Author Archives: Rod Rehm


How To Select A Good Lawyer For Your Problem

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Selecting and hiring a good lawyer is critical in dealing with a legal problem. Lawyers are increasingly limiting the types of cases handled in an effort to provided better representation. The Internet is a common starting point for consumers to locate and select lawyers who have the right kind of knowledge and experience for their problem. I recommend the following steps for selecting a lawyer.

1. Check with family, friends, neighbors, or others whom you trust and respect to learn if they know of a lawyer or law firm who they would recommend for the kind of problem you are dealing with. This approach is the traditional way to find a professional and often leads to a good attorney-client relationship with satisfactory results.

2. Consult a general-practice lawyer you know and ask for recommendations. This approach gives you the advantage of having someone who knows area lawyers help you find the right mixture of knowledge and expertise.

3. Internet searches will turn up a large variety of lawyers who handle the kind of problem you are experiencing. Read several of the websites with a careful eye for the following:

a. Is the firm A-rated by the leading peer-rating organization Martindale and Hubbell? The ratings are very good indicators of how the firm is regarded because they come from judges and other lawyers who work with the firm.

b. Do the members of the firm appear to be actively involved in organizations dealing with your kind of problem? Are the lawyers officers or board members of such groups? Have the lawyers been speakers at seminars? This kind of activity shows the lawyers are interested in improving and protecting the law for people with your kind of problem and respected by other lawyers and judges. Here are some examples of law organizations. For employment matters, see the National Employment Lawyers Association (NELA). For workers’ compensation organizations, see the Workers’ Injury Law and Advocacy Group. For other personal-injury matters, see the American Association for Justice. For general trial-attorney needs, see the American Board of Trial Advocates.

c. Do the lawyers from a firm belong to any organizations indicating that they have been honored or selected for membership based on knowledge and experience?

d. Do the lawyers appear to belong the bar associations in their area? Have they served on any committees, sections, or governing bodies?

4. Go to Martindale and Hubbell and use the lawyer search. You can search for lawyers by city, state, and specialty. Lawyers are rated as follows. AV® Preeminent™ is the highest rating, followed by BV® Distinguished™ then Distinguished. We recommend only A-rated lawyers if they are available. One way to get the best of the best is to limit the search by checking the box “Featured Peer Review Rated.” The website is very user friendly.

5. Contact the lawyer or lawyers you focus on, and talk to the lawyer. Learn how the lawyer interacts with clients. The following are some questions that might be helpful: Do you feel comfortable talking with the lawyer? Are they Internet users? Will you have a specific team of people working with you? How do they charge? Can you have Skype conferences or do they have other face-to-face conferencing options through the Internet? Will retainer documents be required and available for review before an appointment?

These suggestions provide a framework on how to locate and evaluate an attorney to help you. The references we refer to are industry standards, so they not subject to as much manipulation as other online approaches, such as reviews, testimonials, or video recommendations on lawyers’ websites.

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Falling Asleep On The Job: Insufficient Sleep Is A Compensable Condition

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There can be consequences to not getting enough sleep. For many, working patterns vary. Examples include truckers or those who do shift work. Throw in shifts that switch from night to day every few weeks, and it can be even harder to get enough sleep. But as our colleague Jon Gelman of New Jersey shows us in today’s guest post, sleep is essential for health and well-being. And not enough sleep is a compensable condition.

The National Sleep Foundation recommends that U.S. adults receive, on average, 7–9 hours of sleep per night; however, 37.1% of adults report regularly sleeping <7 hours per night. Persons reporting sleeping <7 hours on average during a 24-hour interval are more likely to report unintentionally falling asleep during the day at least 1 day out of the preceding 30 days (46.2% compared with 33.2%) and nodding off or falling asleep at the wheel during the previous 30 days (7.3% compared with 3.0%). Frequent insufficient sleep (14 or more days in the past 30 days) also has been associated with self-reported anxiety, depressive symptoms, and frequent mental and physical distress (4).

Even short term sleep duration is linked with:

  • Increased risk of motor vehicle accidents
  • Increase in body mass index – a greater likelihood of obesity due to an increased appetite caused by sleep deprivation
  • Increased risk of diabetes and heart problems
  • Increased risk for psychiatric conditions including depression and substance abuse
  • Decreased ability to pay attention, react to signals or remember new information

Such findings suggest the need for greater awareness of the importance of sufficient sleep. Further information about factors relevant to optimal sleep can be obtained from the National Sleep Foundation and CDC.

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Does Moving To A Different State Affect My Workers’ Compensation Case?

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movingWe are frequently asked whether moving from one state to another will have any legal consequences for a workers’ compensation case. The answer is no. Your rights are not changed if you move from the state where the law is being applied to your case. If injured workers are entitled to benefits under a state’s law, it does not matter where the worker lives.

However, moving will have several practical effects on a workers’ compensation case. Benefit payments are sometimes interrupted with address changes, and injured workers must keep everyone advised of the correct address so checks can get to the right location. People who should be notified as soon as you know the new address include your lawyer and the insurance adjuster (if you are not represented). In certain states, you may also need to advise a state agency if the insurance is administered by a state fund.

Medical care becomes more complicated when an injured worker moves. State laws are different on who can pick your doctor, and moving usually requires changing doctors, therapists, and pharmacies. The workers’ compensation lawyer or his staff members should help you with these changes.

It is essential that injured workers get proper care. To get proper care, Continue reading »

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Highlights From Nebraska’s 102nd Legislative Session

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Nebraska State CapitolClients of Rehm, Bennett & Moore helped make a positive difference this legislative session. They are parents who lose their children as a result of work injuries.

Albert and Diane DeLeon of Grand Island persuaded their state Sen. Mike Gloor to introduce a bill that was signed into law that increased the funeral benefit from $6,000 to $10,000. This was after they lost their son Emilio in a construction accident. In addition, Gene Cary testified in favor of a similar bill that would have raised the funeral benefit for the families of dead workers as well as giving a $25,000 death benefit to parents who have had a child killed in a work accident. Gene’s son Neil was killed in a work accident in 2010. The bill awarding an automatic death benefit to parents who have their child killed in a work accident failed to advance out of committee. Bills held in committee are killed for this session of the legislature and must be re-introduced next session. However, the combined stories of Cary and the DeLeons helped to advance the cause of parents who lose a child in a work accident.

Besides the bill increasing funeral benefits for parents who lose their children in work accidents, the only other bill to pass that affected injured workers was a bill that gave employers protections for information given in employment references.

Besides the bill increasing funeral benefits for parents who lose their children in work accidents, the only other bill to pass that affected injured workers was a bill that gave employers protections for information given in employment references. As the bill was originally introduced by Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont, the bill would have given employers almost free reign to Continue reading »

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New Social Security Rules Make It Harder To Present Your Case

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This guest post is written by colleague Ryan Benharris of Massachusetts. The situation described is one example where it is wise to ask an attorney to be your advocate. Roger Moore is our resident expert on Social Security appeals in Nebraska and Iowa as a member of the National Organization of Social Security Claimant Representatives.

Knowing your Administrative Law Judge is important for your case.

In December, 2010, the Social Security Administration (SSA) implemented a set of rules put in place to enable more effective case review. One of the major changes was that Applicants will no longer know who their Administrative Law Judge is prior to their scheduled hearing.

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted that these judges seem more concerned with the speed of case processing than on whether the applicants actually deserve benefits. WSJ also indicated that some judges were approving more than 85% of the cases they heard in what was allegedly an effort to have the cases resolved more quickly.

Unfortunately, for applicants, this change in practice has made their cases much harder to litigate. Many Administrative Law Judges have different styles of practice in how their cases are heard. An attorney may present information in a different style depending on the judge.

The importance of an applicant being represented by an attorney before the Social Security Administration has never been clearer. Since there is no way to know who the Administrative Law Judge is prior to the hearing, it is absolutely imperative that every case prepared in accordance to all rules governing how cases are tried before the court. If even the slightest detail is overlooked, it may prevent an applicant from being allowed to present evidence that could win his or her case.

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These Things Don’t Have To Happen: Metal Plant Receives $51K Fine After Employee Is Burned

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It seems like there’s almost a headline a day about OSHA violations, and those are only the ones that make it through OSHA’s process, excluding current investigations and issues never reported to OSHA. In fact, we recently wrote about some OSHA fines that resulted from a grain elevator explosion that killed a gentleman in Nebraska. In the following guest post, our colleagues Leonard Jernigan from North Carolina and Jon Gelman from New Jersey remind us how important it is for workers and employers to care about safety every day and strive towards safer environments for employees.

(Original post by Len Jernigan re-posted with permission.)

Following basic safety precautions woud keep employees like these injury-free.

A recent blog post (below) by Jon Gelman about OSHA violations at the Anthony River, Inc plant is another example of why we need to change the lax culture of safely compliance in America. It’s human nature to pick out articles in newspapers, magazines and on-line that interest you, and when I see articles about plant explosions (like the chemical plant explosion in Apex, NC or the chicken processing fire in Hamlet, NC), or mine disasters (West Virginia), or oil spills (Louisiana), I have a heightened awareness because I have represented people in similar tragedies and I know what they are going though.

People die and families are devastated, and the really sad thing is that it didn’t have to happen. Most of us may notice these events, but until it happens to you it’s usually just a news item and not much more. Employers don’t want these things to happen, but unfortunately some of them are willing to gamble with heath and safety. They have liability insurance and workers’ compensation to clean up the mess they make, and some times they actually think the risk is worth it. No life is worth that risk.

People die and families are devastated, and the really sad thing is that it didn’t have to happen.

Here is Jon’s post (reprinted with permission):

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Anthony River Inc. for nine serious and three repeat violations of workplace safety standards after an employee was burned at the metal finisher’s Syracuse plant.

“While it is fortunate that no life was lost here, this is a graphic example of the harm that workers and businesses can suffer when basic, common-sense and legally required safeguards are neglected,” Continue reading »

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Attorneys Advocate for Workers through WILG

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Pictured at the WILG Board of Directors’ meeting are Paul McAndrew (Iowa), Hank Patterson (North Carolina) and Rod Rehm (Nebraska).

Rod Rehm and Jon Rehm recently traveled to Washington, D.C., for the Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG) Board of Directors’ Meeting and Legislation Day on April 17. Rod has served as a board member of this organization for 15 years, and he strongly supports this group. The attorneys were advocating for workers by lobbying Congress to improve the system for federal employees and all workers on Social Security who settle their workers’ compensation cases. Rod and Jon met with key representatives from Illinois as advocates for workers on the national level through WILG.

Here’s WILG’s mission statement:

“Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group is the national non-profit membership organization dedicated to representing the interests of millions of workers and their families who, each year, suffer the consequences of workplace injuries and illnesses. The group acts principally to assist attorneys and non-profit groups in advocating the rights of injured workers through education, communication, research, and information gathering.”

We encourage all lawyers who are serious about representing injured workers to join WILG.

Rod also spoke for workers at the Nebraska Breakfast, a weekly tradition since 1943. “The Nebraska Breakfast, now in its sixth decade, is the oldest and only ongoing state gathering for constituents on Capitol Hill,” according to the Nebraska Society of Washington, D.C.’s web site. All five members of the Nebraska Congressional Delegation were in attendance at that Wednesday’s breakfast. Following the breakfast, Rod discussed the legislation with Sens. Ben Nelson and Mike Johanns as well as Congressman Lee Terry.

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Workers Beware Questionable (Fraudulent) Employer Tactics

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It's time to start talking about employer fraud.

Today we have a guest post by our colleague Tom Domer of Wisconsin.

Over the course of 35 years representing injured workers, I have heard some whoppers – Employers’ questionable tactics that make even my jaw drop. With all the insurance company generated blather about “employee fraud” incidences of employer fraudulent tactics abound. Workers beware of the following:

  • Recorded statements taken by worker’s compensation carrier adjuster while employee is under medication or in the hospital still suffering from the injury. Questions such as “It’s true you had (low back pain, arm pain, fill in the blank pain, etc.) before your work injury, correct? You’ve had lots more pain from (your motor vehicle accident, sports injury, etc.) than you’re experiencing from your work injury, correct?
  • Employer “channeling” a worker to its “Return to Work Clinic” (doctors on company payroll whose opinion is “like some athletic coaches, ‘rub some dirt on it and get back in the game’”).
  • Telling employees to take sick leave rather than claim worker’s compensation.
  • Telling employees to file medical bills under their group insurance, not worker’s comp.
  • Nurse Case Manager who initially befriends the employee but later makes every attempt with the worker’s doctor to prematurely return the worker to the job before a healing occurs.
  • Employer paying worker in cash with no payroll stub (or gives workers a Form 1099 rather than a W-2). Continue reading »
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Spouse Dies From A Work Accident Or Occupational Disease?

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If a worker dies from a work accident or occupational disease, his surviving family members are entitled to death benefits under Nebraska workers’ compensation.

However, proving the death was work-related is sometimes complicated in situations where there is not a clear accident. For example, there are no death benefits for a worker who dies at work from natural causes simply because he died at work. Instead, it must be shown that work or something that happened at work somehow played a role in the death.

In situations that

If your spouse dies due to a work-related injury or illness, you are entitled to workers' compensation benefits.

are not necessarily clear, especially when the insurance company tries to blame the death on some other reason or on natural causes, you will probably want to get a lawyer to help establish how the work or work exposure caused the death of your loved one. If you are able to show that the work contributed to the death, the worker’s family may be entitled to the following benefits:

Benefits for the surviving spouse:
If it can be established that work caused the death, the worker’s surviving spouse is entitled to workers’ compensation benefits every week at 2/3 of the worker’s average weekly wage at the time of death. This potentially lasts for the spouse’s life or until remarriage. If the spouse later remarries, then he/she is entitled to a lump sum payment for two years of benefits.

Benefits for surviving spouse with children:
If the deceased worker had dependent children and a spouse at the time of death, the surviving spouse is entitled to 60% of the worker’s average weekly wage plus 15% for each child. If the children don’t live with the surviving spouse, the spouse is entitled to 55% of the average weekly wage.

Benefits for dependent children:
If the worker is survived by dependent children, work comp benefits are paid to those children (in equal share) for their dependency or until age 19 (or age 25 if full-time student or the child is physically or mentally incapable of self-support).

Benefits for other family members:
There may also be benefits available for parents, brothers, sisters, grandparents, and grandchildren if it can be shown that they were dependents of the deceased worker. If dependency can be established, these types of dependents would be entitled to 25%.

Funeral Expenses:
The employer is responsible for funeral and burial expenses up to $6,000 whether or not the deceased worker had a spouse or any dependents. This was recently raised to $10,000 by the Nebraska Legislature in 2012.

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