Author Archives: Jay Butchko
The FDCPA and Workers’ Comp
Most people know the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for its limitation on debt collectors. But the FDCPA is also meaningful for job injury victims. It protects them from financial responsibility for unpaid medical debts. Or, more specifically, it protects them from financial responsibility for gap amounts. Most people know there’s a significant difference… Read More »
What to Expect in a Workers’ Compensation Case
Most claimants can expect long waits. From start to finish, the workers’ compensation process usually takes at least a year. Most cases require less time, because as the Administrative Law Judge appeal date looms closer, most cases settle out of court. However, a case shouldn’t settle too quickly. If it does, the settlement might… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation Wage Replacement Categories
Most families live hand to mouth, because they have less than $1,000 in savings. So, a few months without a paycheck, or even a few weeks without a paycheck, is financially devastating. The financial stress aggravates a physical injury, making that injury more difficult, and more expensive, to treat. As a result, job injury… Read More »
Special Issues in Florida Occupational Disease Claims
Most insurance companies define an occupational disease as any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. In Florida, this chronic condition must normally be a physical condition. Benefits for mental disabilities, such as Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, are only available in a few cases, mostly for firefighters and other… Read More »
Motorists Fatally Strikes Tampa Pedestrian
Few details were available about an accident involving a motorist and a pedestrian at the intersection of South Carter and West Julia streets. She was pronounced dead at the scene, according to a new release. Evidence in Pedestrian Accident Claims For a Tampa personal injury lawyer, starting from square one is nothing new. Even… Read More »
Workers’ Compensation Settlements Rise
Despite years of lower insurance premiums that have drained money from the system, the average workers’ compensation claim value in Florida increased to $30,000 in 2022. “The large indemnity growth in 2022 was mainly driven by increases in the average pre-injury weekly wage of workers with injuries and duration of temporary disability. In particular,… Read More »
What is the RFC Test for Disability?
Basically, Residual Functional Capacity determines if a Social Security Disability applicant can work at any job (steps four and five of a disability determination) and is thus ineligible for benefits. Disability is a relative term. Dentists must have 100 percent capacity in each hand. Truck drivers can get by with less. Likewise, RFC is… Read More »
SGA and SSD: A Closer Look
An inability to work, or more specifically an inability to engage in substantial gainful activity, is one of the key elements of a Social Security Disability claim. Applicants must prove they have certain medical conditions that are disabling (i.e. substantially interfere with at least one everyday activity). But a disability is not just a… Read More »
Work-Related Injuries On the Rise in Florida
The numbers for 2022 are finally in, and they aren’t good. For the first time in more than a decade, the number of fatal occupational injuries rose for the third year in a row. Unsurprisingly, the construction and extraction occupational group had the highest number of fatal workplace injuries. The transportation and material moving… Read More »
Breaking Down an Alcohol-Related Car Crash in Florida
When the number of alcohol-related crashes spiked during the coronavirus pandemic, many experts hoped the increase was a one-off anomaly. Now, it appears the increase is permanent. The number of alcohol-related crashes has increased, and so has the amount of alcohol consumption. These dual increases are especially bad in Florida, which has one of… Read More »
