Author Archives: Jay Butchko
Five Common Workers’ Compensation Defenses
Typically, workers’ compensation claims are no-fault matters. If an illness or injury is work-related, full benefits are available, even if the victim was partially at fault, or entirely at fault, for that injury. However, over the years, Florida judges and lawmakers have watered down the no-fault rule. Today, a handful of defenses are available… Read More »
Determining Lost Wages in a Florida Workers’ Compensation Matter
The lost wage replacement rule appears straightforward. Victims with temporary job-related disabilities are entitled to two-thirds of their average weekly wage until their doctors clear them to return to work. The method for determining the AWW is less straightforward. Most insurance companies add the last ten “net pay” lines for the last ten weeks… Read More »
Five Most Dangerous Jobs in Florida
Despite numerous health and safety laws, American workplaces are dangerous, to the tune of over two million injuries per year. Our list of the most dangerous jobs in Florida contains some expected occupations as well as some unexpected ones. Job injuries include trauma injuries, such as falls, and occupational diseases, such as hearing loss…. Read More »
Who Pays Job-Injury-Related Medical Bills?
If the medical expense was reasonably necessary, the workers’ compensation insurance company is legally required to pay the bill. Frequently, insurance companies and medical providers agree on lower fees. For example, if the “list” price of an MRI is $2,000, the insurance company might agree to pay $1,000. In these situations, hospitals cannot come… Read More »
Farmhands Demand Workplace Protection
A Florida advocacy group has tried for more than two years to convince officials to enact heat safety standards in outdoor workplaces, and the matter is finally scheduled for a preliminary hearing. Historic heat waves have already killed at least one farmworker in South Florida this year; he had expressed feeling fatigued and leg… Read More »
Preventing the Fatal Four Construction Accidents in Florida
According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Fatal Four cause most fatal construction accidents in Florida. These construction site accidents are also rather easy to prevent. Unfortunately, to many bosses, worker safety is an unnecessary cost. That’s especially true in places like Tampa Bay, where the construction industry is so competitive. When… Read More »
Benefits Available in Workers’ Compensation Claims
Since 2016, the average benefit payments in a workers’ compensation claim have declined by almost 20 percent. Almost every year, lawmakers lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums, in the name of attracting more businesses to the state. Lower premiums mean less money in the system, which means less money for injured victims and their families…. Read More »
Why Is My Lawyer Taking So Long to Settle My Case?
Most personal injury lawsuits, about 95 percent of them to be exact, eventually settle out of court. As most of us know, “eventually” could be a long time. Delays in the settlement process are inevitable. Insurance companies notoriously drag their feet in these situations. Each day they retain settlement money, they earn interest on… Read More »
Multi-Vehicle, Alcohol-Fueled Wreck in Seffner
A 22-year-old man faces serious charges after he drove the wrong way on Westbound Interstate 4 and triggered a multi-vehicle wreck. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the wrong-way vehicle crashed into a westbound Mercedes sedan traveling in the inside lane at Mile Marker 12. A pickup traveling westbound in the center lane braked… Read More »
Is a Workplace Shooting a Job-Related Injury?
A debate as to whether workers’ compensation covers workplace injuries or work-caused injuries could be headed to the state Supreme Court. The case concerns a 2019 incident at an airport car rental agency. At the end of his shift late one night, the job injury victim was walking from the rental car kiosk to… Read More »
