Oh I have.
Fear?... never!
Anxiety, opccaisionally, but I can deal with it at my own pace.
I have never been happier. I however do not take anything for granted, nor do I put myself on such a high pedestal that one strong wind can blow me off.
A fool is destined to reapeat his own mistakes.. and the definition of insanity is to keep doing the same behaivior over and over expecting different results.
I try to learn from my mistakes and have compassion and empathy for other peoples situations. I dont judge when people are having a hard time, and I have also learned not to compare myself to other people for there will always be greater and lesser persons than myself.
Karma sees you as you are, knows your real intention and does not forgive the debt.
That is its favor to you...knowledge is power and learning makes you a better person. So if learning and gaining knowledge means you have to pay a karmic debt to balance the Universe then so be it.
Just when I thought you couldnt be a bigger arsehole...Originally Posted by Sylvan
This is the site for the family leave act. There has been changes so be aware of them.
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm
Afraid of Being Terminated While on Workers Comp? Most employers will make the i-w believe this. Like most employers, they may have the false belief that by terminating you, it will relieve them from responsibility.
The truth is, it’s not in their interest to do so.
As long as you’re still under restrictions, you will still be eligible for wage loss and medical.
I-W If my doctor feels that he should release me on light duty, how do I handle telling him that I do not feel that is correct considering I know very well how demanding my job is? How (or should I) involved my attorney on this?
Tell him your concerns at your visits.
He is obligated to return you to work at any capacity as soon as possible.
He will probably return you to work, with restrictions.
He can't write you up for no work, because of your anxieties.
I-W should I keep in touch with my employer and let them know (based on my doctors current plan) what his eta of my return to work would be (I don't know how he can determine that since I have not even started PT)
Your employer receives copies of your status, from the IC, he knows everything about your case, he's not in the dark about anything. My employer would get every report from the insurance company, and some times they would play dumb and ask me what is going on? My response was contact your insurance carrier for the reports.
Just remember your employer is not in the dark about anything.
I-W should I just leave everything for my attorney's to handle (communication with employer, doctors and WCI)?
Never have contact with any of the mentioned without your attorneys presence or permission.
http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/
http://www.ssa.gov/
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm
Last edited by zinger; May 27th, 2010 at 11:58 PM.
This is very importent if you have recieved a work injury and are new to whole WCS.
The Workers' Compensation Act provides mandated insurance coverage to workers who are injured on the job.
The benefits under Workers' Comp can include weekly payments based on a percentage of the employee's average weekly wage for temporary total disability, partial disability, permanent and total disability and permanent loss of function and disfigurement. Workers' Comp also covers medical expenses for treatment that is reasonable, necessary and related to the industrial injury and vocational rehabilitation services.
manufacturer of the product that caused the injury, lack of safety devices or some other party who is at fault. Our lawyers can help locate third parties as well as handling the Workers' Comp benefits to which you may be entitled.
Workers compensation (or workers comp) provides compensation, without litigation, for workers injured or disabled on the job. Workers' compensation is insurance that provides cash benefits and/or medical care for workers who are injured or become ill as a direct result of their job. The Workers' Compensation Board is a state agency that processes the claims and determines, through a judicial proceeding, whether a worker will receive benefits and/or medical care, and how much he/she will receive. However, as many injured workers can tell you, workers compensation benefits are not always enough.
Typical New York on the job injuries include:
Falls from ladders and scaffolds
Machinery that is defective in
Toxic chemical injuries
Product liability
Lead poisoning
Construction Accidents
Head injuries
Death or dismemberment
An attorney's assistance may be desirable if the issues are complicated. If a lawsuit is necessary to get you the benefits that you deserve, you can also win damages for pain and suffering as well as lost wages. If a loved one died as a result of negligence, the employer can also be sued for wrongful death, which will provide directly for the dependents of the victim. The statue of limitations is short and the paperwork is complicated. Disability Benefit Denials
Disability Income policies are drafted with ambiguous and confusing contractual terms. This provides insurance companies with multiple reasons for delaying and denying disability income benefits. Given the complexity of the legal issues involved and the tendency of insurance companies to vigorously defend claim denials, evaluation of any potential legal claim on behalf of an insured should be handled by a disability attorney or law firm experienced in insurance claims and bad faith litigation.
If an insurance company has denied a claim and upheld the denial through internal appeal and grievance procedures, the insured can sue on a number of legal theories. The theories include breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing (bad faith) and under some circumstances infliction of emotional distress and fraud.
The two primary legal remedies available in most cases are breach of contract to recover the value of the denied benefit or service and any incidental damages and bad faith. Bad faith is the unreasonable denial of a benefit and may allow recovery for emotional distress, interest on out-of-pocket losses, damages for any attorney fee obligations incurred and, in limited circumstances involving malicious or willful misconduct, punitive and exemplary damages. These legal remedies are ones that are available under state law, not federal law. In addition, especially with regard to the tort remedies of bad faith, infliction of emotional distress and fraud, the availability of the remedy and the nature and extent of damages recoverable vary from state to state.
All insurance policies contain an implied obligation applicable to the insurance company of "good faith and fair dealing" towards its insured. When a claim is presented, this implied obligation means that an insurance company cannot simply look for reasons not to pay. Instead, the company must make a thorough investigation of the claim, must consider all reasons and circumstances that might support the claim, and must give as much consideration to the financial interest of the insured as it gives to its own financial interest.
If an insurance company refuses to pay a claim that should be paid or offers to settle a claim for less than it knows the claim is worth or denies a claim without adequate investigation, this could give rise to a so-called bad faith claim against the insurance company, i.e., a claim that the company has breached its implied obligation of good faith and fair dealing. If the company is found to have acted in bad faith in its handling of a claim, the insured is entitled to all damages resulting from that action, including certain types of damages that would not be available just for breach of contract. In cases of extreme or outrageous misconduct by an insurance company, the insured also may be entitled to receive punitive damages.
Important stuff if you are nearing a settlement.
On the question: An i-w has been receiving workers comp for over 2 years and has been accepted to receive social security disability as well. He now receives money from comp and disability. He is ready therefore, to settle the comp case but the hitch is that Medicare will not pay for anything related to his initial work injury. Is there a way to settle the comp case but have comp continue to pay for his pain meds, as it is our understanding that Medicare will not?
A system that is set up for the i-w is called a set aside. Part of the comp settlement is placed in a trust account to pay for future medical. The amount is negotiated between the parties and Medicare. Once the set aside is used up Medicare will start picking up the medical on the comp injury.
NY passed legislation a few years ago that allows an i-w to cash out the indemnity in lump sum without a commutation or discount. You can do this and leave the medical open, based on necessity.
Where a WCMSA/Workers Compensation Medicare set aside arrangement is REQIRED, a proposal would be developed based on the past 2 years medical treatment and the anticipated future needs. This is not a figure negotiated between the parties... the MSA is submitted to CMS/Medicare for review and approval. If the MSA proposal is not adequate to protect Medicare interests, CMS will provide a figure. There is no appeals process. Not all MSA are actually reviewed, depends on the workload at the regional office.
Regardless of how the claim is resolved, be sure you take the necessary steps to protect Medicare interests. There can be penalties for not doing this.
Here are two sites on this subject
http://www.jjcelderlaw.com/SettlementProcessMSABull.htm
http://www.cms.gov/WorkersCompAgency....asp#TopOfPage
So many questions about qualifying for SSD. I will list some good sites at the bottom of this page.
From and i-w “I received SSDI on my own, no attorney. Just the assistance of the worker in Soc. Sec. and in 3 months had everything taken care of while still collecting Workers Comp. 50 is not a magic number. From what the worker told me, it is all documentation from the doctor. I am only 38 and was approved at 37”
'50' is not a magic number. But the closer an applicant is to 50, or once awarded SSDI benefits, the criteria changes somewhat as the applicant is not more 'disabled', but has a lesser ability of performing ''gainful employment''.
While qualifying for SSDI and being declared ''disabled'' under SSA rules is the main factor, the ability to perform ANY type of job is the reason to be disabled and apply in the first place.
Lots of applicants are approved on the first go round in the process...it's only those that experience difficulty that you hear about. If you fit the requirement/rules...and provide the necessary documentation...it would stand to reason you would receive benefits. Denial is not automatic.
When you are 50 and above, the criteria for being found disabled "relaxes". That’s why the word "Magical" is used.
To be approved at 38 without a Attorney and the 1st go round shows you cannot work any type of job and SSA believes your Disability is so obvious you cannot be retrained at any work level.
You can be turned down at 38 BUT be accepted at 53 with the same disability. Read this:
Why is age 50 so important in a SSDI case?
It goes without saying, the older you are, the better chance you have of being awarded disability. Age 50 is the “cut off” point for claimants filing for social security disability. If you had two claimants with nearly identical disabilities and backgrounds and only one of them is older than 50, the older claimant is more likely to receive benefits than the younger claimant. Claimants younger than 50 simply have a harder burden to overcome, although it is not impossible.
Why is it harder for younger claimants to receive disability benefits? If you are disabled it does not matter how old you are, right? Well not exactly. The social security administration has stated that even if a claimant cannot perform substantially all sedentary work, it does not mean that they are entitled to receive benefits. The reason being your background may dictate you working in another field. The SSA will look at your age, education, work experience, etc and determine if you have any transferable work skills that enable you to work despite your disability. This becomes important when you have a disability that prohibits you from doing substantially all sedentary work and you are below age 50. The SSA believes that claimants under age 50 have not yet reached an age that is old enough to limit their ability to adjust to other work. Is it fair, probably not especially if you are 47 and have the same disability as a claimant who is 51. But in defense of the SSA policy, there has to be some point where advanced age significantly becomes a factor.
Claimants under age 50 are put up against the task of having to rebut the testimony of a vocational expert at their hearing. This is a difficult task for many claimants. Vocational experts have often times heard several cases and have years of experience. Social security disability attorneys deal with vocational experts on a daily basis. If you find yourself in this situation, you are better off having counsel on your side to handle the cross examination of a vocational expert.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/step4and5.htm
http://www.1888pressrelease.com/appr...pr-125370.html
Remember the wait time in WNY is still about 24 to 28 months for a hearing theone of the longest wait time in the nation.
Here we have some great questions from an i-w dealing with the system for the first time.
i-w: I've been reading up online about worker's compensation and some of MY rights, but I've got a small handful of questions that I'm hoping anyone here can help me answer.
1) I've read that an employee has up to 30 days to report an on-the-job injury. Is there a time limit that the company has to report it to the WCB from the moment they find out about an on-the-job injury (24 hours, 72 hours, 7 days, etc.)?
2) What is a reasonable amount of time before an insurance company will accept or deny a claim? The IC took almost 3 months before denying my claim.
3) Yesterday there was someone following me (I made quite a few odd turns and on-ramp diversions to be certain). I'm guessing this was either an insurance agent or a PI. What exactly CAN and CAN'T they do?
4) How much input/influence does an employer have with the insurance company (can the company request that the claim be denied)?
I have a feeling that there is some manipulation from the company when it comes to my injury/claim. Management receives higher financial compensation at the end of every fiscal year based on a low number of WC claims at the facility (fewer injuries=higher bonus). My injury was roughly 3 weeks prior to the end of the year.
My lawyer suggests that it could simply be coincidence. But I've seen things done by management in the past to insure that they receive their bonuses, so 'holding off' on reporting my injury would not surprise me. I'm looking for information that might help me confirm or deny my suspicions.
________________________________
1) all injuries should be reported to your immediate supervisor as soon as they happen. Even if there is no need for medical attention or treatment. Were you to injure yourself, not report the injury to your ER and then file a WC claim then that will make the claim harder to prove.
2) There is no set amount of time. As soon as the IC has any medical report stating that the injury is work-related or not that is when a decision is made OR should there be no report of a work-place injury (not reporting injury to supervisor)
3) Just as their title implies- they can investigate. Just follow your Drs restrictions and you shouldn't have a problem if there is a PI tailing you. Should you believe or have proof that said PI is trespassing or harassing you or family, call the police and file a report with them.
4) As soon as a claim is filed with your employers can say/do whatever they want. From that point on, your claim is based on prima facia (showing proof of injury). Unless the employer has proof that an injured worker injured himself or herself on purpose, not much else is needed from the employer
when you were injured, did you report the injury and fill out any paperwork? If so, you should have received a copy of it. Your ER can say and do what it wants but unless they are self-insured, they really have no control over what their IC does.
Just remember your ER and the ic work hand and hand an most of the time it's not in your favor.
Listen to your attorney. They have the experience with handling WC claims. Injuries must be filed with the ERs carrier. The ER/employer is the insured party, not the employee.
You/IW is merely the receipient of the benefits due... that's about all. You don't have to prove you are injured, only that the injury meets the AOE/COE standard... happened in the course of performing your job duties.
Your atty should answer these questions... he has the file and knows the facts of your claim... we don't, and there is no 'norm' or usual way claims are handled.... all are unique. Responses on any message board have to be generic to your situation.
Internal Memos - Insurance Training Seminar: Part 1
From A Memo for Insurance Company Defense Attorneys/ training seminar/ "Case Settlement Negotiation Strategies"
This is a tough read, but well worth it when you start to see just how the industry thinks about you and your well being. I will post the memos in two parts.
Worker's Compensation litigation and case settlement negotiations can be likened to a high stakes game of stud poker. A Worker's Compensation claim is won or lost by combining and manipulating the three proven motivators of the human spirit: fear, hatred and greed.
The initial step in defending or negotiating any workers compensation claim is to arm yourself for the fracas. Nothing can replace comprehensive preparation and knowledge of your file material when preparing for the trial or settlement.
It is absolutely imperative that each litigated file have a comprehensive chronological receipt, review and analysis letter with specific goals listed therein. Failure to provide a chronological case summary will result in weakness as you will be always wondering whether the opposing party understands and profits from issues you may have missed.
Every malingering injured worker lives in fear of the truth. The truth only reigns supreme if you are able to prove disputed facts through the subpoena of past employment, litigation and medical records. Receipt and chronological summarization of all past records forms a critical part of the defense bulwark as you then possess hard documentation to refute later misrepresentations by the applicant.
Of course, your review of all subpoenaed records will concentrate not only on inconsistencies as presented to the medical providers, but also for signs of personal debt, marital strife, sickness or criminal activity. Your records review should be almost "PREDATORY" in nature as you want to uncover any potential weakness of the opposing party while at the same time increasing your strength through knowledge.
The subpoena and summarization of records should be followed by an intensive deposition of the allegedly injured worker. Particular attention should be paid to uncovering applicant's complete past medical, employment, and litigation history. Special attention should be paid to having the applicant specifically define physical restrictions emanating from the injury. Nothing assists the defense posture more than an applicant who lies under oath regarding their past employment history or current physical restrictions.
Subpoena of records and deposition of the injured worker should be followed by sub-rosa investigation if the applicant exhibited malingering streaks at the deposition. Investigation should be supplemented with an interview of any and all alleged witnesses to the accident. Again, you are trying to create a chain of events establishing applicant to lack the inherent honesty most people possess. In effect, you want to create a factual basis for the evaluating physicians to completely discount applicant's subjective complaints.
The final step in preparing your case for trial or resolution is the solicitation of a medical/legal report. The medical referral letter is the cornerstone of any successful defense case. You must not assume that the physicians will take the time to read any of the enclosed medical records. It is imperative that the claims examiner provide the physician with a chronological presentation of the case that blends together all of the medical records, deposition testimony and sub-rosa investigation. The medical referral letter should emphasize any deceit exhibited by the applicant, symptom magnifications or contradictions between subjective complaints of pain and the lack of objective markers of disability as exhibited in the sub-rosa film. Of course, a healthy history of worker's compensation litigation will cause many physicians to discount an applicant's complaints of pain. Contrary to public opinion, most applicant's attorneys are rather well heeled lawyers who do not enjoy dirtying their hands with deceitful and disgusting clients.
One of my goals in defending any workers' compensation claim is to engender dislike of the applicant by opposing counsel. Nothing pleases me more that to watch a major rift develop between an injured worker and the opposing attorney because of my presence in the case.
Internal Memos - Insurance Training Seminar: Part 2
I will first start off by gently reminding opposing counsel that his client is either abusing drugs, using alcohol to excess or abusing his kids or wife. Of course excellent sub-rosa videotape directly contradicting applicant's deposition testimony can serve to undermine the confidence of an applicant's attorney. I always remind opposing counsel of their client's loathsome habits such as inability to hold a job, marital infidelity or disgusting medical problems.
I next desire to create a fear of the injured worker in the mind of opposing counsel. It is imperative that you continually make opposing counsel work and meet with his client. I enjoy filing petitions for change of physician, requests for formal and informal rehabilitation conferences and request for pre-trial conferences. I want as many time-sensitive deadlines to exist as possible in the hope that the opposing counsel will miss a filing deadline. I then remind opposing counsel in no uncertain terms that his client is a highly litigious individual who will be suing him next. Nothing resolves a case faster than a fear of malpractice, The actual negotiation of a claim becomes rather simple once you have comprehensively prepared your case. Opposing counsel should be softened up to the point that the following negotiating tips will result in a beneficial resolution:
1. Commence settlement negotiations at the lowest possible dollar value. I am never reasonable with opposing counsel. I always start my settlement negotiations based solely on the defense position. To start negotiations at the "mid-point" is to assume that you have a weak case.
2. Wound your opponent. Do everything legally possible to terminate all sources of income to the injured worker. I do not wish to appear cruel, however a fraudulent workers' compensation applicant is entitled to no sympathy. You must create hunger on the part of the applicant in order to push forward a defense oriented settlement. Accordingly you should notify any employer or self-funded disability carrier that applicant is no longer disabled. You should also make sure that the State Disability benefits are terminated through the provision of defense medical reports to the EDD.
3. Increase financial pressure on the applicant. Nothing facilitates a settlement more than a whole herd of bill collectors pounding on the applicant's door. Liability for payment of all medical bills should be terminated as soon as legally possible. The provider should then be advised of the termination and advised that they can always turn to the injured worker for payment.
4. Use vocational rehabilitation as a sword. Many injured workers realize that they can "win the battle and lose the war" if they litigate their claim to the point that they are found a qualified injured worker entitled to vocational rehabilitation. Nothing chills the ardor of an employed applicant more than the prospect of finding himself put in a vocational rehabilitation plan with the goal of becoming a burger flipper. Emphasize the value of their current employment.
5. Make opposing counsel trade and negotiate for every issue. I suggest inserting copious amounts of boiler plate into your compromise and release that can be traded away.
6. Always let opposing counsel "see the light at the end of the tunnel" by reminding him or her that a global settlement will enrich them while disposing of a client who is utilizing an inordinate amount of time and effort. You do not want opposing counsel to be so frustrated with the settlement negotiations that he or she simply throws up his or her hands and resorts to trial.
7. Offer to avoid engaging in a scorched earth policy in exchange for a beneficial settlement. Many applicants are frequently running personal liability, social security disability or state disability claims. Many of these tangential claims can be seriously compromised by the defendants if they choose to send all defense medical reports to the provider of benefits. Defense silence can be worth money.
8. Utilize present value calculations when calculating compromise and release settlements. Applicants' attorneys are frequently mathematically ignorant and a slow explanation of the theory of present value can result in a significant reduction in payment.
9. Limit your offer to a specific period of time.
10. Offer to change the "shape" of money in order to facilitate recovery of benefits from another source. Injured workers will frequently apply for Social Security Disability income. Social Security will credit any permanent disability recovery that an applicant receives. The law enables you to characterize benefits as payment for settlement of future medical treatment rights and thereby avoid subjecting applicant to the Social Security offset.
11. Utilize structured settlements.
12. Keep your eye on vocational rehabilitation. If you are compromising and releasing a claim with an applicant who is enrolled in vocational rehabilitation, you may want to pay some thought to providing 50 percent of this settlement upon issuance of the order approving compromise and release and 50 percent after successful completion of rehabilitation.
13. Subsequent Injuries Fund relief. Any case that presents potential permanent disability liability of 70 percent or more must be approached in light of the Subsequent Injuries Fund (S.I.F.). The S.I.F. then contributes to payments to industrially injured workers who came to the work force with a pre-existing disability. This law was passed to encourage employment of disabled individuals.
The S.I.F. will only come into play if the combined disability is 70 percent or more and also meets one of the following criteria:
1. The first disability must have affected a hand, arm, foot, leg, or eye, and the second injury must have affected the opposite member and must rate five percent or more without adjustment for age or occupation or......
2. Permanent disability from the industrial injury must be 35 percent or more without adjustment of rating for age or occupation. If we assume that an injured worker's overall permanent disability (combining both pre-existing disability from any source whatsoever and the subsequent industrial injury) rates 90 percent, and the amount attributable to the industrial injury is 40 percent, the Subsequent Injury Fund would pay 50 percent standard disability and would be liable for the life pension. The S.I.F. relief should always come into play in any large loss case.
Told you it was a tough read. And this was after I broke it into paragraphs (now I see why it was originally a run-on sentence, the forum has a limit of 10,000 characters).
But it's scary that this is how insurance companies think...
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/step4and5.htm
http://www.ssa.gov/
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm
Collins will never win this one no matter how much he cries about the i-w. His fight will never hold up in court aganist the NYWCB.
Make sure you read the last part of the article
Collins was frustrated by an annual outlay of about $11 million for workers comp. So the county implemented a policy requiring workers collecting indemnity (about 300 in all) to pick up the checks in person from the supervisor. Collins hoped that this face-to-face contact might lead to quicker return to work for employees capable of performing light duty.
Not surprisingly, the state comp board had serious concerns with the new "return to work" program.
"It places an additional burden upon an injured worker at a time when the claimant is not medically able to return to the workplace." Oh, by the way, it's also illegal.
The Collins administration fired back, saying that the board lacks the authority to halt Erie County's new policy and that it will continue, at least for workers with temporary injuries.
Erie spokesman Grant Loomis blasted the comp board: "We were not surprised that a board full of Albany bureaucrats would raise objections to getting municipal workers back to work as soon as possible." (With his demonstrated talent for distortion, Loomis may have a future in politics.)
Loomis said Collins wants to revise the program to call in only the recently injured who might have substantially recovered and can perform light tasks, currently about two dozen people. Collins wants workers to receive their checks directly from their supervisors, who then would ask whether they could return to work in some capacity.
Compounded Errors:
Mr. Collins and his henchmen are making a couple of basic mistakes: first, they issue a blanket policy covering 300 people, even though they only want to target about two dozen. Then they ask supervisors to do things they are not qualified to do: determine whether injured workers can perform light duty tasks and, while they are at it, distribute checks. All in all, not a very good idea.
The missing piece is obvious: no one is talking to the treating physicians. Only doctors can determine the medically necessary restrictions - what the injured worker can and cannot do - and whether temporary light duty would be appropriate.
Now before Erie County implements a policy requiring doctors to show up in person for their checks, here is an alternative: establish lines of communication with the treating doctors. Track medical visits and ask doctors to update restrictions each time the employee sees the doctor. Supervisors should be kept in the loop, especially in regard to available light duty tasks, many of which are seasonal, but they should not be asked to manage the entire process. That is a job for county administrators. Heck, even Grant Loomis could help out, provided, of course, he takes a class in diplomacy. Angry rhetoric might work for politicians stirring up the masses, but it is usually counterproductive in the challenging world of workers comp.
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disability/step4and5.htm
http://www.ssa.gov/
http://www.dol.gov/whd/fmla/index.htm
Last edited by zinger; September 19th, 2010 at 11:04 PM.
A lot of your information doesn't apply to State Workers does it? I have an occupational injury due to exposure to diesel fuel from a leaking underground storage tank at a NYS Group Home I worked at. My claim was controverted by the NYSIF as soon as I filed the Comp Claim and they hired a PI to call me professing to want to "Assist me with My WC Claim the NYSIF had controverted, and insisted they come to my home to have me sign Medical Release forms. I was finally able to hire an Attorney, who did not use any of the supporting documentation I provided to "prove" the tank didn't just start leaking as the State wanted everyone to believe, nor did he meet with me prior to my pre hearing or hearing. On the pre hearing paperwork I received, it said the NYSIF would be doing an IME prior to my hearing and my witnesses would be called. None of this happened, and when I got to the hearing, the attorney was late, and rushed me into the hearing room, had me sign a stipulation agreement, I didn't understand, as well as a blank medical records release form so the NYSIF could access my "prior medical records", asked for $450.00 and told me at the end of the hearing I could apply for SSD. In the meantime, the NYSIF used the blank records release form and added additional diagnosis's (other than what my worker's comp claim was about), got 54 pages of records about me from an MD I no longer see, and kept a copy of this blank records release form in their file (I found this out when I sent a FOIL request to the IC) signed by me to obtain additional records once the records they initially received were reviewed. As soon the the hearing was over, I received a notice from the IC setting me up to see an Orthopedic Surgeon for my Chemical Exposure......And the story goes on and on and on. I am disgusted with the way this whole system works.
My very first suggestion is fire your attorney and find a new one! You sign nothing unless your attorney tells you too and 99 % of the time it’s in front of him in the courtroom not at home! Special funds (NYSIF) can send someone from their office just to ask basic information if they are paying you. Drivers license verification that you live at that residence and a few other small things. Example would be myself SF employee (not a PI) will come to my house I would tell them to wait I call my attorney’s office tell the office who is at my door and I hand the phone to that person at the door they talk to them and the office tells them what then can ask me. Right now this is happening about twice a year but it can be once. No PIs to your door tell them to leave and call your attorney or tell them to sit in the street and tell them to call your attorney!
“A lot of your information doesn't apply to State Workers”
The Public sector is no different than the private when it comes to NYSWC. You see the same IME’s as the private sector and deal with the NYSEC (special funds) as private sector employees. At times a private sector employee can deal with more IC depending on the situation. You and thousands of other i-w go through this broken system. The NYSWC system and the NYSR disabilities, which you have to deal with if you try to retire, lead to a long road of hell for you and your family. What they want you to do is give up and go away! Take some time and read all my posts about this subject and check out a lot of the web sites at the end of the pages.
What I would like you to do now is find a your own Orthopedic and go to your family doctor for your injuries, and the claim to your doctors will be filed under workers’ comp. Like yourself most injured workers never go and see their own doctors and then they have nothing to back up their claim and the ic wins.
I was just in the southern tier and I talked to about 100 injured workers that are going through both systems NYSWC, NYSRD. both private and public employees and 75% of these people are lost in the system why because they are misguided with information. Also over the five years that I have fought both systems in court. I myself have seen 5 of my own doctors 4 MRI's and close to 20,000 pages of reports. This does not include the ic reports and ime's.
On another issue if you are appealing your case with the NYSRS disabilties you are waiting close to a year for the answer from the state.
Last edited by zinger; September 22nd, 2010 at 10:31 PM.
With the elections just around the corner i-w have been asking me who supports workers comp reform, and reform to the NYSDR system. Unfortunately none it’s the same old stuff these politicians give us! They are all bringing changes to Albany, which never happens.
A viewpoint that was in the Buffalo News about six months ago from an injured worker.
“Our legislators local and state should start listening to us! We hired them through elections so they work for us. God knows we didn’t hire them for their overwhelming intellects; they’re not that smart. We hired them to represent our views, not to impose their ideas on what they think we need.
They need to empty their mailboxes and answer our letters and e-mails. Stop ignoring us, underestimating us by lying to us. Stop bribing special interest groups (insurance companies). Show us some honesty and integrity. If these tasks are too difficult for them, they should checkout the nearest unemployment office like so many of us have had to do. They will need their services soon."
I WOULD NOT VOTE FOR ANY ENCUMBENT THAT IS RUNNING IN THE WNY AREA
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