Year: 2015

headlines

Why my New Jersey Workers ’ Compensation is Paid in Weekly Increments Rather Than a Lump Sum and is There Any Way to Receive it Now?

Permanent partial and permanent total disability benefits in New Jersey are considered to be wage replacement benefits, so they are paid in the same manner as wages, which is weekly.  These benefits accrue from the date of the last payment of temporary disability benefits.  In many cases, the entire award has not accrued at the time of the settlement hearing and the injured worker will receive payments weekly until the award has been paid in full.  Once the award has been entered, the benefits are due and payable to the injured worker or his dependents should he die during the period of the payout. In certain rare circumstances, an injured worker may petition the court requesting that all or some of the award be paid in a …

Analysis: Delays all too common in negligence cases – Irish Times

Irish TimesAnalysis: Delays all too common in negligence casesIrish TimesMedical negligence cases tend to set two types of record: for the sum of money awarded and for the time it takes to settle. The case of 12-year-old Matthew McGrath, who was left paralysed due to poor care provided by Wexford General Hospital, follows …and more »

Problems With Social Security Ticket to Work Program

Social Security Administration (SSA) officials and members of Congress have been looking for ways to cut spending for years. One of these was a program known as the Ticket to Work. It is designed so a claimant can go back to work at first on a part-time basis without any reduction in benefits. This is meant to address the problem of claimants who would actually prefer to work but are afraid to get any type of employment out of fear their Social Security Disability benefits will be reduced or even cut entirely, if SSA finds out about claimant earning income. According to a recent news article from the Atlantic, a senior member of a rehabilitation professional association referred to the Ticket to Work program as the …

Social Security

Mitze v. Colvin: Social Security Disability Appeals Process

Mitze v. Colvin, an appeal from the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, involved claimant who applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits in 2009 at the age of 43 because she was suffering from a cyst in her pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small endocrine gland in the human brain which is responsible for production of melatonin. Melatonin is necessary to regulate sleep. After Social Security Administration (SSA) denied her initial application, and she made several efforts to apply for reconsideration in writing, SSA granted her a hearing before an administrative law judge (ALJ) in November of 2011. ALJ held a hearing and rejected her claim for disability benefits. At this point, claimant appealed to the district court. During this appeal, the court …

Insurance

ACOEM, UL Propose New Framework for Measuring Health and Safety Programs

“While employers have been steadily expanding their efforts at creating healthier and safer workforces in recent years, what has been largely missing are strategies to integrate the work of the health and safety teams and a way to accurately assess the business impact of that work. This new guidance paper offers a pathway to both,” said Todd Hohn, CSP, global director of Workplace Health and Safety for Underwriters Laboratories, Inc.

headlines

Compensation secured for injured van driver, 8th May 2015

A delivery driver, who suffered head and shoulder injuries after falling from a work vehicle, has secured £75,000 in compensation with the backing of Unite the Union and Thompsons Solicitors.

headlines

How Long Will Workers’ Compensation Benefits Last?

You’ve been injured, saw a doctor, notified your employer, and filed a workers’ compensation claim. You’re receiving benefit payments to cover your medical expenses and lost wages, but how long will they last? What if you can’t return to work in a week, a month, a year? Will you still be covered? Can You Work? In addition to compensating you for your medical costs, workers’ compensation pays you for lost wages that you suffer. How much you’ll get and how long you’ll get payments depends on your state’s statutes. Temporary partial disability and Temporary total disability Temporary partial disability applies when you have some disability that still allows you to perform limited or part-time work at a lower income level. In Maryland, if you have a …

More Danes dying from asbestos exposure despite 1980s ban – The Copenhagen Post – Danish news in english

The Copenhagen Post – Danish news in englishMore Danes dying from asbestos exposure despite 1980s banThe Copenhagen Post – Danish news in englishAsbestos is the only known cause of mesothelioma, which can develop over 20-60 years. Since 1943, it is estimated that over 4,000 Danes have died from the illness and over 300 Danes die from asbestos-related illnesses every year. That's more than …

headlines

82-year-old subjected to multiple operations after shopping centre slip, 30th April 2015

Frank Delaney, a former grammar school head science lab technician from Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, has secured compensation after slipping and falling on water in the entrance to the Friars Square Shopping Centre.

headlines

Side Swipe, or Lane Changing Auto Accidents

Lane change or “side swipe” collisions are more common than one might think. These auto accidents are described as a “glancing blow” from or on the side of another object, such as another vehicle and usually occur when one vehicle makes an improper…By: Barry P. Goldberg, A Professional Law

Health information technology is not immune to human error

Doctors can make mistakes when calculating the proper dosage of a medication. They can fail to read a patient’s chart before prescribing a certain type of medication. In other cases, a patient’s chart may be missing information vital for a doctor to designate the appropriate course of treatment. The examples listed above only scratch the surface of the types of doctor errors that can lead to serious, and preventable, injuries to patients. Over the past few years the health care industry has begun introducing health information technology (health IT) and electronic health records (EHRs) to help reduce the potential for human errors. While the aim of health IT is to reduce doctor errors it still relies on humans to use and maintain it and as we all …

Difficulties in Obtaining Disability Benefits

Every week, we see a new rash of news articles about the fate of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. Most focus on the fact that by the end of 2016, the Social Security Administration (SSA) will not have enough money in its budget to pay all disability awards. There is expected to be a 20 percent reduction in the budget if Congress doesn’t act quickly to fix the pending deficit. One way to fix this predicted crisis is to shift money from the Social Security retirement benefits to the SSDI and Supplemental Secularity Income (SSI) benefits fund. The retirement fund is currently fully funded through 2030, so if money is reallocated to the disability fund, there is time to work on a long-term solution or do another …