The decision came in. It was not what you had hoped for. After being unable to return to work for quite some time, your company’s insurer decided your injuries were not severe enough to warrant workers’ compensation. You went to see their doctor in good faith, but that doctor has apparently determined that your injuries were not caused by your workplace accident.
You know better, however. If your workers’ compensation claim was denied, here are three things you should do.
If you are a nurse, chances are you know of several people in your line of work that have suffered a workplace injury. Perhaps you have been injured in the course of completing your job duties. It's no doubt that the medical care field is full of potentially hazardous conditions that can cause workplace injuries.
In the United States, the nursing industry leads workplace injuries. Here are the top causes of injury to nurses and how to lessen the risk of becoming an injury statistic.
Atwood, Holsten, Brown, Deaver & Spier Law Firm is pleased to announce that attorneys Corey L. Stull and Jeanette Stull have joined the firm.
Attorney Christa Binstock Israel was recently selected to the Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers Rising Stars List in the practice area of Workers' Compensation (Great Plains). The Super Lawyers' Rising Stars list recognizes attorneys 40 years old or younger or who have been practicing law for 10 years or less who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. The selection process includes a statewide survey of lawyers, an independent research evaluation of candidates, and peer reviews by practice area. No more than 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state are selected for this honor. A description of the selection methodology can be found here.
Yes! Key steps are required to ensure your settlement will not count as income to affect your entitlement to governmental benefits. Steps such as a special needs trust, negotiations with governmental entities, repayment of conditional payments and specific language in settlement documents is often essential to ensure your governmental benefits are not interrupted.
Lost income and earning power, past and future, and even if your time off was covered by PTO or sick leave; the full charges for all medical care received and not just what insurance paid; pain; mental anguish; inconvenience; permanent disability; a spouse or parent's loss of consortium. If death has resulted, the damages are calculated differently.
Unfortunately, often the answer is no. When another driver wrecks your car beyond repair, his or her insurance company should pay you the actual cash value of your car before it was totaled. The industry standard definition of actual cash value is "replacement cost" minus "depreciation." Replacement cost is the amount of money it would take to replace your vehicle with a similar one. Depreciation is the amount of money your car has devalued over time. The insurer also should pay for the sales tax on the new vehicle that you purchase with the insurance money.
Perhaps, but probably not, unfortunately. The adjuster has financial incentives to minimize your recovery. If this were not the case, why are initial settlement offers low? There are many ways the adjuster tries to do this. One common method is to minimize your medical bills by counting only what health insurance has paid on a reduced fee schedule and not the full charge for the bill, which the law requires. Also, be very wary of adjusters offering to settle a case early, before you have finished recovering, especially in the case of a spine or head injury.
In Nebraska, Rule 5 provides that "The court shall appoint an interpreter in any legal proceeding in order to assist a person who cannot readily understand or communicate the English or spoken language." Once a claimant formally requests an interpreter at a hearing, the employer/insurance company must pay the costs for the same. There are different levels of interpreters who are available to provide services at a hearing, including (from highest to lowest): Certified Court Interpreters, Provisionally Certified Court Interpreters, and Registered Court Interpreters. There are also several levels of Sign Language Court Interpreters. The Supreme Court rules indicate that "diligent efforts must be made to obtain the highest level of certification before allowing an interpreter with a lower level of certification to interpret." The Nebraska Supreme Court keeps a Court Interpreter Directory listing the language, certification level, area, and contact information of interpreters. The languages include Vietnamese, Somali, Spanish, Cantonese Mandarin, Bosnian/Serb/Croatian, ASL, French, Mandarin Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, and Arabic. If an alternative language is needed, the Interpreter Coordinators may be able to help. If you require a Court Reporter for your medical appointments, often the employer/insurance company will provide one at their cost as well. At Atwood, Holsten, Brown, Deaver & Spier Law, we know that you likely only get "one day" in Court and that it is important that you be able to understand the legal proceedings and communicate with the Judge and witnesses. We'll do all we can to ensure that you are afforded an interpreter at your medical appointments, deposition, and court hearings.
The Nebraska Workers' Compensation Act allows for penalties, or even possible imprisonment, for employers who fail to provide workers' compensation coverage for their employees. If the employer is found to have failed to purchase workers' compensation insurance, is not self-insured, and is not a member of the risk management pool, any or all of the following penalties may be imposed:
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68521
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Omaha,
NE
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