Author Archives: Jay Butchko
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 »
What Injured Workers Should Know About Workers’ Comp and WFH
Before the pandemic, work from home was almost unheard of, even if the employee could work effectively from home. By December 2020, 70 percent of these workers said they were working from home. Most added they’d like to keep it that way. Now that the pandemic is in our rearview mirror, the return-to-the-office push… Read More »
Medical Bill Payment in Workers’ Compensation Claims
The average job injury-related hospital bill in Florida is over $40,000. These bills start piling up before the victim gets to the hospital. They keep piling up long after the victim leaves the hospital. The resulting financial strain intensifies the physical strain, making it almost impossible for victims to make a timely recovery and… Read More »
How Much Money Does Workers’ Comp Pay?
If a job injury victim has a temporary disability, workers’ compensation usually replaces two-thirds of lost wages, until a doctor clears the victim to return to work. Slightly different rules apply if the victim has a permanent disability. The amount of lost wage replacement usually depends on the nature and extent of the disability…. Read More »
What Causes Vehicle Collisions?
Some form of driver error causes over 98 percent of the car crashes in Florida. Sometimes, this driver error is a wrong-place-at-the-wrong-time mistake. Usually, however, this error is negligence, or a lack of care. Most drivers have a duty of reasonable care. They must be at their best, physically, mentally, and otherwise, when they… Read More »
A Closer Look at Workers’ Comp and Fair Debt Violations
Work-related trauma injuries and occupational diseases are very difficult to recover from. Many care providers make this process even harder. They demand payment for medical services, even though the Florida Workers’ Compensation Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act expressly prohibit such demands. Sadly, many job injury victims give into these demands, mostly… Read More »
What are Three Types of Workers’ Compensation Claims and the Differences Among Them?
That’s a very long question and one we normally don’t see on Google. However, lots of people ask it, so we’ll address it in this post. All three types of workers’ compensation claims are part of the Grand Bargain of the early 1900s. Back then, most workplaces were very dangerous and job injuries were… Read More »
Governor Handcuffs Lawyers in Injury Cases
Claiming it would “prevent predatory practices of trial attorneys who prey on hardworking Floridians,” Governor Ron DeSantis recently signed the controversial House Bill 837. “Florida has been considered a judicial hellhole for far too long and we are desperately in need of legal reform that brings us more in line with the rest of… Read More »
Top Five Occupational Diseases
Falls and other trauma injuries account for many workers’ compensation claims in Florida. Occupational diseases, conditions which arise over the course of more than one work shift, make up the rest. These claims are normally complex, mostly because a pre-existing or non-work condition usually contributes to the occupational disease. A Tampa workers’ compensation lawyer… Read More »
Top Three Fair Debt Collection Violations
In recent years, the Supreme Court has repeatedly watered down the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. These rollbacks have empowered debt collectors, including medical providers, to push the envelope and be even more aggressive. That’s especially true of the most common fair debt collection violations, which are discussed below. Despite the Supreme Court’s spate… Read More »
