Survey shows people don't understand workers' compensation, Social Security disability
A recent survey of baby boomers by Americas Health Insurance Plans revealed that most people do not understand what their benefits would be if they became injured or disabled and began collecting workers' compensation or Social Security Disability benefits.
Those surveyed overestimated the benefit amount and underestimated the wait time to receive Social Security Disability benefits, a system that is incredibly backlogged.
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Continue Reading Posted By Grace Kanoy In WC Cases | Permalink | 0 Comments |
Insurance Companies Practice Deny & Delay Tactics
Good Morning America has a story that illustrates how insurance companies use deny and delay tactics to avoid paying legitimate insurance claims.
In this case, a woman with Stage 4 breast cancer tried to collect disability insurance. But Cigna repeatedly denied Susan Kristoff's claim for short-term disability.
Continue Reading Posted By Grace Kanoy In Insurance Practices | Permalink | 0 Comments |Cigna said she had not proven a disability. Sick and with bills piled up, Kristoff says she considered something drastic.
"If I wasn't going to be getting better, I didn't want to sink the rest of my family, so I spent two days in bed crying and thinking about suicide," she said.
Instead Kristoff hired an attorney. In short order, Cigna reversed course and paid her short-term benefits. Then with her lawyer's help, she applied for the much more important long-term help.
Deuterman Law Group Honored for Pro Bono Work on Behalf of Family of Jennifer Nielsen, Murdered Pregnant Newspaper Carrier
Dan Deuterman was one of 24 Triad attorneys honored for their commitment to providing justice and access to legal representation to all North Carolinians, even if they’re unable to pay for an attorney.
Deuterman this week received an Impact Pro Bono Award from the N.C. Bar Association and Business Leader Media in recognition of the work he did on behalf of the family of Jennifer Nielsen, who was murdered last year while delivering newspapers.
Seeking Justice for Jennifer Nielsen and Her Family
In the summer of 2007, the nation learned of the violent and tragic death of Jennifer Nielsen.
Jennifer, a young mother of two who was eight months pregnant with her third child, was murdered while delivering newspapers for in Raleigh. Her killer remains at large.
The deaths of Jennifer and her unborn son, Ethen, devastated their family. Then came a second shock. Jennifer’s employer decreed that she was an independent contractor, not an employee, and refused to pay a death benefit under the state’s workers’ compensation law.
Jennifer’s grieving husband, Tim, contacted Dan Deuterman of the Deuterman Law Group, and asked for his help in fighting this decision. Tim knew that no amount of money would ever replace Jennifer, but he was concerned for the future of their children.
Certified Workers' Compensation Specialist Joins DLG
Attorney Pamela Foster has joined the Deuterman Law Group as the firm's third certified specialist in workers' compensation.
Pam, who has tremendous experience in the field, will be handling workers' comp cases for the law firm.
Please read on to learn more about Pam and her commitment to injured workers and preserving their rights.
A seasoned litigator and a certified mediator, Pam is a great addition to the Deuterman Law Group.
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Hiring More Judges Not Enough to End Social Security Disability Backlog
As part of its ongoing reporting on the horrendous backlogs facing people who apply for Social Security disability benefits, The Charlotte Observer writes:
"A Freedom of Information Act request, federal reports and interviews showed the Carolinas had about 48,500 pending disability cases, including about 8,700 in the Charlotte area. Waits at Charlotte's Disability and Adjudication and Hearing Office ranked among the worst -- 125 out of 141 offices in the nation.
The reason: Charlotte administrative law judges, on average, decided 375 cases in 2006. The Social Security Administration asks judges to make 500 to 600 decisions a year.
Though officials tried to remove reporters from the hearing office, the Observer spent more than 40 hours monitoring workers. At any given time, half of the six courtrooms were not in use.
Judges blamed the problems on staffing. The Social Security Administration has since announced it is hiring more judges to reduce delays. "
But hiring more judges isn't the solution for ending the Social Security disability backlog. As Paul M. Goodson, a colleague who practices in Charlotte, pointed out, the judges can't hear more cases unless the Social Security Administration also hires more staff to assist them.
The inefficiency runs through the entire Social Security system. The blame can't be laid solely at the feet of the judges.
Posted By Benjamin Burnside In Social Security Disability | Permalink | 1 Comments |
Hear More About How Carolinas Poultry Workers are Mistreated
Reporter Kerry Hall and Editor Rick Thames of The Charlotte Observer were on the NPR show, The State of Things Last week discussing the newspaper's 22-month investigation into the poultry processing industry in North Carolina and South Carolina.
The archive of the show is available online. You can hear about how they conducted their investigation and the lax workplace safety measures at House of Raeford Farms plants throughout the Carolinas.
You can read the full series, The Creulest Cuts, online at the Observer Web site.
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Newspaper series reveals House of Raeford hid worker injuries, refused medical treatment
A nearly two-year investigation by The Charlotte Observer revealed that one of the country's biggest poultry producers, House of Raeford Farms, covered up injuries and dimissed workers' request for medical care, clearing in violation of workers' compensation laws.
Reporters spent 22 months investigating the poultry industry in North Carolina and South Carolina, interviewing more than 200 workers and reviewing thousands of documents. They found that between 80 percent to 90 percent of the workforce at some plants is Latino and that is by design. As one plant employment superviser told a reporter, she was encouraged to hire Latinos because they are likely to complain and report their injuries.
House of Raeford is clearly violating the spirit of the state's workers' compensation laws.
"The company has compiled misleading injury reports and has defied regulators as it satisfies a growing appetite for America's most popular meat. And employees say the company has ignored, intimidated or fired workers who were hurt on the job. "
Among the findings of the Charlotte Observer series, called the Cruelest Cuts:
• House of Raeford's 800-worker plant in West Columbia, S.C., reported no musculoskeletal disorders over four years. Experts say that's inconceivable. MSDs, including carpal tunnel syndrome, are the most common work-related injuries afflicting poultry workers.
• Its Greenville, S.C., plant has boasted of a five-year safety streak with no lost-time accidents. But the plant kept that streak alive by bringing injured employees back to the factory hours after surgery.
• The company has broken the law by failing to record injuries on government safety logs, a top OSHA official says.
• At four of the company's largest Carolinas plants, company first-aid attendants and supervisors have dismissed some workers' requests to see a doctor -- even when they complained of debilitating pain.
Our journalists found evidence that House of Raeford has failed to report serious injuries, including broken bones and carpal tunnel syndrome. They discovered that plant officials often dismissed workers' requests for medical care that would cost the company money.
22 months, interviewed more than 200 poultry workers, many of them Latinos.
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Book Recounts Personal Stories of Injured Workers
There are a lot of articles and statistics about workplace injuries and workplace deaths. But sometimes these stories are so focused on facts and figures that they miss the human element --behind every statistic there's a person who was hurt on the job and whose life will never be the same because of it.
Author Lisa Cullen tells those stories in her book, "A Job to Die For: Why So Many Americans Are Killed, Injured Or Made Ill At Work And What To Do About It ."
Each year, the workplace extends into nearby communities to claim the lives of 218 bystanders and injure another 68,000.
7.1 percent of workers are injured or made ill on the job. Every year.
The cost of this carnage and disease tops $155.5 billion annually; five times the cost of AIDS, three times the costs for Alzheimer's, and nearly as much as cancer.
The book is a great reminder of what someone who is hurt at work goes through.
I encourage you to pick up a copy, and you may also want to listen in on an interview Cullen gave on Labor Day about workplace injuries.
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Congress Attempts to Cut Victims' Fund Again
This just in from our friend Steve Derene at the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators:
The President's FY 2009 budget once again calls for recission of the Crime Victims Fund.... this year they want to remove $2 billion.The requested FY 2009 VOCA cap would remain at $590 million.