North Carolina Workers' Compensation Law Blog

We round up our series of tips for healthcare professionals treating injured workers with some information about chiropractic care and mileage reimbursement.

• Injured workers who must travel 20 miles or more roundtrip for medical care are entitled to collect $0.55 per mile. Special consideration also is given to employees who are totally disabled.
• Chiropractic treatment is allowed for workers’ compensation patients, if the employer or the employer’s insurance company grants permission. As many as 20 visits are allowed, if medically necessary. If additional visits are needed, the chiropractor should request this authorization from the Industrial Commission.

If youv'e missed any of the previous tips, find them here.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Best Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

Many injured workers believe that they don’t have the right to choose their own doctor and that they must see a physician assigned by the N.C. Industrial Commission or their employer’s workers’ comp insurance company.

But here's the truth:

• Patients have the right to ask the Industrial Commission for permission to see a doctor of their choosing. However, if an injured person is treated by a physician without first getting permission, his or her workers’ comp benefits might be in jeopardy. If a patient comes to you under these circumstances, advise them that an attorney can help ensure that benefits are protected.

For more tips on how to help injured people navigate the complex workers' compensation system in North Carolina, click here. Our attorneys and paralegals at the Deuterman Law Group also are available to answer questions and provide counsel to injured workers.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Best Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

Today's tip for healthcare professionals treating injured workers deals with the problems that can arise when an injured person returns to work too soon.

In the haste to get back to work and to a steady paycheck, people can cause irreversible physical damage, and they may also jeopardize their ability to collect on a workers' compensation claim.

• Some injured workers will want to return to work before they are medically able to do so. While injured workers are justified in their fear of reprisal for missing work because of an injury, strongly discourage them from returning to a job for which they are physically unprepared. Candidly explain the risk of re-injury. And while it’s true that some people are fired for filing a workers’ compensation claim – even though the law forbids such retaliation – being fired is preferable to derailing recovery or creating a worse medical problem by returning to work too soon. Let your patients know that there is legal recourse if they are fired. Patients can file a wrongful termination claim themselves with the Industrial Commission, but many will find it helpful to have an attorney advocate on their behalf.

You can find my entire series of tips here, and stay tuned throughout the week for more advice on helping injured workers under your medical care.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Best Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

I hope you're finding my series of tips about worker's compensation and benefits available to injured and disabled workers law helpful.

I've been sharing information about things that doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers can do to help injured patients as they navigate the complicated workers' comp system in North Carolina. There are quite a few unique benefits available to injured workers, but without a doctor's recommendation patients may not be able to receive these benefits.

My aim is to arm health care professionals with the information they need so they can attend to the unique needs of injured workers while providing them with medical treatment.

Did you know, for instance, that:

• Injured workers may be entitled to additional benefits beyond compensation for lost wages and traditional medical care. The standard in North Carolina is whether or not the recommended treatment is reasonably likely to effect a cure, give relief from symptoms (including pain relief) or lessen the period of disability. Under this standard, in cases of catastrophic injury, North Carolina’s workers’ compensation law allows for things like home and vehicle modifications, medical devices in the home such as hospital beds, in-home attendant care, motorized wheelchairs, etc. So long as these devices/modifications meet the standard recited above and are prescribed by a treating physician, they should be covered by the Workers’ Compensation insurance company.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Best Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

Today's is the third installment of my series of tips for healthcare professionals who are treating injured or disabled workers.

Knowing more about how workers' compensation laws are structured in North Carolina will help healthcare professionals attend to the other needs of injured workers during the course of medical treatment.

You can find other entries in this series here:

Here's today's tip:

• Encourage you patient to keep a calendar or journal to document important facts relating to the work injury and ongoing treatment. In their journals, patients should record details of how the injury occurred, who witnessed it and how and when it was reported. Additionally, injured workers should make note of any medical appointments in their journals, recording any medical procedures that were conducted and instructions they received from healthcare workers. Finally, patients should write about any symptoms or additional medical problems they’re experiencing and any harassment they encounter from employers, coworkers or the insurance company regarding the work injury. Workers’ personal journals have proven to be invaluable in presenting a workers’ comp claim to the N.C. Industrial Commission.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Best Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

I'm continuing today with my series of tips for healthcare professionals who are treating injured or disabled workers.

Knowing more about how workers' compensation laws are structured in North Carolina will help healthcare professionals attend to the other needs of injured workers during the course of medical treatment.

You can find other entries in this series here:

Now for today's tip:

• Keep detailed records of the patient’s treatment and any conversations you have about the injuries. Detailed medical records, which accurately reflect the patient’s symptoms, treatment and the progression of their recovery, are crucial in workers’ compensation claims. Many cases end up in litigation simply because medical records lack details or are ambiguous.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Best Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

At some point in their medical practice, most healthcare workers will treat a patient who was injured on the job.

But many doctors, physicians’ assistants and nurses find that while they can help these patients with their medical problems and physical recovery, treating someone with a work injury presents a unique set of challenges – not all of them medical. 

Indeed, injured workers and their families must deal with a host of issues as they try to heal and rebuild their lives after being hurt on the job. There are emotional and financial burdens, and a seemingly endless amount of bureaucratic red tape to navigate when filing a workers’ compensation claim.

Additionally, injured workers face tremendous external pressure from family members, coworkers, employers and insurance companies to return to work so they can start earning a paycheck again. It’s also not unusual for injured workers to pressure themselves to return to work before they’re physically ready because they feel obligated to do so or feel “less than” because they’re out of work and collecting unemployment benefits. 

When we started the Deuterman Law Group six years ago, one of our founding principles was that we would treat clients as people, not as cases, and that we would attend to the whole person. It’s our job to ensure not only that our clients receive the maximum workers’ compensation and medical benefits available to them, but also to assist them as they adjust to a new “normal” following an injury.

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Deuterman Law Group Founder and President is one of 24 Triad Impact Leaders in Law

(Greensboro, N.C., August 14, 2008) –Daniel L. Deuterman, a Greensboro attorney who is committed to helping injured workers while also improving his community, has been selected as one of the Triad Impact Leaders in Law by Business Leader Media.

Deuterman and 23 other attorneys from the Triad will be featured in the August issue of Business Leader magazine. These winners were chosen based on the impact they have made in their industry and in their community.

“I’m a firm believer that success should be measured in the amount of good you do,” Deuterman said. “That belief guides me professionally as I advocate for injured workers other injured people, and it also has motivated me to become involved in volunteer work. At the Deuterman Law Group, we all care about improving the community in which we and our clients live. That’s an important part of our identity as individuals and as a law firm.

“I’m honored to be recognized by Business Leader for the impact I’ve made professionally and personally."

Posted By Grace Kanoy In About Us , Best Practices , News | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

This latest CNN article about the hardball insurance practices was sent to me by my listserv:  http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/09/insurance.hardball/index.html 

As this article candidly explains, these auto insurance carriers are paying less and less on injury claims, but still continue to increase the premiums for their customers. Meanwhile the insurance companies continue to inundate the media with advertising that casts them in the role of helper and hero. The result is this: more and more jurors are coming to jury duty with the preconceived notion that the plaintiff must be greedy, committing fraud, or looking for a big payday.  

The CNN article even quotes a former juror who said she assumed that the plaintiff in the case that she heard had already received payment for injuries and other damages from the insurance company and that she brought the lawsuit out of greed. In reality, the accident victim's insurance claim was never paid, and she lost in court.

The revelations in this article won't surprise attorneys who represent injured people. Large auto insurance carriers have been using this hardball tactics for years when addressing claims. They have a huge incentive -- profits -- to continue to act this way in the future. 

Posted By Joel Davis In Ethics , Insurance Practices , News | Permalink | 5 Comments | | Share Link

A supposedly injured worker is caught on hidden-camera video doing strenuous work in his backyard.

Footage such as this, shown on NBC’s Dateline, makes for compelling television news. But it also perpetuates the myth that workers’ compensation fraud is rampant.

But it’s not.

Posted By Benjamin Burnside In For Attorneys , Workers Compensation Fraud | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

Most any workers' compensation claim can be settled at mediation, including pro se claims, uninsured claims, denied claims, claims of fraud, and claims involving SS/Medicare, LTD/STD, retirement, pension, and health insurance issues. Of course, according to the NCIC, only about 75% of all workers' compensation claims are settled at mediation. The following entry is a discussion of why 1/4 of all workers' compensation claims do not settle at mediation.

Posted By Dan Deuterman In Mediations | Permalink | 2 Comments | | Share Link

It can be easy when you handle a considerable amount of cases, to feel like you know what is best for the client. Ultimately, however, it is their case and their life. Consequently, you should always get their input.

In the course of our practice it is not uncommon for a client, who is currently represented by another firm, to contact our office about their case. Unfortunately, the common complaint I hear is, "I have only met my attorney once, and all they said to me is what I should accept for settlement." That is sad.

Posted By Joel Davis In Best Practices , Dealing With Clients | Permalink | 4 Comments | | Share Link

"Wal-Mart - The high cost of low price", a film by Robert Greenwald has sparked outrage in many communities against Wal-Mart. In our law firm, we have seen first hand how Wal-Mart poorly treats their employees when they are injured. The bottom line is companies need to act responsibly. Lawmakers have presented a bill that addresses the issue of companies taking advantage of government assistance instead of providing adequate benefits for their employees. WILG (Worker's Injury Law and Advocacy Group) newsletter recently issued the following article. Sorry there was no electronic version.

Posted By Grace Kanoy In Ethics | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link

Tom Domer of WILG Workers First Watch has some interesting thoughts about how Wal-Mart is degrading workers' rights and hurting communities around the world. Here's what he had to say in a recent essay about the documentary "Wal-Mart -- The High Cost of Low Price," which deals with the company's practices:

Posted By Grace Kanoy In Ethics | Permalink | 0 Comments | | Share Link