Sometimes work-related injuries aren’t that bad, like a pulled back or a bruised bone. Sometimes they’re worse, like a torn ligament or a slipped disc.
And then sometimes they’re bad enough to be called catastrophic, because your life will never be the same. Serious brain injuries damaged spinal cord, paralysis, amputated limbs, or severe burns.
No one is mentally prepared for an injury of that magnitude, and sustaining an injury like that can have far more long-reaching mental and emotional effects than most people expect.
Often in catastrophic injury cases, it’s not difficult to convince a jury that you’ve been injured. The extensive damage speaks for itself, so you don’t need a lawyer who can explain your injuries. What you will need, however, is a lawyer who can create a thorough, comprehensive treatment plan for both physical and mental injuries so that you can be assured of getting the compensation that you deserve.
It’s far too easy to settle for less than you are owed, but unless you know how much money it will cost to be treated, you can’t possibly know what sort of payout is fair. One hundred thousand dollars may sound like a lot of money in the courtroom, but rising medical costs and expensive medical procedures will use up that kind of money faster than should be possible.
Without a representative who can fight to get you the full compensation that you’re owed, you may find that you can no longer work, and that you don’t have enough money to pay medical bills.
If you or someone you know has suffered a catastrophic injury due to someone else’s negligence, call an experienced lawyer today!
Throughout our entire lives we become accustomed to simple, visible cause-and-effects. You hit your finger with a hammer, and it hurts. You fall, and break your arm.
Those are easy to see, and easy to understand.
It’s far more difficult to understand the idea that small doses of a chemical over days, months, or years can cause serious health problems many years later. There’s no clear link.
In addition to making it hard for regular people to understand, it makes it extra hard for a court to make the connection. After all, that cancer could have come from anything. Do you smoke? Well, clearly it was the smoking.
No one wants to pay large amounts of money for someone’s else’s health care if they can avoid it, so companies will find every excuse not to pay you. Anything you do can become ammunition for them to use to deny you your payments.
The fact of the matter is that workers can easily be exposed to harsh, cancer-causing chemicals that may take five, ten, or even twenty years to cause cancer, but their progress is inexorable, and the cause-and-effect chain is made of steel.
If you suspect that you’ve been exposed to chemicals that may cause serious illnesses in several years, or if you’ve already developed an illness that you think was caused by chemical exposure on the job, you should contact a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that you have someone on your side, advocating for you to get what rightfully belongs to you.
Everyone knows what it’s like to buy a piece of defective equipment, whether it’s a toaster that doesn’t work, or a shirt with a ripped seam. Generally today we just take those things back to the store and they replace them or refund them.
But what happens when you’re using a piece of equipment at work, and it breaks? If there’s no injury involved, you just report it to your boss and go on with your day, but what if that piece of equipment is responsible for you getting injured?
Companies never want to pay extra money to their employees if they can help it, so in cases like that, they’ll try to shift the blame. They may blame it on a manufacturer defect and claim that it isn’t their fault, or even try to say that the accident was nobody’s fault.
The fact of the matter is that if you get injured on the job for ANY reason, it’s somebody’s fault, and you deserve compensation.
The law is often confusing and difficult to understand, which is why if you’ve been injured by a piece of equipment, defective or not, you should contact an attorney experienced in workers’ compensation in order to help get the compensation that you deserve.
Don’t let corporate rhetoric stop you from getting compensated for your injury, especially if that injury prevents you from working in the meantime. Being injured can change your entire life, and you need to fight back!
Brain injuries can be some of the most difficult cases when it comes to workers’ compensation, but they can also be some of the most expensive.
Brain injuries have the problem of not being outwardly visible, so they can be very difficult to diagnose and treat, and even more difficult to convince others to pay for. To make matters even worse, many brain injuries don’t manifest immediately. So you can feel ‘fine’ after a concussion, but then hours later you may suddenly fall unconscious, or not be able to remember your name.
It’s much easier to get compensation for something like a broken leg, because everyone can see that the leg is obviously broken. But when it comes to brain injuries, there will always be someone who suspects that you are just ‘making it up’.
Symptoms can be as straightforward as loss of consciousness, or as subtle as mood swings, but both cases need extensive, expensive treatment.
That’s why it’s so important to have a good attorney on your side when you’re trying to get the compensation that you deserve for a work-related injury.
If you’ve suffered some sort of head trauma while on the job, you should really consider visiting a specialist to get tested for a brain injury. Some of the symptoms may be so subtle that you aren’t even aware of them. It often takes someone else to say, “You know, you’ve been acting really strange ever since…”
The longer you wait for treatment, the worse it can be!
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that former workers that worked in the uranium mills in Grand Junction, Gunnison, Maybell, Durango, Nucla, Naturita, Rifle, Slick Rock and several other locations may be eligible for government medical benefits and compensation from radiation related illnesses and diseases. The U.S. Energy Department ruling increased the list of mill tailings plants from three to twenty.
The change was spurred by last month’s decision regarding the Uranium Mill at Shiprock, New Mexico, that determined the mill workers fell under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act. Once this decision was in place, a survey was conducted that identified the additional plants that met the statutory definition of controlled radiation facility. These mills dated back as far as 1942, however the benefits may only extend to illness claims up until the year 2000.
The U.S. Department of Labor will be notifying eligible workers about potential benefits via mail. However, those workers from the mills who feel the new announcement may affect them may want to contact an experienced Colorado workers compensation attorney to ensure that they receive the maximum amount of benefits and compensation.
When you have reached maximum medical improvement and received an impairment rating following treatment for your Colorado workers compensation claim, your insurance will issue a Final Admission of Liability or a General Admission of Liability. In short, this is a list of the benefits that the insurance company believes you should receive for your injury.
This documentation is one of the single most important pieces of paper you will receive during your Colorado workers compensation claim, and unfortunately it doesn’t include all of the facts. When you receive the Final Admission of Liability, this is the paperwork that the insurance company is required to have to close your case. Typically, they don’t include any documentation regarding deadlines, or any of the other information you need to protect your rights. Enlisting the help of an experience Colorado workers compensation attorney, if you haven’t already done so during your claim process, is a must at this stage. If you have any permanent impairments resulting from your workplace injury, you simply cannot afford not to have an attorney to help you get the maximum benefits.
Facts Your Insurance Provider Will Not Tell You
- You must file an Objection to the Final Admission within 30 days from the date postmarked on the envelope or the date on the letter, whichever is earlier.
- Missing the deadline means you may be stuck with whatever the Final Admission of Liability States
- You must request a hearing or a Division Independent Medical Examination (DIME) within that 30 day period
- The insurance company will not, nor is it required to, provide the Objection to Final Admission or the Notice and Proposal to Select a DIME. You will have to secure these forms on your own, and have them submitted within the 30 day period, typically without exception
- If you choose to exercise your right to a DIME, your insurance company knows which doctors on the list will favor their case. You need an attorney with the same insider information to defend you during the selection process.
If you have received a Final Admission of Liability, or expect to reach your maximum medical improvement, and have not hired an attorney to represent you, now is the time.
As you near the end of your treatment plan for your Colorado workers compensation claim, you will likely begin to hear the phrase maximum medical improvement, or MMI. Many people incorrectly assume that being signed off as MMI only happens when you are completely recovered from your Colorado workplace injury. In reality, you reach maximum medical improvement when you have reached the point of your treatment that the doctor feels is the best you are likely to recover. When your condition looks as if it will not significantly approve, your doctor will notify your workers compensation adjuster that you have reached MMI.
What Happens Next?
Unfortunately, many people are a long way from feeling great when they hit this important milestone in their Colorado workers compensation case. You will see a doctor whose job it is to determine the level of your impairment. A rating is given that puts a value to the percentage of loss you have sustained as a result of the original injury. If your rating is severe enough, you may qualify for permanent disability at this time. Once your insurance provider knows the impairment rating, they will issue a Final Admission of Liability.
What if I Disagree With the MMI?
If you disagree with the doctor’s determination that you have reached your maximum medical improvement, you will have the ability to dispute the determination. It is best to enlist the help of an experienced Colorado workers compensation attorney at this point, as contesting the maximum medical improvement determination can often be challenging to overcome. An application is required, and if granted you will have the opportunity to see an independent doctor for an evaluation.
Occasionally, situations will arise that require someone who has been injured in the workplace and has a Colorado workers compensation case to move out of state. Most commonly, this occurs when the injured person must move in with family due to an injury sever enough to cause an inability to work or care for themselves properly. When these situations arise, it is best to have an experienced Colorado workers compensation attorney to assist you, so that you may be able to continue to receive the medical care you need in your new state.
There is no doubt that it can be significantly more difficult to obtain medical treatment as part of your workers compensation benefits once you move. The following steps should be done by your attorney to ensure there are no snags in your plans.
Step 1: Notify the workers compensation claims adjuster in writing of your move. Include your name, new address, new phone number and any other documentation needed.
Step 2: Contact your Colorado workers compensation claims adjuster to see if they have a preferred medical provider for the area you are moving to.
Step 3: Contact doctors in your new state to find one that will accept the Colorado fee structure and payment options for their services. Not all doctors will be willing to work with Colorado’s requirements, so you must shop around before your move.
Step 4: Obtain authorization from the Colorado workers compensation claims adjuster for out-of-state care with the doctor you have chosen.
Step 5: Complete your treatment with the new doctor. When you are released from his or her care, if you are diagnosed with a permanent disability be certain to follow the adjuster’s process for traveling back to Colorado to have your impairment rating determined. The adjuster will typically pay for this trip.
There has been ongoing discussion and news reports about the growing number of Americans that are addicted to prescription pain medications. In an effort to curb prescription drug addictions and prevent death by overdose, the Colorado Workers’ Compensation Division is considering changes that will affect the way prescription pain medicine can be prescribed in workers compensation cases.
These actions are in response to the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s reports showing that the milligram-per-person use of prescription opioids has increased dramatically in recent years. Typically, doctors increase the dosage when pain is not being managed, but this increase, combined with ongoing use, is what is most likely to be the cause of opiate addiction.
In Colorado workers compensation cases, chronic pain that is being treated by prescription painkillers is a trigger for the guideline that requires the patient’s urine to be tested. The downfall with the guidelines is that there is no specific dosage that calls for precautions to prevent addictions.
Washington state has led the way in making changes to prescribing guidelines, and it is likely Colorado will follow in Washington’s footsteps. Doctors in Washington are prohibited for increasing the daily opioid dose above a daily morphine equivalent of 120 milligrams. This increase is only to be used when the patient is not improving in functionality or without consulting with one of the state’s pain management experts. The reason for the consultation is to be sure that there is an agreement regarding the risk factors versus benefits.
If changes to the guidelines will negatively affect your pain management, consider consulting an experienced Colorado workers compensation attorney.
Imagine that you were involved in a workplace accident that left you with a back injury. You follow all of the steps required, see a doctor, and eventually get better. You are signed off as having reached your maximum medical improvement, and go on about your life. Months later, the pain comes back without warning or additional injury, and your personal doctor finds there were issues not addressed, and you must stop working.
Are you entitled to benefits for the injury, if you already agreed to be discharged as healed?
According to a recent case that went through the courts in Colorado, the answer may surprise you.
Elaine Loofbourrow worked as a manager in a fast food restaurant. While covering someone else’s shift, she injured her back. After a month of care, she was discharged and feeling great. Three months later the pain comes back, and her physician finds that she has a bulging and torn disc. The pain increases to the point her doctor said she can no longer work, and her employer’s insurance denied her claim.
Under previous guidelines and rulings, Ms. Loofbourrow would have been left in a bad spot, with no income or workers compensation benefits. But when she pressed the issue, the courts sided with her. The determination was that an injured worker that has reached maximum medical improvement may still have later issues related to the workplace injury. After a long court battle, she was able to receive the benefits that she deserved.
If you or someone you care about are in a similar situation, and having ongoing difficulties from a workplace injury that had reached maximum medical improvement, don’t give up hope. With the help of a qualified Colorado workers compensation attorney, you may still receive the benefits you need and deserve.
