Monthly Archives: August 2014

WTC Workers & Volunteers MUST File By Sept. 11, 2014 To Open A New Claim

The World Trade Center Registry, which preserves workers’ compensation rights for those who performed rescue, recovery, and clean-up operations after the World Trade Center attacks will remain open until September 11, 2014.

On November 13, 2013, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed significant protections for World Trade Center workers into the Workers’ Compensation Law under Article 8-A. The legislation extends and enhances workers’ compensation eligibility and benefits for World Trade Center workers. Most notably, the legislation reopens the World Trade Center Registry; extends the deadline period for filing Form WTC-12, Registration of Participation in World Trade Center Rescue, Recovery and/or Clean-up Operations, with a deadline to September 11, 2014; reopens previously time-barred World Trade Center claims and considers them timely; and adds qualifying conditions to the law.

You should file a WTC-12 form whether you were injured or not, and whether you were employed or volunteered. This includes duty at Ground Zero, Fresh Kills Landfill, the barges, the piers, and the morgues.  The legislation also expanded the conditions covered to include:

  • Diseases of the upper respiratory tract and mucosae, including conditions such as conjunctivitis, rhinitis, sinusitis, pharyngitis, laryngitis, vocal cord disease, upper airway hyper-reactivity, and tracheo-bronchitis, or a combination;
  • Diseases of the lower respiratory tract, including but not limited to, bronchitis, asthma, reactive airway dysfunction syndrome, and different types of pneumonitis, such as hypersensitivity, granulomatous, or eosinophilic;
  • Diseases of the gastroesophageal tract, including esophagitis and reflux disease, either acute or chronic, caused by exposure or aggravated by exposure;
  • any combination of such conditions; and
  • New onset diseases that develop in the future or result from exposure in the future, including cancer, COPD, asbestos-related diseases, heavy metal poisoning, musculoskeletal disease and chronic psychological disease.

The link to the form is: http://www.wcb.ny.gov/content/main/forms/wtc-12.pdf

Any worker or volunteer with a WTC claim should contact us immediately to review the case and file appropriate paperwork BEFORE September 11, 2014 or you claim may be dismissed as untimely. 

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Medicaid Home Care Cuts Are Unjust, Lawsuit Says

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

A federal class action lawsuit filed late Tuesday accuses New York State health officials of denying or slashing Medicaid home care services to chronically ill and disabled people without proper notice, the chance to appeal or even an explanation, protections required by law.

The lawsuit, filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, names three plaintiffs: an impaired 84-year-old woman living alone in Manhattan, a frail 18-year-old Brooklyn man with severe congenital disabilities, and a 65-year-old Manhattan man with diabetes and a schizoaffective disorder. But it was brought by the New York Legal Assistance Group on behalf of tens of thousands of disabled Medicaid beneficiaries who need home health care or help with daily tasks like bathing and eating.

It represents a challenge to an ambitious Medicaid overhaul by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo that shifted $6 billion in public spending on long-term services, including home care, to private managed care companies that are paid a fixed sum for each enrollee. The goal of the overhaul, which was set in motion in 2011, was saving money and improving the coordination of care. But advocates for aged and disabled people have complained that in the scramble for the most lucrative enrollees, companies are shunning frail people with the greatest needs and signing up those who could be given minimal services.

The lawsuit, filed against the state commissioners of the Department of Health and the Office of…

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Best Ways To Protect Yourself From Common Workplace Injuries

Last week marked the 25th anniversary of Workers’ Memorial Day – a day set aside to remember those who were injured or died on the job. President Barack Obama issued a proclamation in which he noted “we must never accept that injury, illness, or death is the cost of doing business.”  While we have come a long way from the tragedy of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in which 146 workers were killed while trapped inside a garment factory due to locked doors and a collapsed fire escape, it is clear that we haven’t come far enough.

Recently, the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH) issued a report on Workplace Safety in the Construction Industry. The report was frightening. Just last year alone, 23 construction workers were killed while performing their jobs. According to the NYCOSH report, many of these construction deaths could have been prevented had proper safety precautions been taken. The report noted that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), established by the U.S. Congress to enforce safety practices, is understaffed, thereby leaving many worksites uninspected. Also, penalties for infractions are far too low to deter some employers from not implementing proper safety precautions. 

Many of us in the workforce thankfully are not engaged in hazardous employment, but there are dangers often not anticipated. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, overexertion due to lifting or bending the body was the leading cause of workplace injury in New York. These types of injuries are seen in health care, food services, educational services, retail, professional and business services. In short, most work-related injuries are not confined to the construction industry but rather are occurring in every industry.  

What should you do to protect yourself from many of the common injuries? First and foremost, know exactly what your job duties entail. Find out how to properly perform your job before you engage in your work.

  • Make sure your workspace is maintained in a neat and orderly way so that you don’t trip on wires or boxes, or slip on papers, or food or oil in the food service industry.
  • If your office has a break room or kitchen, make sure spills are cleaned up immediately.
  • Office supplies should be stored properly so they don’t fall on you or your coworkers.
  • Know the proper way to lift heavy items to protect your back
  • Make sure your computer workstation allows you to maintain adequate posture so you don’t put undue strain on your arms, hands and back
  • Have an ergonomic keyboard that can help reduce injuries to your wrists
  • If you are not trained as a technician, do not try to fix equipment; bring in a repairman
  • Make sure you are instructed on what to do in case of a fire; know where the exits are and make sure your company engages in fire drills

If all else fails and an accident does occur, know the proper procedure for reporting an injury.   Workplace safety is crucial. It will save employers money as injuries result in loss of manpower and higher insurance rates, but most importantly, workplace safety will save lives.

 

Catherine M. Stanton is a senior partner in the law firm of Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP. She focuses on the area of Workers’ Compensation, having helped thousands of injured workers navigate a highly complex system and obtain all the benefits to which they were entitled. Ms. Stanton has been honored as a New York Super Lawyer, is the past president of the New York Workers’ Compensation Bar Association, the immediate past president of the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group, and is an officer in several organizations dedicated to injured workers and their families. She can be reached at 800.692.3717. 

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Top 10 Careers For College Grads To Consider

Today’s post was shared by US Labor Department and comes from storify.com

Top 10 Careers For College Grads To Consider

As recent grads are hitting the job market, many are asking, "What career paths are offering the best opportunities for me right now?" All of these careers were selected based off of our Bureau of Labor Statistics’ data on median annual salary, current employment, projected growth through 2020.

byU.S. Department of Labor@usdol

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Can Social Media Participation Impact Your Benefits?

Many of us are enamored with social media. It is a wonderful way to communicate with those across the country, around the world or right around your block. It is a way to keep with touch with friends, acquaintances and even professional colleagues. However, in our world of ever increasing technology, there are ever increasing risks. We have seen time and time again on the nightly news reports stories of cyber crime, internet scams, child predators and the embarrassing things people post on the world-wide web. We often try to impart this knowledge to our children as their youthful indiscretions can come aback to haunt them as they start applying for jobs as employers regularly now google potential candidates. Websites such as MySpace, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, while entertaining and useful, can also put injured workers at risk. It is easy to forget that a photo posted on social media can come up on many internet searches. It is easy to forget that the internet is not part of the private sphere but is the public square. It is also easy to forget that anyone can create a profile and seek to join anyone else’s network of “friends” on one of these sites.  That includes investigators who work for insurance companies and defendants attorneys.

By applying for benefits, you are stating that you are injured and are unable to work or only able to perform part-time or intermittent work. Information available on the internet that appears to contradict your application for benefits can result in your being denied benefits or even result in a fraud charge being leveled against you. This could be information about your professional or personal accomplishments, a home-based business, or even volunteer activities, which may be no longer current or may not accurately reflect your level of functioning since your injury. Those pictures of you on vacation in Jamaica doing the limbo might be entertaining but they could also put you at great risk if you are indicating a disability. These types of stories appear regularly in the news media. Furthermore, and even more importantly, recent court decisions around the nation and even in New York have ruled that plaintiffs may have to permit defendants access to their social networking sites and even their hard drives for analysis.

Therefore it is imperative that if you are applying for benefits based upon a disability be it workers’ compensation, social security disability or even for negligence to be cautious when posting anything about yourself on the internet.  This includes photographs, statements, travel plans, and commentary about your own social activities.  Furthermore, we cannot stress enough to take care when accepting new persons into your internet social networks.  Make sure you actually know who you are opening up yourself to, for they may not be the person you think they are, and could be in the employ of an insurance carrier.

Finally, it is extremely important that all persons using social networking websites such as Facebook and MySpace make sure that the privacy settings for their profiles are set to the maximum. On Facebook this should prevent a person’s profile from being found even if their name is searched. The bottom line is if you are disabled, you should never engage in any activity contrary to your injury as one funny moment in time on social media can impact you for your entire life. 

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

OFCCP Opening Doors General Audience Short

Today’s post was shared by US Labor Department and comes from www.dol.gov

United States Department of Labor

All DOL  DOL    Advanced Search
A to Z |  Site Map |  FAQs |  Forms |  About DOL |  Contact Us | Español

Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez

DOL Home > Newsroom > Audio and Video > OFCCP Opening Doors General Audience Short

OFCCP Opening Doors General Audience Short

This video will begin shortly

Watch this video on Youtube

Get Updates By Email

By Topic

By Audience

By Location

Laws and Regulations

Budget & Performance Information

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Information

Newsroom

Events Calendar

Doing Business
With DOL

Other Resources

Freedom of Information Act |  Privacy & Security Statement |  Disclaimers |  Important Web Site Notices |  Plug-ins Used by DOL

U.S. Department of Labor | Frances Perkins Building, 200 Constitution Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20210
www.dol.gov | Telephone: 1-866-4-USA-DOL…

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Congratulations To Partners Matthew Funk And Cathy Stanton On Roles With NYSTLA For 2014

Partners Victor Pasternack, Catherine Stanton, and Matthew Funk, and Senior Associate Kelly Koster at the 2014 NYSTLA Induction ceremony.

On June 24 at Oheka Castle on Long Island, Partner Matthew A. Funk was elected Deputy Treasurer of the New York State Trial Lawyers Assocation. 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.

We also congratulate Senior Partner Catherine Stanton who was installed as a member of the Board 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.  Ms. Stanton is immediate past president of WILG, Workers’ Injury & Law Advocacy Group. WILG is 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. Catherine is a member of both the New York State Bar Association and New York State Trial Lawyers of America.  Ms. Stanton has once again been named as a Super Lawyer for 2014 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.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Senior Partner Edgar Romano Named A 2014 Top 100 Workers’ Compensation Attorney

Senior Partner Edgar Romano

We are proud to announce that the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG) recently named Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Stanton and Romano Senior Partner Edgar Romano a Top 100 Workers’ Compensation Attorney.

Mr. Romano has been widely recognized for his excellence. In addition to this most recent award from WILG,  he has been named a Super Lawyer in Workers Compensation every year since 2010 and has been named a Top 100 Trial Lawyer in New York in 2011, 2012, 2013.

Mr. Romano litigates workers compensation claims, including cases involving occupational exposure, asbestos and industrial irritants. He has lectured extensively to labor unions and medical providers. Mr. Romano is a Past President of the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group and is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Workers Compensation Bar Association. He is a member of the Leader’s Forum of the American Association for Justice and Past Chair of the workers compensation section. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the Jewish Lawyer’s Guild, and New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NYCOSH). Mr. Romano serves on the Advisory Committee of the World Trade Center Medical Monitoring Program at Mt. Sinai Hospital and on the Advisory Board of the I.J. Selikoff Center for Occupational and Environmental Medicine.   He is listed in “Who’s Who in American Law.”

 

About The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group

WILG was founded in 1995 by a small group of  claimants’ attorneys and has grown into an organization of nearly 1,000 members representing every state in the nation.  Its members include sole practitioners, attorneys from multi-lawyer firms and paralegals.  WILG works everyday to make sure that as the challenges that face injured workers change, we evolve to meet those new challenges.  Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group has grown into an important, national voice for workers.  WILG’s members are committed to improving the quality of legal representation to those injured on the job or victims of occupational illness by superior legal education and by keeping informed of legislative and judicial proceedings.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.