Category Archives: Workers Compensation
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 »
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 »
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 »
Am I Still Eligible For Workers’ Comp If I Lose My Job?
Technically, workers’ compensation is an employee benefit in Florida. So, if you lose your job while you’re on workers’ comp, you also lose these benefits. However, a termination doesn’t change the fact that the worker is hurt and needs money to get back to work. That outcome benefits everyone. Additionally, if you lose your… Read More »
Are Job Injury Benefits Available For Workplace Violence?
Healthcare workers, emergency responders, gas station workers, and taxi drivers are among the most at-risk groups for workplace violence. According to the federal government, workplace violence is now the third leading cause of fatal workplace injuries in Florida. The average injury related hospital bill is over $50,000, and many assault, sexual assault, and other… Read More »
WFH, Job Injuries, And Tampa Workers’ Compensation Lawyers
Before the coronavirus pandemic, about 20 percent of workers who said they could work from home didn’t go to the office. By 2021, that percentage had skyrocketed to over 70 percent. Job injury victims, whether they work from home or work in an office, usually face tens of thousands of dollars in medical bills… Read More »
