NOYES LEGAL NEWS

Workers' Compensation Benefits Denied for Injury Caused by Public Urination

Workers' compensation claims can happen in the weirdest ways. However, they are not always compensable.

Recently, Florida 1st District Court of Appeals opined that the Judge of Compensation Claims was right in denying a lock technician’s claim for workers' compensation benefits while being "on call."  The case was about an employee whose employment required him to be in an 'on call waiting to be engaged' status during his shift. The employee was only compensated for the time spent responding to a call and could pursue his own interests between calls. Apparently, one of his own interests between calls is answering to nature's call and going to the bathroom.  On the date of accident, claimant testified he was on the way to a service call when he stopped at a vacant lot to relieve himself. He contends that during his return to his vehicle, he stepped into a hole, fell to the ground and sustained the injury which was the subject of the workers' compensation claim.  The employer denied that the injury occurred within the scope of the employee's employment.

The Judge of Compensation Claims was apparently provided evidence of a sophisticated computer monitoring and dispatch system which generated service logs for the date on which claimant alleged the accident occurred. The logs contradicted the injured employee's suggestion that he was on the way to a service call at the time of accident. Based upon the evidence presented, the Judge of Compensation Claims ruled that injured worker was not in the course and scope of his employment.  Furthermore, even if he had been in the course and scope of his employment, his choice to engage in the improper conduct of public urination was a clear deviation from employment which prevented him from receiving workers' compensation benefits.  The First District Court of Appeals affirmed the decision per curiam.

If the fall occurred inside a local restaurant's bathroom when the injured worker was in route to a call, I believe the conclusion would be different. The Florida workers' compensation law allows for some deviation from employment without negating workers' compensation benefits. So, if you or a friend or family member is denied Florida workers' compensation benefits, it is important that you talk with an attorney who understands Florida Work Comp law.

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Attorney Matthew Noyes represents those injured at work and fights for Florida workers' compensation. His Clearwater law firm - Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes - has been caring for clients for 57 years. Call Attorney Noyes today at 727-796-8282 or simply click here to schedule a free case consultation.

Are Epidural Steroid Injections (ESI) Better Than the New Procedure?

Steroid injections are often used to relieve lower back pain and leg pain caused from a car accident, trip and fall, or a workers compensation claim. Often times, these pains are caused by a herniated disc pressing on the nerve. A new type of medicine--Etanercept--is used for similar problems. Which one is better?

According to Medical News Today, a Johns Hopkins-led study has found that the current standard of care with steroid injections still does better. According to the article, a team led by Steven P. Cohen, M.D., an associate professor of anesthesiology and critical care medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, conducted a study providing epidural injections of either 60 milligrams of a steroid, 4 milligrams of etanercept, or 2 milliliters of saline to 84 adult patients with sciatica. One month after the second of two injections, the patients on steroids reported less pain and less disability than those in the other two groups.

Epidural steroid injections are used for sciatica to cover the spinal nerve roots directly in a medication designed to reduce inflammation - and pain - in order to give the body time to heal itself. The new study found that more patients treated with epidural steroids (75 percent) reported 50 percent or greater leg pain relief and felt better overall after one month compared to those who received saline (50 percent) or etanercept (42 percent). On a pain scale of 0 to 10, with 10 denoting the worst pain, those who received steroids reported, at one month, an average pain score of 2.1 compared with 3.6 in the etanercept group and 3.8 in the group injected with saline. Those in the steroid group also reported lower levels of disability (21 percent) than those in the saline group (29 percent) or etanercept group (38 percent).

It is important to remember that epidural steroid injections are NOT a cure to herniated disc or related sciatica. It is important that a sufferer from a disc herniation or sciatica talk with their doctor about a course of treatment, including chiropractic care and rehabilitative exercises to be used in conjunction with the epidural steroid injections.

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Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes represents many people suffering from herniated discs caused automobile crashes, work comp claims and other types of personal injury matters. His Clearwater personal injury law firm - Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes - has been caring for clients since 1955. Benefit from their experience! Call Attorney Matthew Noyes today at 727-796-8282 or simply click here for a free case consultation.

Workers Compensation Appeal Won by Attorneys Lorrie Robinson and Matthew Noyes

Recently, Florida's First District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Attorneys Lorrie Robinson and Matthew Noyes in a workers' compensation case. Click here to see the written appellate opinion.

The issue pertained to an advance in a Florida workers' compensation claim. The Florida Workers’ Compensation Act permits advances of payment of compensation. Under Florida Statute 440.20(12)(c), a work comp claimant may be awarded an advance in the event the claimant has not returned to the same or equivalent employment with no substantial reduction in wages or has suffered a substantial loss of earning capacity or a physical impairment, actual or apparent. The statute further statues that an advance payment of compensation not in excess of $2,000 may be ordered by any judge of compensation claims after giving due consideration to the interests of the person entitled thereto.

The workers' compensation judge ruled that Attorneys Lorrie Robinson and Matthew Noyes' client was entitled to an advance of $2,000.00. The workers' compensation carrier appealed that ruling claiming that the Judge was in error because compensability was being denied in the workers' compensation claim. However, the appellate court agreed with Attorneys Lorrie Robinson and Matthew Noyes and the workers compensation judge and found that the client was entitled to the $2000 advance.

If you or a loved one is battling the insurance company for workers' compensation benefits, you should not try to do it alone. As the director of the firm's workers' compensation department, Attorney Matthew Noyes and the other attorneys at Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes may be able to get you your workers' compensation benefits. For a free case consultation, call 727-796-8282 or simply click here to contact Attorney Matthew Noyes.

 

Car Accident While Working? Know Your Rights!

Many jobs require driving. Unfortunately, that exposes employees to the hazard of car accidents. If an employee is involved in a car accident while within the course and scope of their employment, it is important that the injured employee talk with an attorney who appreciates both the law of Florida workers' compensation and personal injury law. Failing to protect rights in each of these areas of law could result in future problems while handling the claims.

If the employee is involved in a car accident while working, he or she is entitled to workers' compensation benefits. The workers' compensation carrier is responsible to pay wages (Temporary Total or Temporary Partial) while the injured worker is out of work because of the car accident. In addition, the workers' compensation carrier is required to provide and pay for medical treatment associated with the car accident. The workers' compensation carrier selects the doctor so if the injured worker decides to see a doctor without workers' compensation clearance, the injured worker may be responsible for those medical expenses.

Also, the injured worker is entitled to Personal Injury Protection and/or Medical Payment benefits under their own automobile insurance policy. It is important that these benefits be used in coordination with the medical treatment being provided under workers' compensation. Failure to coordinate these benefits could result in losing benefits.

Lastly, the injured worker would be entitled to make a claim against the at-fault driver. The workers' compensation carrier will be entitled to a lien on any recovery, but the attorney can negotiate the lien to maximum the injured's net recovery.

There are many other situations that come in effect when an automobile accident occurs within the course and scope of employment that could impact your workers' compensation benefits; the Personal Injury Protection benefits; and the liability claim. Therefore, it is crucial that you deal with an attorney who understands both aspect of the law.

Drive safely, but watch out for those who don't. For a free case consultation after your work-related car accident, click here to contact Attorney Matthew Noyes.

Are Epidural Steroid Injections the Answer for a Disc Herniation?

Just yesterday, a workers' compensation client asked my advice on whether she should have epidural steroid injections (ESI) or surgery for her back pain. Because I have a JD after my name and not a MD, I recommended that she research both recommendations and talk to her doctor and friends and family about it. Then, today, I see a new article addressing the use of epidural steroid injections for back pain in Medical News Today.

The article examines research presented at the American Orthopedic Society for Sports Medicine which concluded that the use of epidural steroid injections may be a more efficient treatment option for lumbar disc herniations. "Our study showed an 89% success rate in athletes returning to play after suffering an injury during practice or a game," commented lead author Aaron J. Krych, MD, from the Mayo Clinic's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. "These injections are a safe initial therapy in athletes that do not have neurological deficits, allows them to participate effectively in physical therapy sooner, and can significantly reduce the time a player misses."

Lumbar disc herniation is a back injury common in sports such as football, which involve direct contact and sometimes jumping or twisting motions. Discs can also be herniated after a car accident, motorcycle crash, work injury or other trauma.

However, ESIs may not be the only way to address or treat a disc herniation. As pointed out by the researcher, "While we are excited to see the positive results with this treatment, it cannot be viewed as a cure-all," cautioned Dr. Krych. "At the end of the day, certain injuries will still require surgery and long-term recovery." Chiropractic care and also noninvasive modes of treatment have also proven to be helpful in the treatment of a disc herniation.

If you or a loved one has suffered a disc herniation, consult with your doctors about all the alternatives for treatment of the herniated disc. Surgery may be required, but you should explore other treatment as well.

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Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes represents those who sustain disc herniations and other injuries from car accidents, motorcycle crashes, workers compensation claims and other personal injuries. His Clearwater personal injury law firm--Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes--has been caring for clients since 1955. Click here to schedule a free case consultation with Personal Injury Attorney Matthew Noyes.
 

Judge Awards Workers' Compensation Benefits and Wages After Final Hearing

Last week, the Judge of Compensation Claims awarded workers' compensation benefits after Attorney Matthew Noyes presented the case at the Final Hearing. Despite the workers' compensation carrier's position that the recommended epidural steroid injections were not medically necessary or related to the workers' compensation accident, the Judge disagreed and accepted the testimony of the injured employee's doctor and ordered the carrier to authorize the epidural steroid injections.

In addition, the workers compensation carrier refused to amend the injured employee's average weekly wage to include income from her second job. Under Florida workers' compensation law, the average weekly wage shall include wages from any other job the injured employee was working at the time of the injury as long as those wages are reported to the IRS for income tax purposes. Initially, the wages from the second job were not included in the injured workers' income taxes because she did not receive the paperwork before filing her income taxes. However, she subsequently filed an amended income tax return to include these wages. Nevertheless, the workers' compensation carrier still failed to amend the average weekly wage. After legal argument from Attorney Matthew Noyes, the Judge of Compensation Claims ordered the workers' compensation carrier to amend the average weekly wage to include the wages from the second job.

Florida workers' compensation law can be a mine field if you don't have someone guiding you through the hoops and hurdles of the work comp laws. Attorney Matthew Noyes and his Clearwater personal injury law firm -- Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes -- have been helping clients after Florida worker compensation claims for many years. Click here for a free case consultation after your Florida workers' compensation claim.

 

Where Have Tampa Bay Workers Died in Recent Work Comp Accidents?

Workplace fatalities happen. In the past 5 years, there have been 86 fatal accidents that occurred in the Tampa Bay area or involved a Tampa Bay-area employer. Unfortunately, Florida workers' compensation law is inadequate to compensate the surviving family when a death occurs on the job.

If death results from a work comp accident within one year thereafter or follows continuous disability and resulted from the work-related accident within five years thereafter, the workers' compensation carrier is required to pay death benefits. These workers compensation benefits include actual funeral expenses not to exceed $7,500.00. Further, the employer/insurance carrier shall pay the deceased employee’s dependents up to two-third of the deceased employee’s average weekly wage depending on the type of dependent (spouse, child, parent, etc.). In addition, the carrier would be responsible for payment of school of the surviving spouse. However, the maximum the workers' compensation carrier is required to pay to the family for the death of an employee is $150,000.00.

So, where have these work-related death occurred? ABC Action News has formulated a database of these fatal accidents using the information from OSHA. Click here to search the name of the employer or information on all the fatal work comp deaths in a given city.

Be safe on the job, but be educated about the law after a workers' compensation injury. For free information about your rights and benefits after a Florida workers' compensation accident, click here and email Attorney Matthew Noyes to request his workers' compensation packet.
 

Workers' Compensation Settlement is Not Always the Answer

In Florida, a workers' compensation Claimant can settle their work comp case for a lump sum of money. This settlement is in exchange for the workers' compensation carrier to no longer be responsible for future medical care and any possible future wage benefits. However, a quick or non-thought-out settlement can result in devastation, according to research performed by the Saint Louis University.

"There are many casualties in the current system. Those casualties can leave people worse than we previously believed, and at a cost to society that appears pretty high. Our research shows those who are African-American, at lower income levels, young or all of the above have the greatest problems, and these problems escalate over time," said Raymond Tait, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry at Saint Louis University School of Medicine and lead author of the research that appeared in the August issue of Spine. "Regardless of the settlement that you receive, if you continue to experience pain, our findings indicate you will often get worse over time -- worse in ways that can lead to the loss of a home, lead to family disruptions, and even lead to divorce."

In the study, researchers analyzed court records of 1,475 African-Americans and non-Hispanic whites who settled Missouri workers' compensation claims in St. Louis City and County, and Jackson County, which includes Kansas City. After examining 10 years of court records - spanning five years before claim settlements and five years after -- to study the impact of claim settlement on major life disruptions, they found that many workers' compensation Claimants were involved in court records related to cases such as breach of contract, child support, adult abuse, stalking, divorce, foreclosure and eviction. Workers who were younger than 35 also had significantly more financial problems than those who were middle-aged and older. Younger workers had three times more financial legal actions than those between 35 and 55, and five times more than those older than age 55.

The findings indicate previous research that took a short-term view of outcomes for those who had workers' compensation settlements for back injuries underestimated the magnitude of the difficulties ahead, particularly for younger and African-American workers.

This study reinforces the importance of consulting with an experienced workers' compensation attorney before discussing settlement of your claim with the work comp carrier. Failing to understand all your rights could have a dramatic effect on you and your family for years to come.

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Attorney Matthew Noyes has helped Florida workers involved in Florida workers' compensation claims for nearly 20 years. His Clearwater law firm -- Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes -- has been caring for clients since 1955. Click here for a free case consultation with Attorney Matthew Noyes.

ROAD WORKER KILLED AFTER BEING HIT BY CAR

It is a very dangerous job--doing road work on busy highways and interstates. Sadly, 20-year-old Robert P. Armstrong of Valrico, lost his life today on I-75 in Brandon when the driver of a pickup truck lost control.

The driver of the pickup, 21-year-old Logan Tanner Feagle of Land O' lakes, was traveling south on I-75 through a construction zone just north of State Road 60 around 4:30 a.m. Workers were attaching a message board trailer to a truck when Feagle lost control of his Chevy Z71. He went onto the shoulder and hit the message board and truck, according to the FHP. Robert Armstrong was outside on the driver's side of the truck when he was hit. He died at the scene from his injuries.

According to the report on ABC Action News, Feagle received minor injuries and charges are pending while investigators try to determine if alcohol played a role in the fatality.

Drive safely through those construction zones for the safety of the road workers and other drivers. Personally, I am amazed by some of the crazy drivers on U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater's construction zone. The workers on the side of the road have little protection from the speeding cars. A few minutes of safety can save a life--possibly yours.

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Attorney Matthew Noyes represents those injured in car accidents and work-related injuries. His Tampa Bay personal injury law firm – Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes – has been caring for clients since 1955. Click here for a free consultation with Attorney Matthew Noyes.

Recent Study Supports Chiropractic Care in Workers' Compensation

My clients and I have been saying it for years, but workers' compensation chooses to ignore it. Now, a recent study conducted by medical and healthcare professionals outside the chiropractic profession concludes chiropractic care to be more effective for common, work-related, low back pain, when compared to treatment by a physical therapist or physician. Overall, chiropractic patients illustrated lower medical expenses, fewer disability recurrences and shorter initial periods of disability.

Florida workers' compensation law caps chiropractic care at 24 treatments or 12 weeks from the date of the first chiropractic treatment, whichever comes first, but has no limit on the number of injections, prescription medication or other forms of care under workers' compensation.

In the study, researchers compared disability episodes across types of healthcare providers who treat claimants with new episodes of work-related lower back pain. After an analysis of 894 workers' compensation cases, it was concluded that the preventive healthcare, predominantly and explicitly recommended by chiropractic doctors, is associated with lower disability recurrences. In this study, a recurrent disability is defined as the resumption of at least 15 consecutive days of temporary total disability payments following the health maintenance stage -- the period following a patient's recovery and restoration of optimal health.

Ten percent of patients experienced recurrent disability due to lower back pain between initial disabilities and the subsequent return-to-work or healthcare phase. The study concluded that those treated mostly by chiropractors showed consistently better outcomes, less use of opioids, and had fewer surgeries, with overall lower medical expenses.

Even with this study, I don't expect to see changes in Florida's workers' compensation law. No changes will occur until the legislature and big business put the injured worker first when designing a law that takes away rights of the injured worker.

The study can be found at "Health Maintenance Care in Work-Related Low Back Pain and Its Association with Disability Recurrence," (Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, April 2011, Vol. 53 Is. 4, p: 396-404)

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  Attorney Matthew Noyes has represented Florida workers' compensation claimants for over 15 years. If you or a friend has been injured at work, there are some benefits that you are entitled to under Florida workers' compensation. However, the procedure to obtain these benefits can be complex. Click here for a free case consultation with Attorney Matthew Noyes.