Source: https://blog.reduceyourworkerscomp.com/tag/lexis-nexis-work-comp-law/
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 08:22:22+00:00

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From skiing injuries to sniffles, there’s no season like winter for thinking fond thoughts of the American health care system. And there’s no time like exactly one billing period later for screaming curses at the American health care system.
"Larson's May Help Interpret Law, But Can't Supplant Text of Statute, by Thomas A. Robinson. Larson's Workers' Compensation Law is often used by federal and state courts to explain and interpret a workers' compensation statute, particularly when that statute is ambiguous. In a recent decision, the Kansas Supreme Court indicated that although consulting the Larson treatise is in order when the statute is unclear, it may not serve to supplant or alter the actual text of a statute. Read more about this case and other cases on Credit for Pension Benefits, Intentional Tort, and Substantially Certain Rule."
"Strong Association Exists Between AMA Guides Impairment Ratings and Earnings Losses, But Losses Vary Significantly Across Body Regions, by Robert G. Rassp, Esq. & Robin E. Kobayashi, J.D. A new major study funded by CHSWC focuses on the AMA Guides Fifth Edition in California but has implications for the AMA Guides Fourth and Sixth Editions used in other states. The study purports to quell the main criticism that the AMA Guides can only measure severity of impairmentand not disability. The study examines whether there is a strong association between AMA-based impairment ratings and earnings losses for workers' comp claimants with permanent disabilities, thereby indicating that impairment ratings accurately reflect the effect of impairments on the ability to work. The study also examines…Read more"
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com. Contact: mstack@reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
©2013 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker, attorney, or qualified professional about workers comp issues.
The National Institute for Medicare & Medicaid Education will be hosting the first of four Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Compliance conferences at Harrah's Resort in New Orleans, February 25th & 26th.
Building off the success of 2012's Jackpot! Conference Series, NIMME will be raising the bar for education and resources in the MSP arena. With an extensive panel of faculty, these conferences will continue to be invaluable to any professionals dealing with MSP Compliance and MMSEA Section 111 Mandatory Insurer Reporting. Read more..
Opting Out Is the New "In" Thing: Study Discusses Alternatives to Workers Compensation, by John Stahl, Esq.
"On January 10, 2013, the White House announced that President Obama signed the Strengthening Medicare and Repaying Taxpayers Act (SMART Act) into law. Insurance organizations, including the American Insurance Association, hailed the SMART Act as facilitating property-casualty insurers’ compliance with Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) Act Section 111 reporting." To read the bill,click here.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. www.reduceyourworkerscomp.com.
©2012 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law.
Deciphering Section 28(b) After Andrepont, by Paul B. Howell, Esq.
Author Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher.
Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws vary. You should consult with your insurance broker or agent about workers comp issues.
©2012 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact us at: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Worker's Compensation Expert Rebecca Shafer will be presenting at the 21st Annual National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference® in Las Vegas, November 7 – 9.
Rebecca would like to invite you to join her there and be a part of the nation's leading training event for workers' comp and disability management professionals. And, more importantly, to benefit from all the great strategies and best practices you’ll learn that will help you solve the biggest challenges facing our industry.
The organizers have given Rebecca a special discount to offer you– $320.00 off the on-site rate – even larger than the discount advertised in the brochure. You can attend all the sessions and networking events over the two-and-a-half days for only $975.
“The New Mobile Workforce: Telecommuters, Alternate Worksites, Traveling Employees, and "Extreme Mobile", by Stuart D. Colburn, Esq.
At the 21st Annual National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference®, Nov. 7-9, Stuart D. Colburn will speak and moderate onThe New Mobile Workforce. Joining him are Roger A. Levy, Esq. and Alan S. Pierce, Esq.
“Court Bars Medical Expert Testimony on Sick Building Syndrome, by Thomas A Robinson.
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) has made changes to the TXCOMP Health Care Provider system at http://txcomp.tdi.state.tx.us/twccprovidersolution/home.html that effect health care providers.
· Health care providers’ access to submit applications to be certified as a designated doctor, or apply for recertification has been discontinued.
Get the complete low-down right here. We rounded up the best tidbits of news around the WC community so you don’t have to. It’s all in one place – the Roundtable.
Thomas A. Robinson writes here, that subsequent injuries are compensable if the result of a compensable primary injury. He says these cases fall into two groups: the cases in which an initial medical condition itself progresses into complications more serious than the original injury and those in which the existence of the primary compensable injury in some way exacerbates the effects of an independent medical weakness or disease. Read his analysis of this Texas case regarding these principles.
John Stahl, writes that he recently heard a presentation by Dr. Bogdan Savych of the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) that the goals of the workers’ compensation system included “delivering benefits without too much unnecessary attorney involvement and litigation.” Stahl writes the presentation summarized a WCRI study that examined several reasons why a workers’ compensation claimant hired an attorney and offered strategies for reducing the costs and delays associated with that legal representation.
“The number of claimants who hired an attorney ranged from approximately 8-percent in Texas to more than 50-percent in Maryland. A claimant’s perceptions that pursuing workers’ compensation benefits would adversely affect that person’s employment status and/or that a workers’ compensation insurer denied a claim were the primary identified motivations for hiring an attorney,” he writes. Read more here.
Larson’s Spotlight looks at several important court events this week, here.
1. In New York, Cap Imposed by § 15(6) Applies to Periodic Payments of Scheduled Loss of Use Awards in Same Manner as Other Periodic Payments of Disability Benefits.
2. From Virginia, Average Weekly Wage for Inexperienced Roofing Worker Computed on Worker's Share of Sum to be Paid, Divided by 52 Weeks.
3. Also Virginia: Injured Worker Receives YMCA Membership and Mileage for Unsupervised Pool Therapy as Part of His Medical Benefits Award.
4. From Pennsylvania, Slight "Crookedness" of Nose Following Injury Does Not Qualify for Disfigurement Award.
The Workers’ Compensation Roundtable discussion group on LinkedIn has added the Return to Work Roundtable subgroup for people interested in discussing specific ideas, challenges and issues pertaining to the RTW process in Workers’ Compensation. The co-managers of the Workers’ Compensation Roundtable will be joined in the RTW Roundtable by Mike Benishek, Director, Risk Management & Insurance for PTG Management Company. Those interested in joining the group can do so here.
The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) is now requiring participants to sign up to the TDI eNews by June 1, 2012, when they will begin to distribute news and communications through the TDI eNews.
1. Division of Workers’ Compensation eNews Update – Includes Division of Workers’ Compensation related rules, bulletins, educational session and training events and other related news.
2. Safety and Health eNews Update – Includes information on occupational safety and health matters, including safety tips and publications, upcoming training events, training DVD loans, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) updates.
Questions may be directed to Public.Information@tdi.state.tx.us.
Fisher & Phillips LLP labor and employment attorneys will present a webinar 2 p.m. June 4 offering employers advice on how to control workers' compensation costs. The presentation will focus on use-loss control and safety programs to prevent injuries from occurring and help employers understand how to best manage claim expenses. The hour long webinar is free, but registration is required. Participation in this webinar has been approved for one hour of HRCI credit. Register here.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Editor Michael B. Stack, CPA, Director of Operations, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is an expert in employer communication systems and part of the Amaxx team helping companies reduce their workers compensation costs by 20% to 50%. He is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Contact: Mstack@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
In “Work Loss Data Institute Warns of Fox Guarding the Hen House in State Treatment Guidelines,” by John Stahl, found here, Stahl explains that Phil LeFevre, a senior account executive at the Work Loss Data Institute, recently compared official disability guidelines (ODG) with other workers’ compensation treatment guidelines. “The overall theme was that the ODG provides more objective guidance than individual state systems that often reflect the self-interests of medical providers in that jurisdiction,” he writes.
Larson’s Spotlight this week narrows in on a recent case in which an injured worker is entitled to additional TTD benefits despite derogatory conduct. The Supreme Court of Arkansas decided in a case where a worker sustained a work-related injury, was placed on light duty for a period of time, and then fired for calling his supervisor an "insulting, derogatory, and vulgar name." Read more about this case and others in the spotlight here.
The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is hosting “Hospital outpatient Costs and the Impact of Fee Schedules” for those looking to control medical care costs for injured workers. The webinar will examine the WCRI study to help attendees make comparisons between “hospital outpatient costs across states, identify key cost drivers, and measure the impact of reforms over time.” The webinar will be from 1 to 2 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 10, 2012.
To learn more about the webinar or to register, go here.
In the recent issue of The Advisor, MCA notes that two proposed pieces of legislation would alter the Federal Employees Compensation Act (FECA). “The less controversial of the two, the Federal Workers Compensation Modernization and Improvement Act (HR. 2465), was introduced in the House of Representatives in July of 2011 and is currently pending in the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. It includes measures to allow the Department of Labor to cross-match claimants' reported income to Social Security data. It also includes provisions to authorize physician assistants and nurse practitioners to certify traumatic injury and related disability,” the article says.
A Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) study shows that WC med prices were higher and grew more rapidly in states without medical fee schedules.
Danielle Lisenbey, chief operating officer for the Medical Management Services of Broadspire announced its first annual Rx Summit in Sunrise, FL March 22. As a leader in the industry, Broadspire's first Pharmacy Issues Summit should prove to be helpful. They write, “The purpose of the meeting will be to bring thought leaders from various organizations together to discuss relevant topics and issues surrounding pharmacy benefits in the workers compensation setting.
The intent is not to share the specifics of what various companies are doing, but rather to focus on the global industry issues themselves and what may be the possible trends and developments for the future. One key objective of the program will be to help to identify and define common threads that run through all components of the industry – across claimants, payors, employers and carriers.
Email Mjaynes@choosebroadspire.com by March 15, 2012 for more information. The Summit is by invitation only.
To read more on this topic, look here.
1. The Defense of Intentional Self-Injury: Russian Roulette, Workplace Frustration, Accidental Drug Overdose, and More reviews Rashness Versus Intention in Self-Injury Cases, Impulsiveness Versus Intention in Self-Injury Cases and Suicide Test as Test for Self-Injury. It can be found here.
2. LHWCA: Responsible Employer Determination in Cases Involving Multiple Traumatic Injuries: Seeking Analytical Clarity is a thorough look at the same using relevant precedent, post-Albina board decisions, burden of proof; aggravation vs. natural progression: identifying the cause(s) of disability and sequential vs. simultaneous consideration of evidence. It can be found here.
3. Larson’s Spotlight on Recent Cases: Firefighter’s Rule Did Not Bar Tort Action against Homeowner examines the firefighters’ rule, an important exception to the usual third-party liability rules in which a firefighter (or other first responder) may not recover in tort from a landowner or occupier who has been negligent in starting or failing to curtail a fire. Read more here.
Thomas A. Robinson, a contributing author and editor of LexisNexis resources including Larson's Workers Compensation Law and Workers Compensation: The Survival Guide for Business, wrote a fascinating article that was recently featured in the well-known RIMS magazine. Also a member of the LexisNexis National Workers Compensation Advisory Board, Robinson writes about 10 bizarre WC case that ended unexpectedly here.
The article is a great read and includes juicy stories such as what the courts decided when an obese employee broke a leg trying to get unstuck from a cafeteria booth, whether a construction worker who lost an eye trying to sledgehammer a found bowling ball on site and whether a fatal heart attack while holding a termination letter is still covered.
For more like it, sign up for the free weekly enewsletters in national and California editions by Robin Kobayashi here.
Check out this LexisNexis newsletter that can keep you on top of what’s happening in our industry. Learn more here and sign up here.
Workers’ compensation system participants should use the revised DWC Form-047 or DWC Form-053 on and after March 7, 2012. Previous versions of the form will no longer be accepted after June 1, 2012. For more information, check here.
The LexisNexis Workers Compensation Law Community Powered by Larson's often offers insightful commentary into our industry. Below, we compile three of the most interesting contributions of late.
His blog continues to site fascinating drug statistics not only from the CDC but also the U.S. Military, various states and many others. It is well worth a read.
He concludes that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 has changed much for the workers compensation industry including The United States Department of Health and Human Services adding eight substances to its Report on Carcinogens.
“Formaldehyde and aristocholic acids are now listed as known human carcinogens, and six other substances-captafol, cobalt-tungsten carbide, inhalable glass wool fibers, onitrotoluene, ridelliine, and styrene-are now considered as reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens. This brings the total to 240 identified substances in the listings demanding thoughtful approaches to minimize exposure to workers,” Caveney wrote.
He also said the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan has had great affect on the WC industry. “Readers of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (LexisNexis) can refer to Chapter 44 for recent updates on the physics of radiation contamination and possible human health effects of exposure,” he wrote.
For WC matters regarding low back claims, Caveney directs readers to the updated Chapter 15 in Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (LexisNexis. And, lastly, he noted 2011 is the 30th anniversary of the identification of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). “The infection has transcended its original death sentence upon diagnosis to a chronic disease state when adequately treated with the panoply of various treatment options these days. Once widespread fears of transmission in a host of occupational situations has thankfully now been limited to mostly preventable scenarios. Chapter 46 of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (LexisNexis) reflects these advances,” he wrote.
To read more, follow the above link to Caveney’s article.
“Workers’ compensation is no stranger to controversy,” writes attorney Robin Kobayashi in her LexisNexis blog Workers’ Compensation in a Medically Overtreated Society.
She cites physician Nortin M. Hadler, MD new book Rethinking Aging: Growing Old and Living Well in an Overtreated Society. “Dr. Hadler continues his no-holds-barred approach, warning that the Baby Boomer Generation and Generations X and Y hold unrealistic notions about defying the aging process with medical technology, thereby making them more susceptible for ‘medicalization and overtreatment,’ “ she wrote.
The material above is contributed by Lexis Nexis Workers Compensation Law Community.
Author Rebecca Shafer, JD, President of Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. is a national expert in the field of workers compensation. She is a writer, speaker, and website publisher. Her expertise is working with employers to reduce workers compensation costs, and her clients include airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality, and manufacturing. She is the author of the #1 selling book on cost containment, Manage Your Workers Compensation: Reduce Costs 20-50% www.WCManual.com. Contact: RShafer@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
Work Comp Roundup continues to provide a compendium of legal updates representing many states.
Closely related to awards provided under a jurisdiction's schedule benefits statute is the provision for some sort of compensation related to disfigurement. As indicated in Chapter 88, most states specifically authorize such awards. The chapter has been revised to include recent cases and commentary on this issue. (WCxKit) There continues to be a division of authority as to whether an award can be made both for loss of a member and for disfigurement resulting from the same loss. Disfigurement awards are not limited to scarification. A Delaware court, for example, has allowed a disfigurement award for varicose veins [see Martinez v. General Metalcraft, Inc., 919 A.2d 561, 2007 Del. LEXIS 64 (2007), See –Larson's Workers Compensation Law Ch. 88, § 88.02 n14.1].
Generally, as to maximum weekly benefits, combined weekly benefits for the two injuries should never be higher than the weekly maximum for total disability. As to maximum-number-of-weeks limits, when the two injuries each have such a limit, most courts still hold that the two periods of time may be placed end to end See –Larson's Workers Compensation Law, [Ch. 92].
Finding that an employee's "injuries" resulting from improper dissemination of employee's HIV status did not arise out of her employment, a Tennessee court recently held the employee's tort action against her employer, a manager, and a coworker were outside the workers' compensation law and not barred by exclusivity [Doe v. Walgreens Co., 2010 Tenn. App. LEXIS 734 (Nov. 24, 2010)]. ), See –Larson's Workers Compensation Law, [Ch. 100, § 100.04 n16.1].
2010 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. This material is excerpted from Larson’s Workers Compensation Law. Reprinted with permission.
©2011 Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved under International Copyright Law. If you would like permission to reprint this material, contact Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
A North Dakota court allowed information about an injured worker's earnings to be obtained pursuant to a subpoena of bank records.
In State v. Hammer, 2010 ND 152, 787 N.W.2d 716 (2010), the Supreme Court of North Dakota affirmed a decision of a state district court that denied a workers compensation claimant's motion to suppress bank records obtained through administrative subpoena duces tecum in a workers compensation fraud case.
Author Robert Elliott, executive vice president, Amaxx Risks Solutions, Inc. has worked successfully for 20 years with many industries to reduce Workers Compensation costs, including airlines, healthcare, printing/publishing, pharmaceuticals, retail, hospitality and manufacturing. See www.LowerWC.com for more information. Contact: Info@ReduceYourWorkersComp.com.
"Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%"
guidebook from Advisen and the Workers Comp Resource Center.
Perfect for promotional distribution by brokers and agents!
DISCLAMER: Do not use this information without independent verification. All state laws are different and change frequently. We do the best we can to provide up-to-date information but do not guarantee it is always perfect. Consult with your corporate legal counsel before implementing any cost-containment program.
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