Tag Archives: death benefits

Hard but not impossible: COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims

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Photo courtesy of QZ.com

An employee exposed to COVID-19 at work is likely limited to collecting workers’ compensation benefits. COVID-19 exposures are difficult workers’ compensation cases that have been made more difficult by guidance from the United States Department of Labor.

But difficult doesn’t mean impossible. Some COVID-19 exposures could lead to death, serious injury and or extensive medical expenses.  Here is how I think workers should pursue workers’ compensation benefits for COVID-19 exposure

What kind of COVID-19 workers compensation claims are worth bringing

Nebraska awards substantial workers’ compensation benefits to the survivors of workers who die due to work-related causes. Severe but not fatal cases of COVID-19 that lead to hospitalization can lead to substantial medical expense. COVID-19 can also have permanently disabling effects. In Nebraska, loss of function from COVID-19 is paid on how the injury impacts a workers’ ability to earn a living.

While a mild case of COVID-19 probably wouldn’t justify bringing a workers’ compensation claim, COVID-19 symptoms may flare up in the future. So regardless of the severity of the COVID-19 exposure, it would make sense for a worker who thinks they got COVID-19 on the job to investigate how they may have gotten the virus.

Playing amateur detective

Most COVID-19 cases will likely be proved by circumstantial evidence. This means that workers should try to rule out non work-related exposure and rule in work-related exposure. This may be challenging because workers who are likely to exposed to COVID-19 on the job are also likely to have friends and family members who have been exposed to COVID-19 who could have exposed them to COVID-19 outside of work.

Workers who have been exposed to COVID-19, or their friends and family, need to do the leg work to gather the facts about possible COVID-19 exposure before memories fade and supporting documentation disappears.

Why you will probably need an attorney to pursue a COVID-19 workers’ compensation case

I believe insurers and employers will deny most COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims for two reasons. One, the cases are hard to prove. Two, many insurance policies apparently have virus exclusions. A lawyer can help a worker, or the family of a worker, exposed to COVID-19 gather facts to support their case.

In Nebraska, lawyers can subpoena documents from employers as well as serve written questions called interrogatories, requests for admissions and requests for production to help prove up a case for COVID-19 exposure on the job. Lawyers can also take depositions. I’ve written before how some employers will likely cover up and under report COVID-19 exposure. But in Nebraska employees should have the ability to obtain absence logs, occupational health records and other information outside of typical injury reports that could circumstantially prove COVID-19 exposure on the job.

I think lawyers pursuing workers’ compensation claim related to COVID-19 in Nebraska need to file petitions and serve discovery as soon as possible. COVID-19 claims will likely require more factual investigation than a typical workers’ compensation case.

Cooperation from co-workers and fear of retaliation

To some extent proving COVID-19 should be covered by workers’ compensation will probably require some cooperation from co-workers. Concerns about retaliation from an employer are legitimate. I’ve also criticized what I think are the weakness of retaliation laws recently. But Nebraska law outlaws retaliating against employees who claim workers compensation benefits. Does that protection extend to co-workers who assist in a workers’ compensation claim? I’m not sure, but recently a federal judge interpreting Nebraska’s workers’ compensation retaliation law held that the law provides broad protections.

Good facts also make good law. What that means is a co-worker who gets fired for helping a co-worker get workers’ compensation benefits may create law that formally extends the protections of workers’ compensation retaliation in Nebraska.

Though mainstream media has not widely reported this news, credible outlets like Payday Report and Law 360 have reported about widespread strikes and employee walkouts over COVID-19 safety related concners. So far, no walk outs have been reported in Nebraska. But supporting a co-worker in a workers’ compensation claim is an act of solidarity like a walk out or strike. The ability for workers to recover workers compensation benefits for COVID-19 exposure may require acts of solidarity.

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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New law eases receipt of death benefits for foreign dependents

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Last week we wrote about legislation that will go into effect on September 1 that will make it harder to collect medical debt related to a workers’ compensation claim. On the same day, legislation will go into effect that will make it easier for the families of foreign workers to collect benefits for workers killed on the job.

The new law amends Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-122 to streamline the ability for a foreign dependent to proceed with litigation on behalf of a deceased family member. In other words, if a family member dies in a work accident, but his/her family does not live in the United States, the foreign dependent is able to collect workers’ compensation benefits for the death. In the past, however, in order to proceed with litigation, the dependents and their lawyer would need to get approval from a foreign consul of the country where the dependents lived. This was difficult and cumbersome to get feedback from a counsel that had little to nothing to do with a Nebraska workers’ compensation claim. The process could be even more difficult for Cuban nationals whose country doesn’t have diplomatic relations with the United States

As a result, this statute was amended so that a lawyer may simply proceed to represent the foreign dependent even if the foreign consul does not consent or fails to respond to the request for consent to the representation and litigation. The only potential pitfall to this bill is that there is a potentially expensive bonding requirement. But our firm has experience with setting up conservatorships that could help get around the bonding requirement,

The collections bill and foreign dependents bill both passed as part of LB 418 that passed the Legislature 35-0. Our firm was happy to work on this legislation, but this legislation was largely passed because of the outcome of the 2018 Legislative elections.  Senator Cavanaugh, who sponsored the bill won a close election. Due to the election outcome, Sen. Matt Hansen of Lincoln was also elected to chair the Business and Labor Committee that handles most legislation related to workers’ compensation. Senator Hansen’s leadership was helpful in getting passing this legislation.

A legislature friendly to workers is no guarantee in 2021. Worker-friendly Kate Bolz will be term-limited out in a district that isn’t particularly friendly for workers in southeast Lincoln. Grand Island Senator Dan Quick, a union electrician who was hurt at work, could face a tough re-election challenge. Pay attention to state legislative races, support pro-worker candidates, vote and tell your friends and family to vote as well.

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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What is Workers’ Compensation Law in Nebraska?

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Before workers’ compensation was an option in Nebraska, injured workers could only sue their employers under tort law for damages. While providing complete compensation – i.e., damages such as those for pain and suffering were available – it also required proof of negligence, and claims were often barred by affirmative defenses such as assumption of the risk and contributory negligence. For more than 100 years now, injured workers have had the protection of workers’ compensation laws that provide for no-fault benefits that are received quickly, and employers can avoid more expensive court challenges.

The Nebraska workers’ compensation system includes a dedicated court, and Nebraska is one of the only states to have this avenue for injured workers.

There are several different types of benefits that an injured worker is entitled to:

1.      Benefits to manage or cure the injury: includes hospital, doctor, chiropractic and physical therapy costs. This also includes the costs of diagnostic testing, doctor-prescribed medicine (even if it’s over-the-counter) and items like braces.

2.      Compensation while temporarily disabled: These payments of two-thirds of an injured worker’s average weekly wage may start after an injured worker has been off work for seven days, and usually an injured worker continues to collect payments – either for total or partial disability – while he or she is convalescing until a doctor signs off on a full return to work and/or places an injured worker at maximum medical improvement.

3.      Compensation for permanent injuries: These benefits are two-thirds of an injured workers’ average weekly wage (or wages earned in a 40-hour work week for part-time workers) and are available after an injured worker has reached maximum medical improvement. These benefits may be for permanent impairment to a specific body part or may be to compensate for an injured worker’s loss of earning ability. This distinction depends on the type of injury. Benefits may also be partial or total, depending on the type and degree of injury.

4.      Vocational rehabilitation: These are services provided under Nebraska workers’ compensation law to injured workers when, as a result of a compensable injury, the injured worker is unable to perform suitable work for which he or she has previous training or experience. This may include job placement and retraining. 

5.      Death benefits: If a worker dies as a result of his or her injury, that worker is entitled to medical expenses as well as burial expenses up to $10,000.  The deceased worker’s dependents are also entitled to benefits, which vary depending on the circumstances.

If the system worked the way it was supposed to, employers (or their insurance companies) would pay injured workers, pay the medical bills, and focus on getting the worker either back to work or moving on with the best quality of life possible. The reality is that employers (and their insurance companies) don’t always see eye-to-eye with doctors’ opinions or treatment recommendations, or follow work restrictions. Speaking with an experienced attorney when navigating the workers’ compensation system can reassureinjured workers and their loved ones and make a very stressful time a little less difficult.

Different states have workers’ compensation systems that vary, but all, to some extent, are intended to protect injured workers. If there are questions, please contact the firm and provide the details to an attorney who can advise on the best steps to take for each specific situation.

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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