Category Archives: First Responders

Firm takes pride in progressive worker-oriented law, Senator who fights to preserve it

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Sen. Steve Lathrop

Sen. Steve Lathrop

Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn., is Exhibit 1 for why all states need to compensate first responders for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

 

A few years ago, the Nebraska legislature passed legislation allowing first responders to receive workers’ compensation benefits for mental disorders arising from their work even if they received no physical injury. The bill arose out of the horrible shooting at the Westroads Shopping Mall in Omaha. Recently the insurance industry has been asking to repeal the bill and the original sponsor, Sen. Steve Lathrop of Omaha, has resisted successfully.

 

Now we learn that the first responders who worked in the horror scene at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., can’t receive workers’ compensation benefits for mental issues that might arise. http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Officials-hope-to-change-workers-compensation-law-4180221.php I assume the Connecticut legislature will respond, protect first responders in the future and hope there is no repetition of the horrific shootings.

 

Rehm, Bennett & Moore is proud that Nebraska law protects such workers. We are proud to have state senators like Steve Lathrop. Does the insurance industry care about anything other than dollars?

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 First Responders, Government, PTSD, workers' compensation law and tagged , , , , , , .

Sense of Injustice, Occupy Wall Street & A Tornado Survivor From Joplin

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Today’s post comes to us from our friend Jon Gelman of New Jersey.

In a dramatic turn of events based upon pubic outrage, an insurance company has reversed its decision and now decided to provide workers’ compensation benefits to a first responder who was injured while providing assistance to tornado victims in Joplin, Missouri.

Mark Lindquist saved 3 developmentally disabled adults in Joplin following the tornado that devastated that community. Caught in the 200 mile an hour tornado, Lindquist lost all of his teeth, was in a coma for several months and ran up medical bills amounting to $2.5 Million. The insurance company initially had denied the claim and recent news reports and public outrage resulted in a reversal by the insurance company on the issue of compensability.

The same outrage against Corporate America and an imbalance in the socio-economic system is now being reflected in the Occupy Wall Street movement. Recently Amy Goodman, the host of Democracy Now!, commented about the growing recognition of injustice on the Charlie Rose show.

Continue reading →

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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This entry was posted in First Responders, Government, Reforms and tagged , , , , .

Nebraska Law Would Deny Disability and Death Payments to First Responders in a 9/11-Type Event

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Nebraska State Capitol

Nebraska State Capitol

As we shared in an earlier post, the first responders in the 9/11 attack are being diagnosed with cancer and other diseases at a rate higher than the general public, most likely because of their exposure to the World Trade Center’s deadly dust. But it can take 30 years or more for many of the diseases, disabilities and deaths to actually strike. Many, if not most, of the victims will be retired and earning no wages by the time they get sick.

Bottom line: Nebraska law needs to be changed to treat our workers and their families better

If an event like 9/11 tragically took place in Nebraska, what would happen to the first responders? If, many years later, they got sick and disabled or died because of things they were exposed to in the line of duty, would they receive workers’ compensation payments? Continue reading →

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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This entry was posted in 9/11, Disability, First Responders, Reforms, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , .

World Trade Center dust and 9/11 first responders with cancer, time for U.S. Government to stop withholding benefits

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This guest post comes to us from our colleague Edgar Romano at Pasternack Tilker Ziegler Walsh Stanton & Romano, LLP in New York.

First Responders at the World Trade Center

first responders remove smoldering debris

Many courageous first responders, who saved lives at Ground Zero, have since been diagnosed with cancer, and yet the U.S. government does not pay for their treatment. This Saturday, September 10, CNN will air Terror In The Dust, an investigation by chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta into the consequences of the deadly dust produced by the World Trade Center’s collapse. Gupta speaks with 9/11 heroes and medical experts about the consequences of the carcinogen-filled dust.

A new study released earlier this week by the New York City Fire Department provides good evidence of a link between 9/11 first responders and cancer. The study showed a 32% greater incidence of cancer among firefighters who worked at Ground Zero than those who did not.

The NIOSH study concluded that the 9/11 debris did contain known carcinogens.

The U.S. government does not pay for cancer treatments of 9/11 first responders. This is because Continue reading →

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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This entry was posted in 9/11, Firefighters, First Responders, Government, Mesothelioma, Police, Workers' Compensation and tagged , , , .