Monthly Archives: March 2014

Mileage Reimbursement Set at 56 Cents per Mile for 2014

Today’s post comes from guest author Brody Ockander, from Rehm, Bennett & Moore.

Getting reimbursed for mileage and travel expenses is often part of the medical process in a workers’ compensation claim. However, it’s essential to keep detailed receipts and have a plan for submitting those expenses in a timely manner.

The federal government has set the 2014 mileage reimbursement rate to 56 cents per mile. This rate was effective Jan. 1, 2014. This is a decrease from 56.5 cents per mile last year, but the price of gasoline is also slightly cheaper.

Generally speaking, the federal rate changes annually. However, when gas prices went soaring in 2008, a mid-year increase went into effect.

As a reminder from a blog post that firm partner Todd Bennett wrote in 2011, injured workers can be reimbursed for activities such as “travel to seek medical treatment, pick up medications, or while participating in a vocational rehabilitation plan.”

The best way to do this is to work with your attorney and legal assistant to keep track of all mileage. This can include appointments for Independent Medical Exams (IME), too. Then your attorney can help you get reimbursed. 

It is often essential to save receipts and keep a record for yourself of your doctor’s visits and other reimbursable trips, including physical therapy and trips to pick up medication. Providing that log to your attorney and saving receipts incurred from specific doctor visits and other reimbursable trips creates a “narrative” that makes it easier to justify those expenses.

Because money is always tight for injured workers, contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney if you have questions about a specific situation.

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College Athletes Unionized? They Must Be Employees First

Northwestern University Quarterback Kain Colter

Today’s post comes from guest author Charlie Domer, from The Domer Law Firm.

Northwestern University quarterback Kain Colter announced plans to form the first labor union for college athletes. The College Athletes Players Association, in concert with the Steel Workers (who have agreed to pay the legal bills for the effort) will try to unionize college athletes. The big question: whether college athletes can be considered employees.  If certified by the National Labor Relations Board, the union will be called the College Athletes Players Association. In order for the association to be recognized as a union, the players have to prove they are employees and that the NCAA or each school is its employer. Most experts indicate this is an uphill legal fight.

Worker’s compensation lawyers see everything through the prism of worker’s compensation law. Most State statutory schemes presume that a worker is an employee, except where the employee may be considered a volunteer or an independent contractor. Where the top five power conferences ACC, SEC, Pac-12, Big Ten, Big Twelve generate nearly $10 billion annually, it is hard to claim players are “volunteers” in this system.

Some college athletes who have been seriously injured have filed worker’s compensation claims. Those claims have all been dismissed on the notion that the injured player was not a “employee” and thus not entitled to benefits. (see our prior blog posts on this issue) 

Athletes who successfully use their college careers as a platform for a later career in professional sports are not the norm. In many situations, college players are injured, precluding any further athletic career for pay. There is no compensation awarded for this lost potential career. Furthermore, if an athlete is injured while on campus, once they leave school or graduate, the school generally does not covered future medical costs for that injury.  

Worker’s compensation lawyers will be monitoring the case with interest.

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Lawsuit kicks off class action claims against GM

General Motors Co’s new chief executive Mary Barra addresses the media during a roundtable meeting with journalists in Detroit, Michigan January 23, 2014. REUTERS/Carlos Osorio/Pool

Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.reuters.com

NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Motors was hit on Friday with what appeared to be the first lawsuit related to the recall of 1.6 million cars, as customers claimed their vehicles lost value because of ignition problems blamed for a series of fatal crashes.

The proposed class action, filed in federal court in Texas, said GM knew about the problem since 2004, but failed to fix it, creating "unreasonably dangerous" conditions for drivers of the affected models.

"GM’s mishandling of the ignition switch defect….has adversely affected the company’s reputation as a manufacturer of safe, reliable vehicles with high resale value," the lawsuit said.

The recall has led to government criminal and civil investigations, an internal probe by GM, and preparations for hearings by Congress. All ask why GM took so long to address a problem it has said first came to its attention in 2001.

A GM spokesman, Greg Martin, said the company has apologized for how it handled the recall and that taking care of customers was its first priority. He did not comment on the lawsuit.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages from GM that include compensation for loss of the use of their vehicles and repairs and diminished resale value. They are not claiming they were injured in accidents stemming from ignition problems.

The lawsuit is reminiscent of claims faced by Toyota Motor Corp, which recalled more than 10 million vehicles starting in 2009. Toyota last year received approval for a settlement…

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Partner Matthew A. Funk Elected New York State Trial Lawyers Association Deputy Treasurer

Partner Matthew Funk

We congratulate Partner Matthew A. Funk on his election as Deputy Treasurer of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. His term will begin on July 1st. Mr. Funk has been practicing law since 1999 and became a partner at the firm in 2007. He is a member of the Injured Workers Bar Association, participating in online round table discussions regarding the rights of injured workers. He is a Workers Compensation Committee member of the New York Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH). Mr. Funk regularly lectures on the workers compensation law to various labor organizations. Currently, he is actively engaged in extensive workers compensation litigation.

 

Senior Partner Catherine Stanton

We also congratulate Senior Partner Catherine Stanton on her election as a Director of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association. Ms. Stanton began working with the firm as an attorney in 1990 and became a partner in 1998.  She was the 2012 president of WILG, Workers’ Injury & Law Advocacy Group, the national non-profit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families who, each year, suffer the consequences of workplace injuries and illnesses. Ms. Stanton has once been named as a Super Lawyer each year from 2007-2013 in the area of workers compensation by Super Lawyers magazine. In addition, Super Lawyers named Ms. Stanton one of the Top Women Attorneys in New York for 2013.

About The New York State Trial Lawyers Association

The NYSTLA was founded in 1953 by a group of trial lawyers who were concerned that New York had no forum for plaintiffs’ lawyers. Today, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association is a 4,000-member trade association.

NYSTLA assures that the wrongfully injured have full access to the civil justice system. The organization is dedicated to the preservation of the federal and state constitution rights to trial by jury. They fight to see that:

  • injured people are not barred from the civil justice system;
  • wrongdoers are not immunized from liability;
  • juries are free to determine the proper amount of compensation without arbitrary legislative interference; and
  • obstacles are not placed in the way of litigating all meritorious actions.

NYSTLA also supports proposals to increase available insurance. When needed, NYSTLA works at the federal level to assure that our clients’ rights are not limited by Congress. NYSTLA does not hesitate to use the courts to advocate on behalf of consumers.

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Are Firefighter Cancer Deaths an Occupational Disease?

Today’s post comes from guest author Rod Rehm, from Rehm, Bennett & Moore.

Workers’ compensation has provided benefits or coverage for occupational diseases for generations. Occupational disease is defined by Nebraska law as: “a disease which is due to causes and conditions which are characteristic of and peculiar to a particular trade, occupation, process, or employment and excludes all ordinary diseases of life to which the general public is exposed.” This is a typical definition of an occupational disease. Some examples of recognized occupational diseases are black lung disease for miners, mesothelioma for asbestos workers, lung disease for rubber workers, and leukemia for workers exposed to benzene.  

More studies are done to determine the cause of diseases as medical science advances. A recent study concludes that smoke and chemical exposure by firefighters may cause higher rates of cancer among firefighters. Firefighters, while usually healthier than the general population, have a higher incidence of cancer. More studies need to be done to determine if the peculiar exposure to smoke causes or aggravates cancer.

As medicine and science evolve, there may be more recognized “occupational diseases” and more workers and their families compensated for harm caused by the workplace.

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Construction Site Falls – Leading Cause of Fatalities in the Construction Industry

Today’s post comes from guest author Kristina Brown Thompson, from The Jernigan Law Firm.

On January 23, 2014, a young man, only 30 years old, fell to his death while working on a Raleigh construction site. According to news reports, the deceased was working on scaffolding on an apartment complex and fell approximately five stories. The North Carolina Department of Labor is investigating the accident. It’s unclear exactly what went wrong.

Unfortunately, this was the second construction accident within one week in Raleigh. On January 22, 2014, a platform collapsed at North Carolina State University and three workers were injured. Fortunately, none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. However, one of the injuries involved a trauma to the head which is always cause for serious concern.

Falls are the leading cause of fatalities in the construction industry. According to OSHA, the four main causes for workplace falls are (1) unprotected sides, wall openings, and floor holes, (2) improper scaffold construction, (3) unguarded protruding steel rebars, and (4) the misuse of portable ladders.

In North Carolina, we follow the “unexplained-fall rule” which holds that “if an employee sustains a fall and there is no evidence that it arose from a cause independent of the employment, compensation [i.e. disability and medical benefits] should be allowed.” North Carolina Workers’ Compensation: Law and Practice, with Forms, 4th Edition, Leonard T. Jernigan, Jr.

While workers’ compensation benefits should be provided in these type of cases, in some situations the injured worker may also have a personal injury claim against one of the building contractors. 

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Facebook Pictures’ Use Evolving in Workers’ Compensation Cases

Today’s post comes from guest author Brody Ockander, from Rehm, Bennett & Moore.

In the past, I have warned about the possible pitfalls of social media on a workers’ compensation claim.

However, the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court has never really ruled on Facebook in the context of discovery matters in a work comp claim, meaning how much access can your employer have to your Facebook account if you file a workers’ compensation claim? 

Recently, however, the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court (at least one judge) has taken the position that in order for your employer to gain access to photographs from your Facebook profile, it must “make a showing of the necessary factual predicate underlying [the] broad request for access.” In other words, your employer must have a decent reason to suspect that a certain photograph or something from your Facebook account has the potential to be relevant to the work comp case before the court will simply grant full access to your Facebook account to your employer.

Therefore, depending on your situation, your Facebook may be safe from your employer to some degree. However, this is a cautionary tale to remind you that even though your employer cannot simply have blanket access to all of your Facebook photos – at least according to one Nebraska judge – it does not mean that your Facebook photos or posts are necessarily safe from your employer gaining access to them at some point during your work comp case. I think the judge in this case takes a step in right direction, but you still must be aware that anything you put on Facebook may be subject to discovery (i.e., your employer may still possibly get access to it) at some point in the future.

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Medicines Made in India Set Off Safety Worries

Today’s post was shared by Gelman on Workplace Injuries and comes from www.nytimes.com

Pharmacuetical safety is now an international isue. Today’s post is shared from the nytimes.com/

NEW DELHI — India, the second-largest exporter of over-the-counter and prescription drugs to the United States, is coming under increased scrutiny by American regulators for safety lapses, falsified drug test results and selling fake medicines.

Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, arrived in India this week to express her growing unease with the safety of Indian medicines because of “recent lapses in quality at a handful of pharmaceutical firms.”

India’s pharmaceutical industry supplies 40 percent of over-the-counter and generic prescription drugs consumed in the United States, so the increased scrutiny could have profound implications for American consumers.

F.D.A. investigators are blitzing Indian drug plants, financing the inspections with some of the roughly $300 million in annual fees from generic drug makers collected as part of a 2012 law requiring increased scrutiny of overseas plants. The agency inspected 160 Indian drug plants last year, three times as many as in 2009. The increased scrutiny has led to a flood of new penalties, including half of the warning letters the agency issued last year to drug makers.

Dr. Hamburg was met by Indian officials and executives who, shocked by recent F.D.A. export bans of generic versions of popular medicines — such as the acne drug Accutane,…

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