Tag Archives: Omaha

Ohio axes PBM for “hosing” state on prescription drugs

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Hey hoser, got any deals on prescription drugs?

The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation recently decided to drop the manager of their drug formulary, Optum Rx , who in the words of a court administrator were “hosing” the State of Ohio.

“Told you so,” said me and many other critics of drug formularies.

Drug formularies are touted as a way to reduce opioid abuse and limit drug costs. But formularies are run by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) who have been widely criticized for pushing up drug costs. In 2017 The City of Omaha opposed a drug formulary bill in the Nebraska Legislature over similar fears of being hosed by PBMs.

The news out of Ohio came at about the same time as a viral (for the world of workers’ compensation) blog post penned by Judge and Professor David Torrey. Judge Torrey politely bench-slapped an “industry representative” who stated that injured workers needed to “get off their asses” during a panel discussion at a workers’ compensation conference about alternatives to opioids for pain managment.

I understand and share concerns about prescription drug abuse by injured workers. I’ve also encountered clients with serious bowel issues from opioid-induced constipation.  Addiction seems to get more attention than digestive issues when it comes to opioids and workers compensation. I believe part of that stems from the fact that calling some an “addict” is away to dog whistle that an injured worker is a malingerer. Turning injured workers into “addicts” is a way of putting some medically-termed lipstick on a moral and ideological pig created by the insurance industry.

Perhaps true to the Trump age, the panelist in Pennsylvania dropped the conern trolling about addcition and voiced the id buried in the dark heart of the workers compensation medico-legal-industrial complex. Telling injured workers that they just need to get back to work is great for cutting expenses for workers compensation insurers. Drug formularies are good way to increase revenue for the insurance-side middleman in the workers’ compensation system. Drug formularies pre-date the opioid crisis, but they were adapted to “solve” the opioid crisis.

In response to the opioid crisis, the insurance industry has medicalized its age old criticisms of injured workers and the drug companies and PBMs have jacked up drug prices. Meanwhile injured employees aren’t getting any real help in how to deal with chronic pain. Doctors have long known that opioid dependence is a serious issue and that there are no easy solutions to chronic pain.  Opioid prescriptions have been declining since 2012. If insurers and self-insureds were serious about chronic pain, they would approve alternative pain control methods and give doctors discretion to prescribe medication as needed.

The problem with that solution for insurers and self-insureds is that solution would cost them money. It’s easier to lecture injured workers’ about resilience, churn some money off of drug formularies and shift the cost of pain management back onto injured employees.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in opioids, Workers Compensation and tagged , , , , , .

Major Employer Questions Use Of Drug Formularies In Workers’ Compensation

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Drug formularies are touted as a way to fight prescription drug abuse and contain prescription drug cost. But one major Nebraska employer appears to be questioning whether drug formularies really contain prescription costs.

In a fiscal note for LB 408, a bill introduced in the Nebraska legislature to create drug formularies for opioid pain medications in workers’ compensation claims, the City of Omaha expressed concern that the inability to substitute for generic medication in a drug formulary could lead to higher prescription costs.

The City of Omaha was echoing widespread concerns about the possibility of conflict of interests in drug formularies. Those concerns were explained by me in a blog post published last December. In short, drug formularies are administered by pharmacy benefit managers. Pharmacy benefit managers make money by negotiating discounts from drug manufacturers. This gives pharmacy benefit managers incentive to put more expensive drugs on drug formularies because they can negotiate a more lucrative discount than they could for a less expensive generic drug.

LB 408 was held in committee by the Business and Labor committee so it is unlikely it will be considered in this legislative session. Opioids abuse is a topic of high interest for political leaders so drug formularies as a way to reduce opioid use will likely be discussed further in Nebraska.

The City of Omaha has a workforce this is more heavily unionized than most other workplaces in Nebraska.  In some instances, labor and management will collectively bargain how some aspects of a workers’ compensation program is to be administered. Supporters of organized labor originated the idea of “labor pluralism” during the New Deal and Post-War era. (4) Labor pluralism means that government should minimize interference between the labor-management relationship.   In a unionized workplace, labor and management have a complicated relationship that is both cooperative and confrontational depending on the circumstances. A mandate from the state requiring the use of drug formularies could be as undermining labor-management relations when a labor and management have bargained about the administration of workers’ compensation benefits.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Government, Legislation, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , , , .

Nebraska Convenience Store Clerks Need More Protection from Violence

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Lincoln residents awoke to find out that a convenience store clerk was killed early on Thursday morning at a store in northwest Lincoln. Unfortunately, this type of violence is not uncommon in Lincoln, Omaharural Nebraska or anywhere else in the United States.

While the federal government has long recognized the problem of violence against convenience store clerks working overnight shifts, it has been left to the states and even cities like Milwaukee and Irving, Texas, to write laws and regulations to protect convenience store clerks from violence.

The Indiana Department of Labor did a comprehensive study of measures taken by other states and cities on how they protect convenience store clerks from violence.  Common practices included bulletproof glass and cages to protect clerks in high-risk areas, security cameras, clear views of cash registers, and having at least two clerks on dangerous overnight shifts. Barriers around cash registers in particular would be crucial in high-risk stores that are robbed regularly because robbers will often jump behind unprotected counters.

Though the city of Omaha has done some proactive policing to protect convenience stores in the recent past, neither Omaha, Lincoln nor the state of Nebraska has any legislation, regulations or ordinances in place to protect convenience store clerks from violence. I would encourage Nebraska’s state senators and city council members in Omaha, Lincoln and other Nebraska cities to put laws in place to protect convenience store workers. If you do not know who your state senator is, you can look that up here. Omaha residents can click here to find out how to contact their city council member, and Lincoln residents can click here to find out how to contact their city council member. Nebraska has legislative elections this fall, and Lincoln and Omaha have city elections next spring. I would urge voters in these races to pay attention to which candidates have a good record and ideas about workplace safety and which candidates value profits over safety.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Government, Legislation and tagged , , , , , .

Tyson Foods’ Injury Incidents Examined Through OSHA Reports

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22-Hispanic-Poultry-Processor-on-LineAs I wrote in a previous blog post, OSHA has decided to make a 90-day regional emphasis on “high-hazard manufacturing industries” in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri, which are three of the four states in what the Occupational Safety and Health Administrations calls Region 7.*

“The emphasis program focuses on manufacturing industries where injury and illness rates exceed the average for the private sector. Included are manufacturers of the following products: food, furniture, fabricated metal, nonmetallic mineral, machinery, and computer products as well as printing and related support activities,” according to the OSHA news release.

Sadly, this increased inspection effort may have been inspired by some injury incidents recently written about by in an article from the ScienceBlogs website “The Pump Handle: A Water Cooler for the Public Health Crowd” titled “Amputations about at Tyson Foods, OSHA records shed more light on industrial food production.”

Writer Celeste Monforton, who has master’s and doctorate degrees in public health, made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request regarding the federal OSHA regulation that “requires employers to report within 24 hours any work-related incident that results in an amputation or hospitalization,” according to her article. The request asked for data from Tyson Foods, which “has more than 400 facilities in 30 U.S. states, and it processes 35 million chickens, 400,000 hogs, and 128,000 cattle per week.”#

In a nine-month period, from Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 2015, Monforton discovered 34 reports by Tyson of amputations or hospitalizations.

“The hospitalizations included a worker at the company’s facility in Rogers, AR (Arkansas) who fell 32 feet off of a roof, and a worker in Holcomb, KS (Kansas) who broke his leg while learning to operate a forklift.”

She goes on to write that 17 of 34 incidents were amputations – in a 9-month period – not even over a whole year. The article has a tragic and sobering table that summarizes the amputations, and it is worth clicking to the article to take a look at the table because it includes the month, body part, equipment or tool in use, product (type of plant), city and state involved in each incident.

Here’s a summary of her list that focuses specifically on Nebraska, Missouri and Kansas, where eight of the 17 amputations occurred.

There were four amputations in the Nebraska plants of Lexington (fingertip; and tips of middle and index fingers using band saws in the beef plant), Omaha (ring, index and pinky fingers using the skinner in the poultry plant) and Dakota City (thumb using the sprocket in the pork plant). There were three amputations in the Missouri plants of St. Joseph (both hands using the auger), Monnet (distal portion third finger using the impeller in the poultry plant), and Sedalia (middle finger to first knuckle on the cone line in the poultry plant). The Kansas amputation was in the Emporia beef plant, when the skinner was being used and the end and outside part of a thumb were amputated.

These incidents (and the Kansas forklift-training one mentioned above) may explain OSHA’s new regional emphasis, as Tyson’s meatpacking plants should definitely count as “high-hazard manufacturing industries,” in my opinion.

Though the reports are brutal and tragic, I hope that Monforton completes more FOIA requests to OSHA to track trends, because each of these injury incidents greatly affected someone and their loved ones, whether their lives were changed temporarily or permanently, such as the worker whose hands were amputated in Missouri.

Meanwhile, though I realize it doesn’t cover the same dates as Monforton’s article, Tyson recently released earnings of “record results” for the first quarter of fiscal year 2016, which ended on Jan. 2 of this year, according to the link above.

“‘Fiscal 2016 is off to a very strong start in what we expect to be another record year,’ said Donnie Smith, president and chief executive officer of Tyson Foods. ‘Solid execution across the entire team resulted in record earnings, record operating income, record margins and record cash flows. We captured $121 million in total synergies for the quarter, with $61 million incremental to fiscal first quarter 2015.

“‘Our on-going efforts to invest in and grow our Core 9 product lines are paying off as sales volume for the most recent four week period was up 4%. The Core 9 product lines represent our strongest brands, greatest pricing power and best category growth opportunities and are major contributors to volume and profitability in the retail channel,’ Smith said. The Core 9 is composed of nine retail product lines in the Tyson®, Jimmy Dean®, Hillshire Farm®, Ball Park®, State Fair® and Aidells® brands.”

Though unfortunately, the number of work-related injury incidents isn’t available for the first quarter above, it’s suspected that they’re not much different than any other three-month snapshot of all the Tyson plants. It is a certainty that you can draw your own conclusions about how Tyson values its workers, based on Monforton’s article. It’s worth noting that in a quarter where record profits were had for shareholders, it’s highly doubtful that it was an amputation-free quarter for all workers, based on past performance in Monforton’s article.

In conclusion, I wish the best for OSHA in its quest to focus on “high-hazard manufacturing industries.”

Here’s hoping that the resulting education efforts and inspections mean greater safety knowledge for workers and fewer life-changing incidents, like amputations, that adversely affect workers, their loved ones, and society as a whole.

*Note that Iowa is also in Region 7, but according to OSHA’s website, it’s one of the states that “operate their own OSHA-approved job safety and health programs and cover state and local government workers.” Because Iowa has a state program, I believe that’s why it’s not targeted in this regional emphasis.

#Note that Monforton’s FOIA “does not include information from the states that run their own OSHA program, 10 of which have Tyson operations,” according to the article she wrote that is linked to above.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in Preventing Injury, Uncategorized, Workers' Compensation, workplace accidents, Workplace Injury, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

OSHA Investigates October Incident; Also Focuses Efforts on ‘High-Hazard Manufacturing Industries’

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The U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently highlighted two news releases that are related to or will affect workplace safety, workers’ injuries, and workers’ compensation in both Iowa and Nebraska. These two states are in OSHA’s Region 7, along with Kansas and Missouri.

OSHA’s news release on Jan. 14 focused on an incident where a Nebraska worker fell more than 20 feet and died in October of last year. The worker had been employed for Custom Contracting Inc., of Lincoln, for just two weeks, according to the news release from OSHA.

There was no fall protection provided to the workers at their construction site, and “the agency also found the company failed to train workers to:

  • “Recognize fall hazards.
  • “Render first aid.
  • “Operate powered industrial vehicles.

“In addition, guard rails were not installed on open sides and ends of platforms to prevent falls, and lift trucks were found to be modified without manufacturer’s approval,” according to the website.

OSHA proposed penalties of $36,000.

“Fatal incidents like these are entirely preventable. They have tragic consequences for the victims, their families, and their communities,” said Jeff Funke, OSHA’s area director in Omaha, as quoted in the news release. “Construction industry employers must protect workers from falls, which continue to be the leading cause of worker’s death in the construction industry.”

In the second news release from OSHA that I’d like to discuss, a regional emphasis has been announced this is focusing on “high-hazard manufacturing industries” in Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri.

“The increased likelihood that workers in high-hazard manufacturing industries – such as food, furniture, fabricated metal, nonmetallic mineral, machinery and computer products – will be injured on the job is leading federal safety and health inspectors in three Midwestern states to increase its focus on industry outreach and inspections to reduce injury and illness rates,” according to the news release from OSHA.

This “region-wide emphasis program” is expected to last three months and includes “outreach and education to assist employers” to decrease hazards “and increase the probability of inspections at establishments in high-hazard industries with more than 10 employees and those that have not had a comprehensive inspection since 2011.”

If you or a loved one are involved in an incident at work that results in an injury or death, please contact an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer. This person should also be able to help report your concerns to OSHA as applicable.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in OSHA, Workers' Compensation, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , , , .

Be Safe, and Happy Independence Day!

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Please be safe, and have a Happy Independence Day tomorrow. 

The firm’s offices will close today at 2:30 p.m. and be closed on Friday, July 4, for the Independence Day holiday. We will be open on Monday, July 7, at 8:30 a.m.

The Fourth of July means different things to different folks. Here’s a list of web resources and other commentary to help you have both a safe and fun holiday, with an emphasis on safe. Because it’s possible to still have fun while being safe.

  • This link includes tips on fireworks, grilling, beaches, rip currents and sun protection. I would add that the beach safety tips easily translate to lake or river safety for those of us in the land-locked states of Iowa and Nebraska.  
  • This link from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) encourages “safety of workers who handle pyrotechnics.” I think this safety focus also applies to volunteers who sell fireworks at non-profit stands.    
  • This link explains how the holiday can be challenging “for people with heart disease, asthma or other respiratory conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” because “of high levels of smoke from fireworks.”   
  • This link from the @NICoEPage Twitter feed explains that for those who have served in the military or have traumatic brain injuries, holiday events can cause both stress and anxiety.   The Twitter account describes the focus of this effort as follows: “Advancing understanding of complex TBI and psychological health conditions for service members, their families, and the MHS.” … “Healing the Invisible Wounds of War.”  

Please also be aware, when working with fireworks, of any local laws that affect when a person can use fireworks and the fireworks that can be used. Do you know what the laws (and penalties) are where you’ll be celebrating the holiday? And who is responsible for the cleanup afterwards?

For example, read this extensive quote, found via the Omaha Police Department Facebook page:

“So, we’ve mentioned that you can use fireworks between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. until July 4th. Some other fireworks related rules to remember are that fireworks are not allowed in city parks, and you cannot discharge fireworks on a public street. Also, if you are throwing fireworks, take the following information into account.

28-1242. Unlawful throwing of fireworks; penalty.

(1) A person commits the offense of unlawful throwing of fireworks if he or she throws any firework, or any object which explodes upon contact with another object: (a) From or into a motor vehicle; (b) onto any street, highway, or sidewalk; (c) at or near any person; (d) into any building; or (e) into or at any group of persons.

(2) Unlawful throwing of fireworks is a Class III misdemeanor.”

Finally, here’s a reminder to take care when driving on the weekend of the Fourth. From today through Saturday, Nebraska State Patrol will be out in full force thanks to a grant. “Special enforcement efforts will focus on safe driving practices with an emphasis on crash causing behaviors such as speeding, following too closely, impaired and distracted driving,” according to a news release found at this link under Nebraska State Patrol News.  

Again, please have a safe and happy Independence Day!

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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Discrimination: Municipal Human-Rights Commissions Another Option for Charges

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When a prospective client calls in with a potential employment discrimination question, one of the questions I always ask is, “What city or town do you work in?” The reason I ask this question is because many larger cities in the states where we practice, such as Omaha, Lincoln and Des Moines, have separate municipal fair-employment acts that cover more employees than are covered under state or federal law.

State and federal fair-employment statutes generally need at least 15 or 20 employees for an employer to be covered by those laws. However, in Des Moines and Lincoln, an employer only needs to have four employees to be covered under those cities’ human-rights ordinances. In Omaha, an employer only needs six employees to be covered by their fair-employment ordinance.

Also, the City of Omaha explicitly covers sexual orientation under the fair-employment ordinance. Sexual-orientation discrimination is not explicitly prohibited by Nebraska or federal law. It is my belief that sexual-orientation discrimination is a form of sex discrimination that is already covered under Title VII and the Nebraska Fair Employment Practices Act. However, my opinions as to what I think the law is and what the law is are two different matters. If you are an Omaha resident who feels you were discriminated against because of your sexual orientation, you would be much more certain to have your claim of discrimination heard on the merits by pursuing a claim under the Omaha Human Rights Ordinance. While I would be willing to filing a sexual-orientation discrimination case under Nebraska law, any potential clients need to know that such a case would be a test case, and as such, this case would be under tremendous scrutiny from judges.

The drawback to filing discrimination cases under the Lincoln and Omaha municipal ordinances is that there is less opportunity for monetary award if you are successful in winning your case than you would have under state or federal law. However, some remedy for your discrimination is better than no remedy for your discrimination.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in discrimination, employment law, Supreme Court and tagged , , , , .

Todd Bennett Serves NATA as Seminar Presenter

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Attorney Todd Bennett

The Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA) Workers’ Compensation Seminar was recently held in Omaha. Firm partner Todd Bennett was one of the presenters to the almost 90 people who braved the winter weather to attend. He discussed “Farm Workers Under the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act.”

He was motivated to share his expertise because of his experiences representing farm workers, Bennett said. Injured workers, including farm workers, need the protection and benefits that workers’ compensation can provide, but many states’ limit how workers’ compensation is applied to farm workers.

“It is a web of statutory exceptions that you have to wind through in order to obtain a recovery,” Bennett said. “Working in a farming operation is dangerous business. Despite being the staple profession that helped make this country, thousands are injured and hundreds die each year due to the dangerous functions and exposures they face.”

Generally, farm and ranch hands are not included under workers’ compensation coverage and benefits, Bennett said.  However, there are many exceptions that would bring a person under workers’ compensation coverage, and then the worker would receive the protections and benefits of someone who is injured on the job and unrelated to the owner of the farming operation. The statute in Nebraska that applies here is §48-106 (7). Because an employer has to have an employee sign the following written notice either when hired or at least 30 days before the employee’s injury for the exemption to hold: “In this employment you will not be covered by the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act, and you will not be compensated under the act if you are injured on the job or suffer an occupational disease. You should plan accordingly.” If this process isn’t done, according to the statute, then the employer can be held liable and included in the workers’ compensation act “for any unrelated employee to whom such notice was not given.”

Helping guide injured farm workers and others through the statutes is why Bennett believes in his work and made this subject the focus of his presentation.

“Farming is dangerous work, and many are injured and several die performing this work. Many accidents are preventable, and despite having a valid claim, many go without the statutory benefits they deserve. Many also think ‘lawyer’ is a dirty word. However, knowing how to lead through the steps in the law and knowing which forum to bring the case in order to obtain a recovery for a farm or ranch hand is hard to do, but it is a necessary and noble thing for those in need. It’s an honor to bring justice to those who deserve it and are in need of it.”

Firm associates Brody Ockander and Brianne Rohner also attended the NATA event. The program was approved for continuing education by both Nebraska and Iowa MCLE Commissions, according to the NATA website.

It is important for attorneys to stay current with the law, and the firm’s members are encouraged to participate in continuing education and networking opportunities through professional associations. It is also helpful for attorneys to share legal knowledge through presenting at professional development opportunities like the NATA seminar. Over 510 people, including law students, are NATA members.

Bennett also recently attended the Iowa Association for Justice’s (IAJ) 22nd Annual Workers’ Compensation seminar, as he is licensed to practice in both Iowa and Nebraska. Topics covered included the interplay between workers’ compensation and immigration; unemployment law basics; understanding diagnostic testing; understanding the process of further review on appeal; and addressing issues in representing over-the-road truck drivers.

“This event was valuable to aid in the process of representing many workers with many and different issues as they continue to fight for the same rights when they face dealing with work injuries,” Bennett said.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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