Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.washingtonpost.com

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By: James R. Burn, Jr.

Often times when an injured worker’s compensation claim is accepted on a permanent or temporary basis, they are lead to believe by the insurance company that a “friendly nurse” will be assigned to the case to help them through their injury and the difficult times that lie ahead.

This nurse was once referred to in a movie as “Nurse Ratched.”

Nurse Ratched is not your friend. Nurse Ratched is there to get you back to work as soon as possible. Nurse Ratched is paid by the insurance company, not by you. Nurse Ratched will attempt to go to your doctor visits and once you leave, will attempt to strong arm your doctor into giving an opinion that may not necessarily be accurate or consistent with your real diagnosis. Nurse Ratched will come to your house and spend time with you, asking how you are doing, smiling the whole time.

Nurse Ratched is a hired gun from an entity that does not want to pay you a dime. Nurse Ratched is a minion of the insurance carrier that does not have your best interests in mind at any point during her assignment to your case.

If your claim has been accepted on a permanent or temporary basis and Nurse Ratched has attempted to or entered your life, please call us.

By: Sandra Weigel Kokal

Generally, case law has held that an injury occurring on the employer’s premises when coming or going from work, even for a meal, is compensable. Case law has held that getting to one’s workstation is a necessary part of a job.

Therefore, if you slip and fall in your employer’s parking lot you could be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. Cases of this nature have held that arriving between 15-30 minutes before your required start time is ok and compensable. The Courts have stated that “an employee is considered to be within the course of his employment if on the premises where he is employed a reasonable length of time before the hour fixed to commence his duties.”

Other examples of compensable injuries include:

–employee injured when fell in office lobby after returning from lunch

–employee injured while picking up her paycheck on her day off as it was an employer approved practice

–employee injured while helping to push a co-worker’s car out of the snow in the employer’s parking lot

–employee injured while sleeping in the car in employer’s parking lot 30 minutes prior the start of employee’s shift when struck by a co-worker’s car

–employee injured after retrieving his clean uniforms prior to the start of his shift, returning to place uniforms in his car, and then sipping on ice while returning to employer’s business to start his shift

Each case is different, but an experienced attorney can compare your situation to the law and help you get the benefits you deserve. Injured workers should talk to an experienced Workers’ Compensation attorney whenever they suffer an injury on their employer’s premises. Even if the injury does not happen during their shift.

By: Edward Jaffee Abes

Recently there has been much publicity concerning concussions suffered by athletes. But what is a concussion?

A concussion in reality is a traumatic brain injury (TBI). The most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injury is a concussion. These are obviously caused by sports injuries or general recreation activities. They of course could also be caused by falls, auto accidents and even fighting. One sustains a concussion upon suffering an impact that jolts the brain. Essentially, because the brain sits in a protective spinal fluid within the skull, a trauma causes the brain to move around and bump up against the skull. Damage to blood vessels or injury to nerves can occur. This causes the brain to not function normally.

Common symptoms of a concussion are multiple. They may include some but not all of the following: balance problems, confusion, concentration issues, dizziness, headache, irritability, depression, nausea, vomiting, anxiety and sensitivity to light or noise. One should not judge for themselves the seriousness of the concussion but rather should seek medical attention to be evaluated. Even once recovered if the concussion was sustained in a regular activity such as a sport, a repeat concussion can have cumulative effects on the brain with severe consequences. Therefore, a doctor’s clearance is the best course of action before returning to normal activity.

Concussions cannot be entirely avoided but precautions can lessen the chance of sustaining a head injury. Wearing a helmet while participating in sport activities including bike riding will greatly reduce the incidents or severity of a traumatic brain injury. Play hard but play smart and protect yourself. By doing so, you will not affect your life or the lives of your family.