Access the NY Times article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/10/us/injury-statistics-by-race-go-uncollected.html?_r=0
Calling all Frackcident Victims: The Economic Benefits of Fracking do not Justify your Injuries
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According to a recent study performed by Associated Press, traffic fatalities in drilling states, including Texas, have more than quadrupled since 2004. But wait . . . hasn’t the energy boom positively impacted our country? The increased production of oil and natural gas creates job, lifts local economies, and attracts manufacturers to the United States. However, our nation’s booming economy comes with a price—a spike in traffic facilities. Large trucks and heaving drilling equipment consume the streets of Texas drilling counties, increasing traffic fatalities by 18%.
$97 Million in Workers’ Comp Fraud: 2012’s Top Cases
Workers’ compensation fraud occurs when individuals intentionally make false representations to obtain or to deny workers’ comp benefits, which reimburse employees injured on the job.
Individuals committing workers’ comp fraud carry many faces—employees, employers, and healthcare providers all qualify as potential violators. Employees become violators when seeking benefits by misrepresenting their injuries, employment status, or treatment. Alternatively, employers commit workers comp fraud not to receive benefits, but to avoid responsibility. Employers often seek to avoid responsibility by underreporting employee payrolls and avoiding premiums. Last, health care providers, such as doctors, counselors, and pharmacists, become violators by duplicating bills, billing patients for improper services, and receiving payments from multiple insurance carriers for the same treatment.
2012’s Top 10 Cases
In 2012, the top ten workers’ comp fraud cases cost America $97,446,500. Below is a short description of each case and its damages:
Continue Reading $97 Million in Workers’ Comp Fraud: 2012’s Top Cases
Workers’ Compensation: Are you Covered?
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Workers’ compensation is a state-regulated insurance program that pays medical expenses and lost wages of employees who are injured at work or suffer from work-related illnesses. Workers’ compensation cases are treated on a case-by-case basis, which means that employees are treated differently based on the nature and severity of their injuries.
In Texas, the agency responsible for regulating the state’s workers’ compensation system is the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI). Within the TDI exists a smaller division, which carries the sole responsibility of processing and monitoring workers’ compensation claims, called the Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC).
Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Injured Employee’s LIBS
A work-related accident can result in a lifelong injury. It can also leave you drowning in medical bills, lost income, and uncertainty about your future. Injured employees facing this situation are not alone—workers’ compensation attorneys will answer your questions and fight to obtain the benefits you deserve.
Continue Reading Texas Court of Appeals Affirms Injured Employee’s LIBS
Texas Workers Killed on the Job at an Alarming Rate
On average, a Texas worker is 12 percent more likely to be killed on the job than someone doing the same job elsewhere, according to a Dallas Morning News analysis of federal data. That translates to about 580 excess workplace deaths over a decade. Construction has contributed mightily to Texas’ booming economy. And the state’s construction sites are 22 percent deadlier than the national average. Government and industry here have invested relatively little in safety equipment, training and inspections, researchers say. And Texas is one of the toughest places to organize unions, which can promote safety.
Fighting Back Against the Privatization of Justice
President Obama has recently issued an executive order that is being hailed as "the most important workers’ rights reform of the last 20 years." Additionally, it is a beginning step at curbing the abuses of arbitration clauses. We still have a long way to go in this country, but these steps create ripples…
Click the link below for more info:
The Presumption of Intoxication, continued.
In a previous post, I gave an overview of the problem with the state of the intoxication defense in workers’ compensation law in Texas–that it prevents people from recovery, even when their injury had nothing to do with testing positive for drugs. Again, I want to stress that everyone wants to maintain a drug free workplace. I have lost two family members in incidents caused by a drunk driver — a cousin and an uncle — in separate events. So, I tend to take a hard view towards injuries caused by intoxication. But that doesn’t mean I think insurance carriers should be excused from covering injuries that they have legally contracted to cover.
Currently, the Division of Workers’ Compensation takes the position that the rebuttable presumption shifts the burden of proof in a workers compensation case. This is contrary to the law of rebuttable presumptions found in virtually every other legal context. In fact, it is contrary to the law as set forth by the Texas Supreme Court.
Continue Reading The Presumption of Intoxication, continued.
Filing Suit Against the DWC
I haven’t been able to update my blog because I had been sent a cease and desist letter from the DWC informing me that I was in violation of Texas Labor Code Section 419.002(a) because I had used the words “Texas Workers’ Comp” in this blog’s URL.
Well, today my lawyer filed suit against the DWC in federal court. You can view my petition here:
I’ll keep people posted on the progress as the case develops.
The Presumption of Intoxication
Recently, I won a workers compensation jury trial on whether or not my client was intoxicated at the time of his injury. Intoxication cases are extremely difficult to win due to both the definition of intoxication and the way that the Division of Workers Compensation decides intoxication cases. There is a strong public policy in favor of maintaining a drug free workplace. However, the Texas Constitution guarantees all persons the right to seek legal remedies for injuries that were not their fault. This is the first of a few posts I plan on making which point out that in our rush to crack down on drugs, the Division and even the courts of the State of Texas have failed to follow the law.