scholarly journals Workers’ Compensation: 75 Years of Helping the Injured Worker

AAOHN Journal ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 340-344 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker

Literature Review

1997 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-8
Author(s):  
James B. Talmage
Keyword(s):  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Disability Benefits ◽  
Fourth Edition ◽  
Permanent Disability ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Work Related Injury ◽  
Whole Person ◽  
Compensation Law

Abstract Evaluating physicians should understand how their impairment evaluations are used, and to these ends Section 1.5 of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides), Fourth Edition, discusses impairment and workers’ compensation. Permanent disability rewards may be paid according to a schedule that associates impairments of certain body parts, functions, or systems (eg, amputation or loss of sight or hearing) with specific awards. Typically, a schedule in the workers’ compensation law equates disability and a maximum number of weeks of benefits, but what occurs when an injured worker has both scheduled and unscheduled injuries? Under Colorado statute, scheduled injuries involve those to the neck, head, torso, and any injury not specifically enumerated in the statutory schedule. Because schedules usually do not cover all conditions following injuries, nonscheduled awards are available and are based on the extent of impairment, the nature of the injury, and the employee's occupation, experience, training, and age. The Colorado Supreme Court ruled that when a work-related injury results in both a scheduled and a nonscheduled injury, the scheduled injury must be converted to a whole person impairment rating and combined with the nonscheduled injury's whole person impairment when calculating permanent disability benefits. In its decision, the court relied heavily on and cited provisions in the AMA Guides.

Questions and Answers

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-7, 12
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Brigham ◽  
James B. Talmage
Keyword(s):  
Prince Edward Island ◽  
Social Insurance ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Earning Capacity ◽  
Questions And Answers

Abstract Workers’ compensation in Canada is a legislated system of social insurance that is funded by assessments levied on employers. Thirteen established Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) systems have regional jurisdiction and responsibility for administering and adjudicating compensation for the injured worker. Disability awards for certain injuries are determined by statute; others are determined using an acceptable reference or impairment schedule such as the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (AMA Guides). On August 22, 1960, Dr D. E. Bell presented to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada an impairment rating schedule to represent the loss of earning capacity and fulfill the spirit of workers’ compensation. Dr Bell's schedule has served as the basis for many Canadian WCB Primary Rating Schedules. Most jurisdictions refer to the AMA Guides in instances when the primary schedule is inadequate. A table in this article lists the current primary and secondary schedules for assessment of impairment in Canada; another table shows the differences in the ratings between Dr Bell's schedule and the AMA Guides. The AMA Guides is used principally only in Yukon and Prince Edward Island and is used for impairment estimations of more complicated injuries in all regions but Quebec.

scholarly journals Access to care for workers’ compensation patients in dense and sparse population centers

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 50-52
Author(s):  
Blair A Skylar M Rhode ◽  
Skylar M Rhode Skylar M Rhode
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Access To Care ◽  
Case Series ◽  
Cook County ◽  
Primary Care Doctor ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Claim Number ◽  
Orthopedic Care ◽  
Gain Access

Background: Workers’ compensation was originated to provide a no-fault, timely access to appropriate medical care. Unfortunately, we have found that the system fails the injured worker in certain environments. By implementing procedural roadblocks in the form of initial claim denial and delay methods, the injured worker finds himself/herself in a battle of attrition. By delaying treatment and compensation benefits, the injured workers are “starved out” of their access to care and often walk away from their claim or accept a payout without treatment. Methods: We performed a randomized, consecutive case-series where 300 hypothetical patients called medical offices to attempt to arrange a physician consultation. We analyzed the ability of a patient to gain access (an appointment) to a primary care (N=100), orthopedic (N=100) and neurology (N=100) physician after stating that they were injured at work. We analyzed two cohorts, one as an injured worker that was given a claim number (N=150) and the other that was injured at work but not yet given a claim number (N=150). Conclusion: This study demonstrates how difficult it is to gain access to care as an injured worker. An injured worker in a low densely populated area without a claim number was unable to gain access to a primary care doctor in our cohort (100% denial rate). Even a patient with an accepted claim number in densely populated Cook County, IL had a 52% chance of being denied access to care with an orthopedic surgeon while a patient without a claim number had an 84% chance of being denied access to orthopedic care.

scholarly journals 2003 Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers: Workers' Compensation [State]

EDIS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 2003 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Leo C. Polopolus ◽  
Michael T. Olexa ◽  
Fritz Roka ◽  
Carol Fountain
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Extension ◽  
Resource Economics ◽  
Cooperative Extension Service ◽  
Extension Service ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
University Of Florida ◽  
Efficient Delivery ◽  
Reasonable Cost ◽  
Medical Benefits

The purpose of workers' compensation is to assure quick and efficient delivery of disability and medical benefits to an injured worker and to facilitate a worker's return to gainful re-employment at a reasonable cost to the employer. This is EDIS document FE423, a publication of the Department of Food and Resource Economics, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. Published July 2003. This information is included in Circular 1200, Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers.  FE423/FE423: 2017 Handbook of Employment Regulations Affecting Florida Farm Employers and Workers: Workers' Compensation [State] (ufl.edu)  

The Propensity of Permanently Disabled Workers to Hire Lawyers

ILR Review ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 40 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip S. Borba ◽  
David Appel
Keyword(s):  
Union Membership ◽  
Educational Level ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Injured Workers ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Major Objective ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Disabled Workers

Although a major objective of workers' compensation insurance has been to reduce the financial and legal uncertainties that work-related injuries can occasion for employers and employees, a significant proportion of claimants with permanent injuries contest the benefit award. The authors of this study use a sample of 1,060 California workers with permanent injuries to identify the factors that influence the propensity to hire an attorney. The results suggest that educational level, union membership, the seriousness of the injury, and the availability to the injured worker of additional sources of income are all positively related to the propensity to hire an attorney. The findings also suggest that injured workers satisfied with the employer's and insurer's handling of the claim are less likely than other workers to hire an attorney.

scholarly journals Forensic Engineering Risk Assessment Of Machine Accidents Caused By Employers

2007 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas J. Cocchiola ◽  
Stephens Paul R.
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Actual Case ◽  
Risk Of Injury ◽  
Compensation Claims ◽  
Forensic Engineering

New Jersey Court Rulings From 2003 To The Present Permit An Injured Worker To File A Claim Directly Against His Or Her Employer Separate From Workers Compensation Claims, Under Limited Circumstances. However, An Injured Worker Must Demonstrate That The Employer Created Conditions That Resulted In A Substantial Certainty Of Injury. Therefore, There Is A Need For Well-Founded Forensic Engineering Evaluations And Opinions To Determine Whether Employer Conduct Created A Substantial Certainty Of Injury In The Workplace. This Paper Discusses Established Methodology To Evaluate The Risk Of Injury From Employer Created Hazards Based On Actual Case Experiences Of The Authors.

Special Features: Duties of the Examining Physician

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 6-6
Author(s):  
Alan Colledge
Keyword(s):  
Return To Work ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Stationary Condition ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Work Time ◽  
Psychological Conditions ◽  
Compensation Systems ◽  
Wage Loss ◽  
Whole Person

Abstract Workers’ compensation systems provided $25.3 billion of compensation benefits in 1999, and nearly $19 billion of this was compensation for permanent injury. Under workers’ compensation, when injured worker have missed a predetermined amount of work time, they are eligible for wage indemnification (the amount is determined by the jurisdiction). Benefits continue until the disabling condition either permits a return to work or reaches a plateau at which healing ends and no significant improvement is likely (maximum medical improvement or a permanent and stationary condition). How the award is calculated differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction: In some jurisdictions, permanent injury benefits are awarded only on the direct physical loss; other jurisdictions compensate to some degree for expected wage loss, loss of employment options, expenses for accommodating the disability, and, perhaps, an implicit award for psychological loss and pain. Some jurisdictions require all impairments to be combined as a single whole person impairment, but others use individual impairments expressed as a regional impairment. In some jurisdictions, the permanent benefit is statutory and has no medical or clinical basis (eg, some statutes limit or disallow awards for conditions such as tinnitus or certain psychological conditions). Evaluators must be aware of statutes, administrative rules, and case law that apply to the evaluation.

The Role of the Rehabilitation Provider in Occupational Rehabilitation: Providing for Whom? Part 1: Self-perceptions

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dianna T. Kenny
Keyword(s):  
Return To Work ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Occupational Rehabilitation ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Injured Worker ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Heavy Load ◽  
Rehabilitation Process ◽  
Core Business ◽  
Self Perceptions

Rehabilitation providers were the product of the 1987 Workers' Compensation Act in NSW, Australia. They operate in a complex environment and serve many masters. This paper assesses how rehabilitation providers are faring in the management of workplace injury. Using in depth semi-structured interviews, the self-perceptions of rehabilitation providers are presented. Results indicate that the current practice of rehabilitation providers labours under a heavy load of competing responsibilities, difficult clientele, adversarial stakeholders, economic restraints, and an unwieldy and clumsy workers' compensation system. Specific problems highlighted by rehabilitation providers included the identification of their core business and client group; misconceptions, lack of information and failure of communication among stakeholders; and lack of co-operation and overt and covert obstruction to the rehabilitation process. Rehabilitation providers perceived that they could function most effectively if they developed a genuine, trusting relationship with the injured worker, and educated and supported the treating doctor and employer in the rehabilitation and return to work process. Rehabilitation providers linked employer support of the injured worker to their willingness to provide suitable duties. Early referral was also considered an essential element in successful return to work. It was argued that rehabilitation providers should conceptualise themselves asadvocates for the rehabilitation processrather than for any stakeholder group. This conceptualisation allows the provider to move comfortably between groups of stakeholders, addressing their diverse needs while maintaining their focus on their core business.

Issues in California Workers' Compensation: Substantial Medical Evidence, Causation, and Apportionment

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 12-15
Author(s):  
Steven D. Feinberg
Keyword(s):  
Compensation System ◽  
Workers Compensation ◽  
Medical Evidence

Abstract This article describes special aspects of addressing and defining substantial medical evidence, causation, and apportionment in the California Workers' Compensation system. Substantial medical evidence is framed in terms of reasonable medical probability, and the opinion must be based on fact and not be speculative. The issue of whether the injury occurred in the course of employment is left to the Trier of Fact (WCAB judge). The issue of arising out of employment is a medical issue left to the physician. Apportionment applies to both the industrial and nonindustrial cause of the disability.

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