Author Archives: Jay Butchko
How Does Employer Fraud Affect My Workers’ Compensation Claim?
The huge insurance company industry promotes the myth that many workers’ compensation claims involve employee fraud. Some people may remember the case from a few years back, in which an injured postal worker on workers’ comp because of an alleged serious back injury spun the Big Wheel on the Price is Right. Statistically, however,… Read More »
Florida Court Narrows Coming-And-Going Rule
A worker who was traveling to a jobsite with work supplies, and had been partially reimbursed for gas money, was ineligible for workers’ compensation benefits, according to the First District Court of Appeals in Tallahassee. The victim, who worked for DSK, an employee-leasing company, was on his way to a construction site when a… Read More »
What You Should Know About Workers’ Comp And Lost Wage Replacement
Especially when inflation is high, a temporary loss of income is financially crippling for most families. Two-thirds of Americans have less than $1,000 in a savings account. This financial frailty means the workers’ compensation lost wage replacement benefit is critical in most situations. When workers in the early 1900s gave up their right to… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation Claims And Profits Hit All-Time Highs In 2021
Although the number of job injury claims in Florida increased in 2021, insurance company profits increased even more. Based on a thirty-eight state survey, during 2021, the number of non-COVID job injury claims increased 7.1 percent. But National Council on Compensation Insurance chief actuary Donna Glenn wasn’t worried. “There’s nothing that tells us it’s… Read More »
Teenagers Found Dead In Submerged Vehicle
Few details were available after Pasco County Sheriff’s found two deceased 17-year-olds in a car that had plunged into a retention pond. Investigators don’t know why a driver lost control of a 2003 Toyota Sequoia, drove onto a shoulder, and went underwater. A dive team found the completely-submerged vehicle, and the teenage boy and… Read More »
Florida Supreme Court Empowers Medical Debt Collectors
A unanimous supreme court recently ruled that debt buyers and medical providers may directly bill job injury victims for medical services, even if a workers’ compensation insurance company was the responsible party. In its ruling, which overturned a Court of Appeals decision, the Supreme Court drew a distinction between “matter concerning reimbursement” and a… Read More »
Official Urges PTSD Coverage For Firefighters
A test case in the First District Court of Appeals could open the door for claims of work-based Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, especially among first responders. Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis, who pushed hard for an expanded first responder PTSD workers’ compensation law in the wake of the Parkland and Pulse Nightclub shootings, said the… Read More »
Hit And Run Driver Kills Pedestrian In Tampa
Police have practically no leads after a speeding motorist ran over a pedestrian and immediately fled the scene. Police were called to North 50th Street between Melbourne Boulevard and East 26th Avenue at 7:46 p.m. Sunday and found a man who had been struck by a car, according to a Tampa police news release…. Read More »
Why It Can Take So Long To Settle A Case
Usually, it only takes buyers and sellers a few hours to agree on the purchase price of a new car. So, many people want to know why is my lawyer taking so long to settle my case. That’s an honest question which deserves an honest answer. This answer has much to do with the… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation And Job Security
The Sunshine State, like most other jurisdictions, prohibits discrimination against workers’ compensation filers. Essentially, filing a claim places workers in a protected class. Other protected classes include ethnicity, gender, age (over 40), religion, national origin, and sexual orientation (including gender identity). But, Florida’s law is somewhat limited. It only protects people who file or… Read More »
