Tag Archives: workers’ compensation

Unless you have Marine One, Air Ambulances are a pricey proposition

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Last Friday President Trump travelled to Walter Reed Hospital in the Presidential helicopter, Marine One, to seek treatment for COVID-19. The President has use of a helicopter, most of us don’t. Sometimes air ambulances are necessary, particularly in remote rural areas, to transport individuals with severe injuries or illnesses.

But if you read this blog, you know that air ambulance bills are often  incredibly expensive — and even worse not covered by insurance.

So why are air ambulance charges often not covered by insurance?

Preemption: Federal rock breaks state scissors

Air ambulances are regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration. The authority for this regulation is the so-called interstate commerce clause. Insurance, whether health insurance or workers compensation, is governed by state law because Congress ruled that insurance regulation is the purview of state law. Workers’ compensation laws are state laws that are constitutionally valid due to a state’s general police powers under the 10th Amendment.

So when accident victims try to pay for an air ambulance charge with health insurance or through workers’ compensation insurance, air ambulance providers argue they aren’t bound by state laws regulating insurance since they are regulated by the federal government.

This argument is called preemption. Preemption means that if state and federal laws conflict on a subject that federal law governs. In other words, the federal rock crushes the state scissors. A majority of courts side with  the air ambulance companies in holding that federal law regulating air ambulances pre-empts states from using their laws on insurance to regulate air ambulance charges.

In practical terms, injury cases involving air ambulances are more difficult to resolve. Fortunately, air ambulances aren’t covered by Nebraska’s lien statute which gives doctors and other providers a right to recover unpaid bills out of a personal injury settlement. This can give attorneys some leverage over these providers

What would the Founding Fathers think about air ambulances?

Before he went to the hospital, the President nominated 7th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Barrett’s views on abortion and other hot button social issues have drawn attention. But the bulk of cases decided by federal courts tend to be esoteric and obscure issues like air ambulance charges that stem from tensions within the United States Constitution.

I don’t know if Barrett has ruled on an air ambulance case. Barrett is known as an “originalist” or someone who looks at the intentions of the Founding Fathers in interpreting the Constitution.

But in my mind air ambulance cases are one example of the limits of the originalist approach. Passenger air travel post-dates the Constitution by about 130 years. What would the Founding Fathers know about air ambulances? Anyone who brings an originalist approach to deciding an issue like air ambulance charges is just dressing up their policy preferences in late 18th century garb.

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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Update: Nebraska placed on NYC-area COVID quarantine list

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This is an update of a post published on July 6, 2020

Americans can live and work where they want within the United States. But as I wrote last year, they aren’t free to claim workers’ compensation where they want. But true to form, COVID-19 has added another complication to this constitutional conundrum.

New York, New Jersey and Connecticut announced fines for residents who did not quarantine for 14 days after travelling to states with rising COVID-19 cases. New York, New Jersey and Connecticut added Nebraska to the quarantine list on July 21st.

The City of Chicago implemented a similar quarantine policy, but have not added Nebraska to their list of states.

In short, injured workers in those states face a 14-day quarantine if they forced to travel to Nebraska for their workers’ compensation case. The new quarantine will impact truckers who live in those states who got hurt working for Nebraska-based Crete Carrier and Werner.

A rock and a hard place for injured workers

I sympathize with and share the public health concerns of my friends and colleagues in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Illinois. But if COVID cases continue to increase and or more states start imposing quarantines, more injured workers are going be facing the prospect of a quarantine if they travel out of state for their workers’ compensation cases.

As enhanced unemployment benefits expire this month, a worker under quarantine faces a lot of uncertainty over income. This is especially true for an injured workers who may have already been facing financial hardship before the pandemic. Quarantines may give employers/defendants more leverage in settlement negotiations as well.

Alternatives to interstate travel?

Are there alternatives to in-person workers’ compensation hearings? Per Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-177, in Nebraska parties can agree to video hearings. But there is no way for a Judge to force a video hearing. Many lawyers and judges seem to prefer in person hearings when they need to weigh the credibility of witness testimony. Many workers’ compensation trials have the injured worker as the sole witness. But the credibility of the medical records submitted into the records often relies on the credibility of the witness.

Before trial, employers will often depose or question injured workers. Courts have more power to force video or telephonic depositions. So an out of state worker is more likely to avoid a trip back to Nebraska for a deposition. But I have had out of state clients compelled to travel to Nebraska for depositions.

Travel within Nebraska

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, I have seen more efforts to move depositions from central and western Nebraska to Lincoln. Within Nebraska, employers have less power to compel an injured worker to travel long distances for trial or deposition. At the IRS mileage rate, the cost of driving across Nebraska can equal the cost of air travel to a regional air hub like Denver or Chicago.

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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OSHA guidance on COVID-19 reporting could make it harder to prove workers’ compensation claims

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Bloomberg Law reported that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will not require non-medical and non-first responder employers to report possible COVID-19 exposures in the workplace.

OSHA’s decision on limiting reporting of potential work-related COVID-19 exposure could make it harder for workers to have COVID-19 exposure covered by state workers’ compensation laws. It will likely also make it more difficult to track exposure to the virus.

Injury reports and proving job-related exposure to COVID-19 through circumstantial evidence

Even if OSHA does not require most employers to report possible COVID-19 exposure, employers would still have to report possible COVID-19 exposures on the job to state workers’ compensation courts and agencies. However, many employers effectively use federal standards for recording an injury for reporting injuries to state workers’ compensation agencies. OSHA’s ruling may lead employers to under report possible COVID-19 exposures to state agencies.

In a blog post last week, Thomas Robinson wrote that many workers exposed to COVID-19 on the job will have to rely on circumstantial evidence to have COVID-19 exposures covered by workers’ compensation. But if employers aren’t required to log potential COVID-19 exposures, then it will be more difficult for employees to build their workers’ compensation cases with circumstantial evidence of other potential COVID-19 exposures in their workplace.

In theory employees could rely on state workers’ compensation reports to build a circumstantial case. But the lack of a federal reporting requirement may mean that employers don’t report potential COVID-19 exposure to state authorities.

Difficulties of tracking COVID-19 through medical records and billing

State workers’ compensation laws may provide another way to track the effect of COVID-19. Medical providers tend to ask about the cause of a medical condition or injury for the purposes of medical billing.  Knowing which COVID-19 cases were billed to workers’ compensation would be one way to track occupational exposure to the virus.

But there are problems with this approach. Doctors usually need to rely on patient history in order to determine whether an injury or illness is related to work. A worker may be unaware of how they contacted COVID-19.  Evidence that other workers were potentially exposed to COVID-19 may help doctors make that determination.

However, getting additional information to medical doctors and asking them to link an injury or illness to work duties is time consuming and often expensive. Sometimes a doctor will expressly conclude that an injury or illness was caused by work in their medical records. But with the advent of electronic medical records, it is less common to find causal statements in the body of a medical records. Unhelpful medical records will probably make it more difficult for workers’ compensation lawyers and public health authorities to investigate the causes of COViD-19 exposure.

COVID-19 and a two-tiered approach to workplace safety

I am disturbed by OSHA’s decision to limit reporting of COVID-19 by employers. The reason behind the decision is that many employers complained it’s difficult to determine if COVID-19 is caused by work. I agree that it will be difficult to cover COVID-19 cases under state workers’ compensation laws. But, filing an OSHA 300/301 report or a First Report of Injury in Nebraska isn’t an admission that an injury or illness is work-related.

Workplace safety advocates rightfully believe that this move by OSHA will make it more difficult to track COVID-19 exposure in the workplace to the detriment of retail, delivery, warehousing, transportation and food processing employees who are vulnerable to COVID-19 exposure.  In his blog post about proving up COVID-19 cases, Tom Robinson wrote passionately about how first responders and health care employees were getting more workplace safety protections than retail, delivery, transportation and food processing employees.

The two-tiered approach to workplace safety predates the COVID-19 pandemic. Lowly paid retail employees are routinely subjected to violence on the job, but they usually aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for strictly mental injuries or “mental-mental” injuries. By contrast, first responders are eligible for mental-mental benefits and a growing number of states are giving first responders a presumption that mental injuries are work-related. The COVID-19 pandemic is throwing these pre-existing divisions into starker contrast.

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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Navigating a workers’ compensation claim amid mass layoffs and economic uncertainty

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Skyrocketing unemployment and economic uncertainty due to the coronavirus is delivering another load of fear to already anxious injured workers. Fears about how the sudden downturn in the economy can affect a workers’ compensation claim are legitimate fears.

So, what happens to workers’ compensation claims when an employer closes or lays off workers in mass or goes bankrupt? What happens when a workers’ compensation insurer becomes insolvent? How does a mass layoff or plant closing affect a workers with already an already accepted workers’ compensation claim?

Bankrupt employer

The worst-case scenario is a bankrupt employer. While employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance, financially unstable employers tend to carry cheap high deductible insurance that shits the cost of an injury away from an insurer onto an employer. Bankruptcy can stay the payment of workers’ compensation benefits for an injured worker.

An injured worker with a bankrupt employer needs to contact an attorney. An injured worker is a creditor of a bankrupt employer and the law tends to favor creditors who file first. A lawyer can also go to court and sometimes force an otherwise solvent insurer to pay workers’ compensation benefits for a bankrupt employer.

Insolvent insurer

Recessions hit workers compensation insurers with a vicious one-two punch. Layoffs reduce the insurance premiums the insurance companies rely on and declines in the stock market cut into the investment profits from those premiums.

In Nebraska, like most states, workers compensation insurers pay into guaranty funds to take over claims from insolvent insurers. 

Unfortunately, at least two prominent state governors, Steve Bullock of Montana and Chris Christie of New Jersey, raided guaranty funds in order to balance state budgets. We will probably find out if guaranty funds will serve as an effective backstop in the next few years.

Laid off on “light duty”

Jonathan Louis May of Morgan and Morgan in Memphis raised concerns on Twitter about what happens to injured workers on light duty who get laid off due to a plant closure or mass lay-off. I agree with May that many insurers will probably use layoffs to deny temporary disability.

In Nebraska, a lay-off should not impact a worker’s eligibility for temporary total disability. But it may take a court order to have back due temporary disability benefits paid after a lay off.

Collecting workers compensation and unemployment benefits

Workers laid off in a mass lay-off may have their employer file unemployment for them. Under the recently passed CARES Act, workers can get their weekly unemployment benefit plus $600 for up to four months.

Injured workers who aren’t already collecting temporary disability in Nebraska should be able to collect unemployment and back due temporary disability.

But injured workers in Nebraska who are already collecting temporary disability may not be able to collect these enhanced unemployment benefits. Normally a worker who is collecting temporary total disability benefits is not eligible to receive unemployment under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-628.02(c). I am not aware if the CARES Act has modified that rule or if the state has eliminated that requirement during the crisis.

When in doubt employees receiving temporary disability under workers compensation ought to file an application for unemployment if they have lost their job due to a coronavirus related layoff. The state of Nebraska has eliminated job search requirements for employees laid off during the coronavirus crisis. Workers normally must be able to and available for work and be looking for work to receive unemployment benefits.  Workers who are temporarily totally disabled for workers compensation aren’t able to work. But if work eligibility isn’t a requirement to receive unemployment if you lose your job due to coronavirus, injured workers who are receiving temporary total disability would have a decent argument to receive unemployment in addition to temporary total disability 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.

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Three partial fixes for difficult workers’ compensation problems

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A lot of my blogging stems from my experience representing my clients in workers’ compensation cases. Last fall, I wrote a couple of posts: “Why so few workers get vocational rehabilitation in Nebraska” and “Why injured workers stop going to the doctor even if they are still in pain” after hard fought litigation had concluded.

I don’t know if it is apparent from the tone of those posts, but they were written from a sense of discouragement and disappointment. In both posts I wrote about the difficulties that injured workers have in receiving fair workers’ compensation benefits.

Law students, law professors and other legal analysts spot legal problems; trial lawyers need to find solutions for legal problems. After reading and reflecting, I’ve come up with three partial solutions for two major problems for injured workers in workers compensation cases.

None of these solutions are ideal or useful in every circumstance. These problems call out for pro-worker reforms to workers’ compensation laws, but even without “structural” solutions, lawyers for injured workers don’t just have to throw up their hands and tell their clients there is nothing they can do for them when faced with these difficulties.

Problems: The TTD/PPD gap.

Solution: Apply for unemployment.

I feel like I’ve written extensively about the problem of the long delay between when temporary benefits end and when permanent disability benefits start. Tara Reck in Washington state wrote a post about advising clients to apply for unemployment benefits in that situation. I kicked myself for not thinking of that before. (By the way, Washington cuts off temporary benefits after a vocational counselor determines an employee can return to work. That would significantly shorten the gap time.)

Applying for UI benefits in this situation is a good idea for a lot of reasons. One, Once a worker is at MMI, they are usually able and available for work. Two usually unemployment requires an extensive job search as a condition of receiving benefits. That job search can be evidence in a workers’ compensation case which can help prove up permanent disability. Evidence of a diligent job search by an injured worker usually also boosts credibility with a judge

Finally, a successful application for unemployment benefits means that an employee has steady income and maybe even finds a job. Having a steady income lessens the pressure on the injured worker to settle their workers’ compensation case.

Problem: The delay between the end of TTD and beginning of PPD

Solution:  Ask court to appoint counselor for LOEP with just FCE restrictions

Part of the delay between the end of temporary and start of permanent disability benefits is the difficulty in figuring out disability. Part of this delay can be explained by the practice of having a doctor ratify or sign off on functional capacity evaluation or FCE results obtained by a physical therapist. Doctor-endorsement of work restrictions is believed by some to be necessary for the appointment of a vocational counselor to perform a loss of earning power evaluation.

Physical therapists have an uncertain status as experts within the workers’ compensation court. But I was able to get a vocational counselor appointed with just FCE restrictions from a PT. (Feel free to contact me for a copy of the order) As a precaution, I did get the findings endorsed by a medical doctor. But I would encourage other plaintiff’s lawyers to push the issue with the trial courts in Nebraska. I believe trial judges are aware of the gap issue and are sympathetic to employees on the issue. With a concerted effort, the plaintiff’s bar in Nebraska may be able to reverse the custom of having a medical doctors endorse FCE restrictions from a physical therapist.

Problem: Future medical in a denied claim where the employee can’t afford future medical care.

Solution: Use company provided medical care

I wrote a post about why injured workers stop going to the doctor even if they are in pain. One of the main reasons why employees stop seeking care is cost. Another reason why employees stop seeking care is because employers manage medical of their injured workers and encourage doctors to release workers without recommendations for future medical care. This problem is particularly acute for employees of self-insured companies or quasi self-insureds with high deductible coverage.

But these self-insured employees usually often provide onsite occupational clinics. These providers are often on the front-line of discouraging claims. Many injured workers don’t seek treatment there because of that reason.

But those clinics are convenient and free of charge to employees who use them. They are a good way to bolster the case future medical if an employee is regularly seeking treatment there for work-related symptoms.  The fact that an injured worker continues to seek treatment at onsite clinic can also help their case by adding legitimacy to their testimony about the nature and extent of their limitations and symptoms from their work injury.

These occupational health notes are a discovery gold mine in my view. Not only do they give you what amounts to a free medical summary, they also document time off work which is incredibly helpful in proving entitlement to temporary disability benefits. The notes can also be a good source for admissions against interest by the employer.

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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Why you need an M.D. to prove your work. comp, case, but your employer can slide with a P.A?

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Can a P.A. or nurse practitioner send you back to work?

Nebraska has strict rules about what kind of expert reports can be used in workers’ compensation cases. Often times these strict rules can make it harder for injured workers to collect benefits.

But workers’ compensation insurers and claims administrators play fast and loose with those rules when it suits them. I saw that double-standard in action recently.

In this scenario a medical doctor had taken an individual off work. But a day later, the workers’ compensation adjuster calls the clinic stating the employer has work light work available. Based on the hearsay assurance from an adjuster, a physician’s assistant (P.A.) signs a note returning the injured worker to work

Now if an injured worker went to court and their only medical evidence came from a P.A., that case would likely get dismissed. P.A’s aren’t so-called Rule 10 experts so, their opinions don’t have any legal weight unless they are signed by a doctor.

But when a workers’ compensation insurer wants to avoid paying temporary benefits for a lost time injury, a P.A’s report without a doctor’s signature is just fine.

So, yes a  P.A. or nurse practitioner can send you back to work. An injured worker who doesn’t go back to work after getting a return-to-work note signed only be such a provider risk getting fired. Because of the at-will employment doctrine, the judges who often decide wrongful termination cases on summary judgment aren’t likely going to split legal hairs in favor an injured worker who disregard a return-to-work note signed by a P.A.

But workers can take some steps to protect themselves from unfair treatment from a medical clinic and or workers’ compensation insurer.

Pick your doctor

Occupational medicine clinics or so-called “workers comp. doctors” tend to let insurance companies and nurse case managers more or less draft their medical records. Employers like to route their employees to these clinics. Employees have a right to see their own doctor, but employers often try to cajole and threaten workers to seek treatment at occupational medicine clinics.

Have your own doctor

Doctors are a lot less likely to let a workers’ compensation insurer call the shots in the treatment for an injured worker if they have a relationship with the patient. In short, if you have insurance get a family doctor. It’s very possible your health insurance plan covers a free annual physical. But many workers’ don’t have a regular doctor and insurers take advantage of this fact in a workers’ compensation case.

Talk your union or to an attorney

Workers can also talk to their union if they think their insurer or medical provider is being unfair about their work injury. Though not everyone is represented by a union, you can also contact a workers’ compensation attorney with those concerns.

Often an attorney can’t force an insurer to pay workers’ compensation benefits instantly. Insurers can often delay payment of workers’ compensation benefits without legal penalty.  But if an employer is relying on the opinion of a P.A. or nurse practitioner to deny workers’ compensation benefits, a decent attorney can force an employer to pay penalties and attorney fees to the employee if they go to court.

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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I don’t care what you heard on NPR. Walmart isn’t getting rid of greeters.

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A minor uproar ensued a few months ago when outlets like NPR reported Walmart was eliminating the familiar greeter job in 1000 stores.

So it seemed odd when I saw a local competitor of Walmart placing a greeter in a store that I frequent. The person told me they were working a “light duty” job.

Here is why I think more big retailers will be putting in greeters.

I wrote back in 2017 that retailing jobs were becoming heavier and more hazardous because more employees would be involved in delivery work created by online ordering.

But doesn’t the fact that retail jobs are becoming physically more demanding mean that light jobs like greeter will be eliminated?

I don’t believe so. Heavier jobs mean more injuries on the job. More injuries on the job mean employers will be looking to place employees on so-called “light” or alternate duty jobs. More light or alternate duty assignments means injured workers getting placed into light jobs like greeter or other attendant jobs on a temporary basis.

In my experience Walmart accommodates injured employees through something called a Temporary Alternate Duty (TAD) matrix. The TAD matrix is a mix of job light job functions that can be done. The Greeter job is part of that matrix. I doubt that Walmart is going to take Greeter out of their matrix when the alternative would be paying their injured workers temporary total disability.

I learned the term TAD back in 2012 when I deposed a Walmart store manager in central Nebraska. In 2012, there were also press reports that Walmart had eliminated the greeter job. When I asked the Walmart manager about those reports, he was flippant with me In retrospect, he had some grounds to think I asked a stupid question. Walmart didn’t get rid of greeters in 2012 and I doubt they will in 2019. (Walmart has nearly 4,500 stores in the United States. Recent press accounts report Walmart is only eliminating greeters in 1000 stores)

I don’t want to sound dismissive of disabled employees who work as greeters who might have lost their job. But I believe that Walmart shoppers and shoppers of similar stores will continue to see store greeters because that’s how retail employers will accommodate injured employees by placing them into ligther jobs like greeter or attendant jobs.

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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Will Medicare beneficiaries see faster settlements?

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“How much will my case settle for ?” and “When will I get my settlement?” are two of the biggest questions asked by clients in a workers’ compensation or personal injury case. Medicare beneficiaries will soon better know the answers to these questions.

As of April 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services will allow conditional payments to be made electronically. The change to an electronic payment system will allow all authorized users to view the updated demand status of CMS and track electronic payments in the “Electronic Payment History” tab.

This change should allow Medicare beneficiaries who have a workers’ compensation or personal injury claim to have their cases settle sooner and receive their settlement proceeds sooner.

A Medicare conditional payment is a payment made by Medicare in a disputed workers’ compensation or personal injury case. In a conditional payment situation Medicare will pay on a medical expense but demand that they be paid back from the proceeds of a settlement or judgment.

In substance a conditional payment issues is like any other subrogation issue where some form of health insurance pays for an injury that should be covered under workers’ compensation or a liability policy. In all cases, the plaintiff needs to know how much can be repaid so they can settle a claim and know what they might receive in a settlement.

In a Nebraska workers’ compensation case, under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-120(8),a judge can order that a third-party who paid for medical care that was related to be a work injury be reimbursed for payments made on behalf of an injured worker.

The problem with Medicare is that the conditional payment process is often more burdensome than determining a subrogation or repayment interest from other types of insurers – it often takes longer as well. Hopefully electronic payment and tracking of payments will simplify and speed up settlements involving Medicare beneficiaries.

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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