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Head and Brain Injuries 101
Hurting your head during an accident causes excruciating pain and incurred injuries can instigate long-term effects. Deep wounds can damage the brain and result in death if immediate medical attention is not provided. Head and brain injuries are traumatic, as they can lead to colossal physical, mental, and financial losses. Finding yourself in this kind of situation gets worse, when it wasn’t even your fault. It is impossible to say how much your claim could be worth. The amount of compensation you deserve depends upon the seriousness of the injury and the burden of liability.
Common Causes of Head and Brain injuries
While most injuries are unpredictable, there are situations where a person is at higher risk. The probability of incurring a head or brain injury is greater in some professions and under certain circumstances. Car crashes/roadside accidents are a frequent cause of severe physical damages. About 15% of head and brain injuries are the result of traffic collisions; victims include drivers, bikers, and pedestrians. Racecar drivers and delivery personnel are more susceptible, as their profession tends to impose risky endeavors.
Surprisingly, slip and fall accidents are the major cause of head and brain injuries, accounting for more than 40% of the total occurrences. Most slip and fall injuries that qualify for compensation happen at the workplace. Worker’s Compensation Insurance provides coverage for medical bills and lost wages; punitive damages are typically not redeemable. Constructions workers are the most vulnerable to severe slip and fall accidents, given the tough nature of their job. About 10% of harmful head and brain injuries are the consequence of domestic violence and assault. Defective products are also a recurring cause of fatal head and brain injuries. For example, poorly built structures and slippery floors in commercial areas could be the reason for the unfortunate incident.
Aftereffects of Head and Brain Injuries
The severity of a head or brain injury is directly dependent on the impact of the accident and your health conditions before the accident. There is a range of symptoms that may arise, immediately or after some time. The injuries can be divided into two categories, namely closed head injuries, and open head injuries. Closed head injuries may not exhibit wounds or fractures on the exterior; this means your skull is intact, but there could be internal bleeding. Open head injuries may display a cracked skull and expose damaged brain tissue.
Symptoms of Mild Injuries:
- Concussion
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Confusion/temporary memory loss
- Imbalance
Symptoms of Severe Injuries:
- Blacking Out
- Amnesia
- Seizures/convulsions
- Slurred speech
- Tingling sensations
- Dilated pupils
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Depression and Mood swings
- Loss of senses (sight, smell, hearing)
- Paralysis
- Difficulty in speaking and bodily movement
- Sleeping problems
- Chronic pain
- Fluid discharge from nose and/or ears
- Coordination and concentration issues
Filing a Claim
Whether you hurt your head in a car crash or during a slip and fall accident at work, the defendant’s insurance company shall pay for you loss. However, it is integral to prove that the defendant was primarily responsible for the damages. If it turns out that you were partially at fault, your compensation reward could be reduced or dismissed. Personal Injury Attorney in Greenwood Village, CO warns that insurance providers will try to trick you into a meager settlement or defy the claim altogether. A professional lawyer is mandatory to build a strong case and maximize your benefits.
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How to file a Workers Compensation claim?
How to file a Workers Compensation claim?
Workers’ Compensation can be filed for, when an employee becomes injured or ill at work. It provides reimbursement for medical expenses, rehabilitation and lost wages. The claim must be filed for and state’s procedures should be followed in order to get any benefits obtained from workers’ compensation.
The financial recovery of an injured worker mostly gets limited to the available compensation claim under the worker’s state. The laws of worker’s compensation benefit both parties participating in a work injury claim. The injured party is supposed to file a lawsuit in order to recover the loss. A claim can also be submitted directly to the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier. It is not necessary that the employer will face a large damage award because compensation laws for workers have fixed specific amounts on the basis of injuries caused to the worker.
How to file a Workers’ Compensation Claim?
After the injury, medical care should be sought immediately. The employer should be informed of the injury as soon as possible. Different states require different time limits to notify the employer. Some states require a time limit of one month while others require it be from a few days to two years.
If the employer does not cooperate in filing a workers’ compensation claim, the local workers’ compensation office should be contacted. In order to begin the process of workers’ compensation, the claim forms should be filled out and submitted. After completion of the form, it becomes the obligation of the employer to submit your form to a suitable insurance carrier. Employees in need of workers’ compensation may also be required to file a claim to state’s workers’ compensation agency other than his/her employer. This depends on the laws of the state. Filing a separate claim has a time limit as well which can be a year after the injury, or shorter, depending upon the laws of the state.
The claim gets approved if the employer or the insurance company does not have any objection with it. In such a case, an adjuster from the insurance company contacts the employee himself or the employer and provides him with any instructions about the procedure of submitting medical bills for payment. Sometimes, things have to be settled the hard way. The employers, at times, fight the right of employees to benefits. This is done in order to stop the workers’ compensation rates from rising steeply, which can be responded by preparing good documentation comprising of medical records of the injury and treatment.
In case of temporary injuries that do not result in the loss of income, payment for medical bills is the extent of the workers’ compensation claim. If the individual is unable to work for the time being due to the injury, he/she will be provided reimbursement through checks for lost wages. This is provided within a week of approval of the claim. Notification to the insurance company for discontinuation of checks is sent by the employer after the recovery of his employee.
Author Bio:
The Smith Law Firm, PC provides a full spectrum of legal services with specializing in estate planning, personal injury and bankruptcy law.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Calif. Senate committee votes to remove Calderon from insurance role
The California Senate’s Rules Committee unanimously voted Tuesday to remove Sen. Ron Calderon as head of the Senate Insurance Committee pending the outcome of a federal investigation into bribery allegations.
- Children to receive survivor benefits after father's drug overdose
The children of an injured worker who died from an illegal drug overdose should receive lifetime workers compensation survivor benefits, even though their father’s death was not work-related, a Missouri appellate court has ruled.
- OFF BEAT: Ashley Madison employee says typing fake profiles led to injury
A website for married people seeking adulterous affairs could use a workers compensation exclusive remedy defense.
- Insurer subrogation must start while work comp claim is pending: Court
Liberty Mutual Insurance Co., as the underwriter of an automobile policy, failed to properly establish its subrogation interests regarding a workers compensation claim, a Pennsylvania appellate court ruled.
- OFF BEAT: Slip catches man in 20-year fraud scheme
A Cincinnati man pleaded guilty last week to scamming the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation for more than $100,000 in ill-gotten benefits.
- Trooper who killed woman in car accident due workers comp: Court
A Pennsylvania state trooper who accidentally hit and killed a woman with his patrol car should receive workers compensation benefits for psychological injuries that he suffered from the tragic event, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court said in a split ruling…
- Pinnacol Assurance names new president, CEO
Pinnacol Assurance’s board of directors named Philip B. Kalin as the Denver-based workers comp insurer’s president and CEO, the company announced Thursday.
- OSHA proposes mandatory electronic reporting of injuries, illnesses
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has proposed requiring employers to file their injury and illness reports electronically, a change that also would make those records publicly accessible.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Broadspire TPA unit bolsters Crawford & Co.’s third-quarter results
Revenues and profits fell in the third quarter for Crawford & Co., though the claims management provider’s results were bolstered by its third-party administration unit, Broadspire Services Inc.
- Tests for use of illicit drugs paid via workers compensation
With increased urine drug screening to monitor patients taking opioid painkillers, doctors also are ordering tests to reveal use of drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamines.
- States turn to medical treatment guidelines for injured workers
Washington state’s “Interagency Guideline on Opioid Dosing for Chronic Non-cancer Pain” is among the respected medical guidelines doctors look to for determining appropriate treatment for injured workers.
- Workers comp predictive modeling presents challenges to self-insured groups
CHICAGO — Predictive modeling among workers compensation insurers is presenting a challenge to self-insured groups, who are facing off with insurers that are offering increasingly competitive pricing.
- COMMENTARY: Employers must shoulder burden of proof in AIG workers comp suit
American International Group Inc. underreported its workers compensation premiums years longer than previously reported, if new allegations filed by attorneys seeking to represent employers in several new lawsuits are true.
- Calif. lawmaker allegedly took bribe related to workers comp legislation
California state Sen. Ronald Calderon allegedly accepted bribe money to support legislation that would affect California workers compensation law, according to Al-Jazeera America L.L.C.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Judicial system causing high workers comp costs in Illinois: Report
A report the Illinois Chamber of Commerce released Tuesday blames the state’s judiciary for “high workers compensation costs” and calls for lawmakers to correct the problem.
- OFF BEAT: Amorous workers comp claimant gets no love from court
The Australia High Court has come down against an amorous worker seeking workers compensation.
- Check Medicare beneficiary status early in claims, expert recommends
Insurers and self-insured employers looking to settle workers compensation or liability claims should check a claimant’s Medicare beneficiary status early in the settlement process to determine if Medicare should be reimbursed for medical payments, an…
- Court seeks review of comp attorneys' fees of $165 for 107 hours of work
After hearing a case involving attorneys who earned only $165 for working 107 hours, an appellate court asked Florida’s Supreme Court to review the state’s cap on fees for attorneys who represent workers compensation claimants.
- FDA seeks tighter control of prescription opioid combination drugs
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will seek to reclassify hydrocodone combination drugs, placing tighter controls on distribution of the narcotic painkillers.
- Streamlined N.Y. workers comp assessments to save state’s employers 25%
New York employers will pay 25%, or $300 million, less in annual workers compensation assessments in 2014, according to the New York Workers’ Compensation Board.
- UC Davis cop who pepper-sprayed protesters gets $38,000 comp settlement
The University of California, Davis on Thursday said it will pay a $38,000 workers compensation settlement to a former campus police officer who received national attention for pepper-spraying protesters.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Several states seek workers comp rate hikes for 2014
As states across the country analyze workers compensation costs, officials in several states are reviewing requests for rate hikes.
- Predictive modeling pits work comp insurers against self-insured groups: Panel
CHICAGO — Predictive modeling among workers compensation insurers is presenting a challenge to self-insured groups, who are facing off with insurers that are offering increasingly competitive pricing, according to panelists who spoke Tuesday at the…
- California rating bureau may recommend 8.6% workers comp rate increase
California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau is expected to propose an 8.6% pure premium rate increase effective Jan. 1, 2014, subject to the approval of its governing committee, which meets on Wednesday.
- Illinois guaranty fund must pay claim after work comp insurer liquidated
The Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund is on the hook for a costly claim after the liquidation of a self-insured employer’s excess workers compensation insurer, a divided Illinois’ Supreme Court ruled Friday.
- AIG faces workers comp litigation from employers
American International Group Inc. could face numerous lawsuits from employers who say the insurer caused them to pay inflated workers compensation-related costs by underreporting its comp premiums, according to attorneys in two such cases against AIG.
- Risk managers strive to teach actuaries about workers comp claims management
DANA POINT, Calif. — Risk managers can influence the actuarial reports that affect their company’s bottom line by educating their actuaries and implementing favorable claims management practices, risk managers said.
- Curtailing prescription opioids puts doctors at risk from violent patients
As doctors treating workers compensation claimants curtail prescribing opioid pain medications, some physicians are facing more threats from patients addicted to or illegally selling the drugs.
- American obesity rates unchanged from last year at 35%
Almost 35% of American adults are obese, a statistic that remains unchanged from a year earlier, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data updated on Thursday.
- Workers comp insurer must pay prescription drug repackager: La. high court
A workers compensation insurer must pay a prescription drug repackaging company for physician-dispensed medications because Louisiana law allows claims to be assigned to a third party for payment, the Louisiana Supreme Court ruled this week.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- N.Y. comp death benefits can't discount factors not related to work
An employer cannot apportion a workers compensation death benefit by discounting for a non-work-related illness that contributed to the death, New York’s highest level court ruled Tuesday.
- Indiana OKs 7.7% decrease in workers compensation loss cost rates
The Indiana Department of Insurance has approved a 7.7% decrease in workers compensation loss cost rates for 2014, according to a filing posted Friday by the Indiana Compensation Rating Bureau.
- W.Va. workers comp auditor sentenced for allowing payroll underreporting
A West Virginia workers compensation auditor reportedly was sentenced to six years in prison for allowing clients to underreport payroll to Charleston, W.Va.-based insurer BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.
- Employers file lawsuits against AIG over workers comp premiums
Employers have filed three federal class action lawsuits against American International Group Inc. and its subsidiaries, seeking restitution for the insurer’s alleged underreporting of workers compensation premiums.
Workers Compensation Press Updates
- Calif. limits workers comp claims by out-of-state professional athletes
California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill into law that will limit workers compensation claims in California filed by out-of-state professional athletes.
- Average weekly wages can include corporate profits for comp calculation
Corporate profits due to an injured worker as a shareholder in his company can be used to calculate his average weekly wages for workers compensation benefits, a Florida appellate court has ruled.
- Why Does Chronic Pain Hurt Some People More?
Researchers are studying the human brain, trying to discover why some people will suffer from chronic pain while others suffering similar injuries won’t, according to this Wall Street Journal article.
- Supreme Court will not hear Hutterite workers comp case
The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a religious colony’s argument that Montana is forcing it to participate in the state’s workers compensation system despite religious objections to doing so.
- Medicare Secondary Payer compliance affected by government shutdown
The federal government shutdown has blocked some portions of Medicare Secondary Payer compliance from being conducted, according to Roy Franco, principal of Medicare compliance firm Franco Signor L.L.C.
- SMART Act interim rules spark criticism
As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prepares rules on Medicare Secondary Payer compliance, sources say CMS isn’t working quickly enough to implement changes to ease workers compensation and liability claim settlements.
- Texas cuts prescribing of drugs with closed formulary mandate
The success in Texas of mandating a closed formulary that has sharply reduced prescribing drugs considered inappropriate to treat workers compensation claimants is attracting the attention of other states.
- Effect of Calif. workers comp reform on rates remains unclear
DANA POINT, Calif.
- Health care reform law may be boosting Calif. workers comp claims
DANA POINT, Calif. — The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act may be pushing up claims frequency by driving increased part-time employee hiring, speakers said during a California workers compensation conference.