What Money Can’t Buy

Today’s post comes from guest author Leonard Jernigan, from The Jernigan Law Firm.

Michael J. Sandel, a professor of government at Harvard, has written an insightful book called What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets (2012) about the “for-sale” sign that applies to almost everything that has value, from sky boxes in football stadiums to police cars in local communities. These days, everything seems to be fair game. For example, a woman allowed her forehead to be tattooed with a brand name for $10,000. Even the tattoo artist tried to talk her out of it.

Are there any moral limits on what corporations can buy, and what the public is willing to sell? Have we entered a great divide where corporate sponsors sit in heated sky boxes while the rest of us shiver during a heavy snow fall at a football game? Are we losing that sense of community of shared experiences?

Sandel summarizes the problem as follows: “Democracy does not require perfect equality, but it does require that citizens share in a common life. What matters is that people of different backgrounds and social positions encounter one another, and bump up against one another, in the course of everyday life. This is how we learn to negotiate and abide our differences, and how we come to care for the common good.”

Somewhere along the way we (as a community, state and nation) have to decide whether we will continue to be polarized or whether we will work together for the common good. How we make that decision will determine our fate over the next several decades.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Join Us In Supporting Cancer Research At The Relay For Life On June 7-8

I started writing to impart vital information to readers about Workers’ Compensation. As a practitioner in this field for almost 25 years, I want to provide guidance on procedure, insight to those who have been trying to maneuver within the system, and knowledge about benefits injured workers may be  entitled to if they get hurt on the job. 

In this post I will veer off topic to tell you about a very important event coming up next month – the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at Charles Park in Howard Beach on June 7-8 starting at 6:00 p.m. I am proud to say that my law firm – Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano LLP – is one of the proud sponsors of this event.   

I am sure that anyone reading this column has been either personally affected by cancer or knows of someone who has been. We have shared the fear, the shock, the anger and the determination of those who have been diagnosed with this disease. We have shared the tears – and in some instances the final acceptance – with loved ones that their personal fight was too big to win. The Relay for Life helps raise funds and awareness to save lives from cancer. It is a way for us to remember those who have lost their personal battle, to celebrate those who have survived, and to fight back against the disease that has affected us all.  

According to the American Cancer Society, cancer remains the second most common cause of death in the United States – accounting for nearly 1 of every 4 deaths. In 2014, there will be an estimated 1,665,540 newly diagnosed cancer cases, and 585,720 cancer deaths in the United States. Needless to say, these statistics are staggering. We as a community need to pull together to help prevent any further unnecessary deaths. The Relay for Life is one event that allows our friends and families to get together for the common goal of raising money to fight cancer in a way that will be fun. We can share experiences with each other while having a sense of camaraderie. 

Here is the link – http://www.relayforlife.org/. Come join a team or create your own. If you don’t want to walk, you can be a volunteer to set up, coordinate, or clean up. If you can’t walk or attend, then please consider making a donation. You can dedicate a Luminaria bag — which can be personalized with a name, photo, message or drawing and are illuminated after dark – in memory or honor of a friend or loved one at the Relay for Life.   

The good news is that there are more than 14 million cancer survivors. The goal is to reduce the number of those who are diagnosed with cancer in the first place. Whatever role you choose to play in this fight is up to you, but this event shows that you don’t have to engage in the fight alone. You will meet people who have been caregivers and those who are survivors. We will meet as strangers, but leave as comrades in the fight against cancer.     

 

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.

Are Forklifts Dangerous?

Today’s post comes from guest author Leonard Jernigan, from The Jernigan Law Firm.

 The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) covers forklifts under the section called Powered Industrial Trucks, and you have to be certified to operate these lifts. The smaller ones you see weigh up to 7,000 pounds and they are so dangerous some experts consider them “inherently dangerous.”

It is in violation of federal law to operate a forklift if under the age of 18, and OSHA requires that you be specifically trained. See 29 CFR 1910.178. If operated properly, a forklift is no more dangerous than any other piece of heavy machinery. However, if the operator is not properly trained and certified bad things can happen. We now represent a young man who was allowed to operate a forklift without any certification and the forklift turned over on him and crushed him, damaging several internal organs and his spine. He survived, but he is partially paralyzed from the waist down. He will have a lifetime of pain. He has lost the use of both feet.

Other examples are workers being crushed when a forklift accidentally runs into them. The human body cannot withstand a crush impact from a 7,000 pound machine. If the lifts on the forklift are elevated with a heavy load, the potential for a tip-over is greatly increased, even if the operator is moving slowly. Never underestimate the power of a forklift.

For more information go to osha.gov and review Powered Industrial Trucks.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Medical Care Politics in Worker’s Compensation

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

The mythology surrounding employee fraud in worker’s compensation is pervasive. Many of my clients begin their conversations with me indicating the following: “I’m not one of those folks faking their worker’s compensation claim.”  The exaggerated media publicity concerning employee fraud has also resulted in outright worker intimidation regarding filing a claim. I had this conversation today with a prospective client.

Attorney: Why didn’t you report the incident?
Client: I didn’t want to have that on my record.  Nobody will hire me if I have a worker’s comp injury.
Attorney: Why didn’t you seek medical treatment?
Client: I do not have insurance.
Attorney: Can you obtain insurance under the Affordable Care Act?
Client: You mean Obamacare?  No way!

Fear of being stigmatized as a complainer, whiner, or simply a recipient of worker’s compensation benefits has prompted many legitimately injured workers from filing a worker’s compensation claim.

The adverse publicity concerning the Affordable Care Act (and its pejorative popular name “Obamacare”) results in many otherwise qualified workers from obtaining the health care they need, especially when denied by a worker’s compensation insurance carrier. 

The politics of medical care intrudes in the worker’s compensation arena daily.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Lawsuit challenges a Hollywood pillar: Unpaid internships

Eric Glatt

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

Melvin Mar’s entrée to Hollywood was far from glamorous. As an unpaid intern for "Platoon" producer Arnold Kopelson, Mar was responsible for fetching his boss’ lunch of matzo ball soup every day.

Mar calculated to the minute how long it would take to walk from the production company’s Century City offices to the Stage Deli nearby, buy the soup and decant it into a bowl on Kopelson’s desk, still piping hot, at precisely 1 p.m.

Mar parlayed his internship into jobs at DreamWorks and Scott Rudin Productions. Now Mar is a producer for "Bad Teacher" filmmaker Jake Kasdan — and he says he owes a lot to the lessons he learned as a humble Hollywood gofer 15 years ago.

| |

"The soup — it was about getting it right, the details," said Mar, 35. "It prepared me for everything else."

Uncompensated minions are as central to the movie business as private jets, splashy premieres and $200 lunches. But the Hollywood tradition is under assault.

A class action by former interns on the 2010 film "Black Swan" could radically change the industry’s reliance on unpaid neophytes. The suit seeks back pay, damages and an order barring use of unpaid interns at Fox Searchlight Pictures and other units of Fox Entertainment Group.

A legal victory for the plaintiffs "would bring to a halt the many unpaid internships that offer real value to participants, giving them experiences and opportunities they would not otherwise receive,"…

[Click here to see the rest of this post]

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Senior Partner Jordan Ziegler Honored By Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Benevolent Association

On April 10th, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority Police Benevolent Association (MTA PBA) recognized Senior Partner Jordan Ziegler for his many years of service and success representing their members for their work related injury legal needs. We are proud of Jordan’s dedication to the MTA PBA and his tireless representation of all injured workers.

Formed on August 10th, 1998, the purpose of the MTA PBA is “to promote and develop a fraternal spirit among all members, to aid our fellow members upon necessity or emergency, to advance the general welfare and efficiency of the department, to promote legislation beneficial to our members and their families and to oppose legislation detrimental to those interests”

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Congratulations To Our 2014 SuperLawyers

We are proud to congratulate each of Victor Pasternack,Barbara Doblin Tilker, Jordan Ziegler, Catherine Stanton, Edgar Romano and Robert Saminskyfor being named to the New York Super Lawyers list as one of the top attorneys in New York for 2014. No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state are selected by Super Lawyers.

This is the 9th consecutive year Ziegler has been selected, the 8th consecutive selection for Tilker and Stanton, the 6th for Pasternack and Saminsky and the 5th for Romano.

We are honored that so many of our attorneys have a multi-year recurring presence on this prestigious list. 

Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers from more than 70 practice areas who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The annual selections are made using a rigorous multi-phased process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area.

The first Super Lawyers list was published in 1991.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.

Is Worker’s Comp Profitable Because Disabled Workers Don’t Get Benefits?

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

I recently wrote an article in the national magazine for the Worker’s Injury Law Advocacy Group (WILG), the Worker’s First Watch, Fall 2013 reviewing the worker’s compensation resources research report indicating that the worker’s compensation industry is extremely profitable.  I began representing injured workers in 1976.  It seems every year since then worker’s compensation insurance carriers have complained they are not making profits and the culprit responsible is increased benefits paid to workers.  In fact, over the last 20 years the insurance industry has been profitable in 16 of 19 years and broke even in one year.  Several factors account for this profitability, including worker’s compensation insurance carriers successfully pursuing deregulation and “reform” measures to restrict eligibility. 

The net result of increasingly restrictive rules for compensability in many State worker’s compensation systems as a result of “reform” resulted in many workers with disabilities caused by work who did not receive worker’s compensation benefits.

The general trend since the early 1990s has been to restrict coverage through State statutory and administrative “reform”.  Many workers face lengthy litigation and frustration.  More restrictive regulations may preclude claims where the worker lacks “objective” medical evidence for his injury, or is unable to medically document persistent pain, or has a disease resulting from multiple causation that cannot be distinguished from workplace disease, or has job stress related disorders.  One significant problem is that many injured workers fail to file for benefits.  (For those of us in the trenches daily, these pose obstacles to compensability.)  Among the many reasons for failure to file are:

  • Ignorance of worker’s compensation and eligibility.
  • Ignorance of the work-relatedness of the condition.  (Many workers know they suffer an impairment but do not know the health condition is caused by work.)
  • Reimbursement for medical care or Short Term Disability benefits available.  (Many workers use Short Term Disability or group medical insurance rather than worker’s comp.)
  • Belief that the injury is lacking in sufficient severity.
  • Many workers fear job loss or other forms of retaliation, who do not want to report a condition as work-related.
  • Workers do not want to be perceived as complainers or careless.
  • Deciding not to file based on the negative experience of co-workers.
  • Fear of the stigma associated with being a worker’s compensation claimant.  (Much of this stems from the intense focus on fraud perpetrated by the insurance industry, resulting in increased levels of stigmatization, decreasing the likelihood injured workers will file for benefits.)
  • Pressure from co-workers on safety incentive programs.  (These programs, sometimes called “Safety Bingo” create incentives not to report.)

Those of us who have hearings daily that involve the non-reporting of an injury, or significant time delay between the occurrence of an injury and the reporting of an injury, can refer to the above list for some ammunition on the “non-filing” or “late filing” issues.

Prior results do not guarantee outcomes.
Attorney Advertising.