Category Archives: Workers Compensation
Worker Loses Finger at Universal Orlando
After a faulty machine cut off a worker’s finger at Vivo Italian Kitchen, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cut the fine in half. Universal Orlando was only fined $5,046 after a worker at Vivo Italian Kitchen at Universal CityWalk lost a finger in a workplace accident. The fine was reduced from $10,046 after… Read More »
What are the Fatal Four in Construction?
The Fatal Four are responsible for more than half the fatal construction site injuries in Florida. Even if these victims survive, they usually sustain permanent injuries. Since these injuries are (for the most part) easily preventable, compensation is usually very high in these cases. When one of the Fatal Four construction accidents strikes, it’s… Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
The ‘Reasonably Necessary’ Proof Requirement
To most insurance adjusters, “reasonably necessary” means “cheapest possible.” Likewise, most Claims Examiners, who are basically semi-independent adjusters, don’t consider anything other than the cost when they approve or deny medical bill payment. Cost is one component of the reasonably necessary requirement. But, it’s only one component. At Administrative Law Judge appeal hearings, a… Read More »
Seven Occupational Diseases in Florida
After several years of steady decline, workplace absenteeism is once again on the rise. An occupational disease, many of which are discussed below, often causes absenteeism. Other causes include child care issues, workplace injuries, and transportation issues. If disease-related absenteeism lasts more than seven days, benefits are available that replace lost wages and pay… Read More »
