ray evidence of some level of disc degeneration. Someone suffering from rheumatoid arthritis can have blood studies consistent with that diagnosis. This might include positive ANA or “antinuclear antibodies”. Heart conditions that cause chest pain may demonstrate lack of oxygen to the heart (ischemia) through stress treadmill tests or EKG’s.
Regardless of the diagnosis, there should be some supporting documentation of a condition that can reasonably result in a condition that can cause the reported symptoms. This combination of symptoms and medical documentation of a condition that can cause those symptoms is only part of the equation however.
We know from experience that this can be a confusing and disappointing process for most sick and disabled people. That's why it's important to have a qualified Social Security Disability attorney or representative on your side, advocating for you to ensure that you get the benefits you deserve.
Posted By Joel Davis In Social Security Disability | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link
Alternative Therapies Series: Acupuncture for Pain Management
This is the first in the Deuterman Law Group's series of blog articles about alternative therapies for back injuries and pain management.
In this article, we’ll explore acupuncture, a centuries-old Chinese medicine technique that has been used to treat pain chronic pain, nausea, migraines and other painful conditions. Future articles in this series will explore reiki, massage, yoga, Pilates and other alternative treatments and pain-management techniques.
This article is presented for informational purposes only. As always, please consult with your physician and other health care providers before undertaking exercise regimen or alternative treatment.
Continue Reading Posted By Grace Kanoy In Resources for Injured Workers | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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New Books Highlight Wal-Mart's Way of Doing Business
Wal-Mart's unconscionable labor practices have been well-documented on this blog and elsewhere.
Now, a new book "The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business" by Nelson Lichtenstein "offers the best account yet of the myriad problems that Wal-Mart employees endure, including the elaborate measures the company has taken to avoid paying workers' compensation to employees injured on the job," according to The Big Money.
Lichtenstein's is just one of several recent scholarly examinations of Wal-Mart's rise and the cost of its success. Go here to read a review of several Wal-mart books.
Two books mentioned in the blog are To Serve God and Wal-Mart: The Making of Christian Free Enterprise
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Depression can slow recovery from work injury
Many injured and disabled workers also will develop depression – creating a double whammy of physical and emotional pain that can prolong recovery and lead to additional health problems.
The stress and financial burdens of being out of work combined with physical pain and the loss of identity that many out-of-work people injured people experience quite often leads to associated depression, according to medical research and our own experience with clients at the Deuterman Law Group. Unfortunately, so-called secondary depression is often under diagnosed, according to a 2005 article in trade journal Risk & Insurance.
It is important for anyone who is suffering from depression to seek treatment, especially those who have an injury or disability that prevents them from working. Studies have linked pain with depression, and there’s evidence that depression can slow recovery from an injury or illness.
“Depression may increase your response to pain, or at least increase the suffering associated with pain,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Conversely, chronic pain is stressful and depressing in itself. Sometimes pain and depression create a vicious cycle,”
A 2005 British study revealed that 20 percent to 30 percent of people injured in car accidents or on the job had their recovery impacted by depression and other psychological factors.
In workers’ compensation cases, depression that is the result of a work injury may be compensable. In other instances, depressed individuals may qualify for Social Security Disability.
If a client is experiencing symptoms of depression, it’s important that they are evaluated by a qualified medical professional, who can prescribe a course of treatment that may include therapy, anti-depressants or a combination.
It’s also important that clients share this information with their attorney and paralegal, as this may be important to the case. We may be able to we may be able to offer additional help and referrals to a support groups, community resources and medical professionals who can help our clients deal with these problems and overcome their depression.
Only a qualified medical professional diagnose depression, but the following is a list of symptoms:
- Loss of interest in normal daily activities
- Feeling sad or down
- Feeling hopeless
- Crying spells for no apparent reason
- Problems sleeping
- Trouble focusing or concentrating
- Difficulty making decisions
- Unintentional weight gain or loss
- Irritability
- Restlessness
- Being easily annoyed
- Feeling fatigued or weak
- Feeling worthless
- Loss of interest in sex
- Thoughts of suicide or suicidal behavior
- Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches
The Mayo Clinic also offers a depression self-assessment tool online.
Posted By Dan Deuterman In Resources for Injured Workers | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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Waiting for Disability: One Step Away from Homelessness
Applying for Social Security Disability benefits is very much a waiting game.
Most applications are denied the first time, and it often takes several rounds of appeals before a disabled person can begin collecting benefits. It's not unusual for people to wait a year or two to be approved.
Imagine what would happen if you were sick or disabled for a year or two, unable to work, with no money coming in. How would you pay for medical treatment? How would you pay your rent or mortgage? How would you cover your bills?
How many people are just one paycheck away from homelessness?
Consider the story of Maggie Dato, a disabled California woman out of work, evicted from her home, denied Social Security Disability benefits, facing mounting medical bills and living out of a camping trailer that she is about to lose.
Unfortunately, more people from all walks of like can probably identify with Deto these days. Mass layoffs have left hundreds of thousands out of work, and many are struggling to pay their bills and provide for their families even if they're receiving unemployment benefits. If they're struggling, how can injured and disabled people who can't work and who aren't receiving any benefits make it?
Posted By Benjamin Burnside In Social Security Disability | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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Sick Ground Zero Worker Wins Workers' Compensation Benefits After Yearlong Battle
The New York Daily News shares the story of Daniel Arrigo, a construction worker who was part of the massive cleanup effort at the Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Arrigo got sick with a severe lung disease from inhaling vapors and toxic fumes at the cleanup site. He had to stop working in January 2008, but Zurich North America, the insurance company providing workers' compensation coverage for his employer, denied Arrigo's claim.
[Arrigo] called himself a poster boy for thousands of sick 9/11 responders caught between the slow-moving state compensation board and insurance firms that skillfully game the system to fight claims.
In addition to Arrigo's devastating illness, his family suffered incredible financial hardship as a result of his inability to work.
Ill and unemployed, Arrigo also fell behind on his rent. The family was evicted from their Staten Island home and forced to move into two cramped rooms with Arrigo's brother in Long Beach, L.I.
But this is a good news story. Arrigo this week won workers' comp benefits -- $400 a week plus $20,000 in back payments.
Posted By Dan Deuterman In Workers Compensation Cases | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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Workers' Compensation Reform Puts Unreasonabile Restrictions on Florida injured and their attorneys
Palm Beach Post columnist Tom Blackburn, a favorite of ours at the North Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog, takes legislators in Florida to task for passing a new workers' compensation reform law that will make it harder for injured workers to get legal representation. The new legislation strengthens a 2003 law that established a "reasonable" fee schedule for attorneys representing injured workers. The new law strikes the word "reasonable."
In his column, Blackburn explains that by setting an unreasonable fee schedule for attorneys who represent injured people in their workers' comp claims, Florida is guaranteeing that more and more deserving people will be denied medical benefits and financial compensation.
When the fee schedule was put in place:
the percentage of claims denied by insurers rose from one-fourth to more than one-third of all claims. The percent of cases in which the injured worker appealed the denial dropped considerably...
After the 2003 law change that made it harder to fight a denial of benefits, the insurance companies began deciding that 35 percent of the employees who get hurt in Florida had only an ouchie when they broke their arm or are trying to turn a hangnail into prostate cancer or are generally malingering.
Posted By Dan Deuterman In Workers' Compensation Reform | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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Florida Governor Signs Bad Workers' Comp Reform into Law
A controversial workers' compensation reform proposal in Florida, which I blogged about last month, has become law -- and that's bad news for injured workers in the Sunshine State.
A 2003 law set extreme caps on the amount attorneys could charge for their work on workers' compensation cases. The Florida Supreme Court struck down that law as unreasonable. But five days ago, Florida Gov. Charlie Crist signed a new law that places similar caps on attorneys fees in workers' compensation cases.
Continue Reading Posted By Dan Deuterman In Workers' Compensation Reform | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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Misclassifying employees to avoid workers' compensation is fraud
One of the most rampant kinds of workers' compensation fraud involves employers misclassifying workers as independent contractors so they can avoid carrying workers' compensation insurance for those employees.
The Salt Lake Tribute reported on a spike in the number of independent contractors with one employer in Utah, which officials say is a sure sign that the so-called contractors have been misclassified.
In the most recent data available, Utah saw a steep one-year jump in the number of independent contractors who have only one employer -- a typical indicator that the worker has been misclassified, Bill Starks, state director of unemployment insurance, said. Two years ago, 200,000 independent contractors reported only to one employer. Last year, the number swelled to 300,000.
Plenty of people are legally classified as independent contractors. These people, often also called W9 employees or freelancers, perform work for a variety of different employers or clients, set their own hours and derive their income from multiple sources.
But many companies assign the "independent contractor" designation to employees. In doing so, they avoid having to pay for costly workers' compensation coverage to these workers though they are legally obligated to provide this protection.
There's a pretty good rule of thumb for knowing a worker's contracting status: If he only works with one company, that business sets his hours and the company's success is tied to the worker's success, the company should probably consider him an employee, not an independent contractor. That means that company needs to issue a W-2 tax form -- and pay taxes, Social Security and unemployment and injury insurance on the employee's behalf, at a cost of about 30 cents more on the dollar.
Posted By Dan Deuterman In Workers Compensation Fraud | Permalink | 0 Comments |
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