Articles Posted in Workers Compensation

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Knock on wood I have never had a client try to pursue a fraudulent Tennessee workers compensation case. I have had people call me that I felt they were trying to game the system and have promptly refused to represent those workers. However, I have represented hundreds of good hard working folks that have been injured on the job. My clients didn’t enjoy getting hurt and they had much rather been working than have a good workers compensation case. That is why it makes me so mad when I read about people that pursue fraudulent workers compensation claims. It is nothing more than stealing and it just hurts workers with legitimate claims.

Recently, I read about a few arrest that were made on employees trying to cheat the work comp system. Among the people arrested was a worker that told his girlfriend he was faking an injury so he could take a vacation to Florida. Another, was reportedly working as a coach while getting workman’s compensation payments. Yet another continued to collect checks from the work comp insurance company after her husband had died.

Assuming these allegations are true I am pleased that these people have been caught. It is also my hope that the government will investigate that insurance companies that refuse benefits without good reason to people that disparately need them. In fact, based upon my experience it is the insurance carrier that is in the wrong much more often than the injured employee.
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The Tennessee Workers Compensation Act provides very specific and limited benefits to injured employees. However, many lawyers often overlook Federal Laws that can also help injured workers. One prime example is the FMLA (Family Medical Leave Act)

The FMLA protects an employees job for up to 12 weeks. For the FMLA to apply the employer most have at least 50 employees and the employee must have worked there full time for about one year. Also, the employee must also be unable to work due to a “serious health condition”. If you meet these factors the FMLA can probably give you some protection. So what do you get?

The basic protection is that you can take up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. If you have a work comp injury you should, however, receive a check know as Temporary Total Disability check. In today’s economy a good job can be more important than almost any other benefit. As such, if you want to keep that job and you can’t work file a request for FMLA leave with your employer.
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We have litigated Tennessee workers compensation cases for about twenty (20) years now. Over this time period I have tried many different methods to make sure the court understands my client’s case. I have found some methods work better than others but more importantly I have learned that there is no exact formula or magic bullet. Every case is different, every client is different and every Judge is different. However, there are a few general rules I recommend. Over the next few weeks I will discuss a few of my rules.

As a starter, we need to pick the witnesses who will best present our client’s problems. I have found over time that judges and jury are less receptive to people complaining about their own problems. I believe it is more important for the injured employee to discuss how they have changed their life to beat the limitations of their injury. Even thought that may not be able to perform many of the activities they did before the injury they can discuss how they still try, how they modify their life, that they are not giving up. I believe neighbors, co-workers and relatives are often better equipped to discuss the heartaches and setbacks that the injured worker has endured. I don’t know why but it seems that we are more receptive to someone else describing a person’s problems than the victim describing their own problems. Finally, if you can have someone in addition to a spouse describe the problem I think you are better off. Everyone expects a husband or wife to support their spouse so the testimony is really no big surprise. However, a co-worker has much more of an impact. They have nothing to gain or loose and in fact it can often be seen as a risk for them to testify.
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Tennessee workers and workers throughout the country, expect that when they go to work each day they will be in a safe and healthy working environment. Unfortunately, accidents will and do sometimes happen on the job. When these accidents and injuries occur on the job, workers depend on workers compensation to help them pay their medical expenses and bills while they cannot work. However, sometimes companies find ways around these workers compensation claims and workers must suffer with their bills alone. If you or someone you know has been injured while on the job, then you should talk to a Tennessee workers’ compensation lawyer right away. They will work with you to make sure you get the compensation you deserve for your injury.

In this case, a truck driver’s delivery truck broke down while in route in September of 2005. While the driver was waiting for help and continued to work in the back of his truck as instructed by his employer, a large flatbed pulled out of the defendant’s property and ran right into the plaintiff’s vehicle. This accident caused the truck driver to tumble over the truck’s console and hit the windshield head first. The accident also irritated a pre-existing neurological condition for the truck driver, which was mostly showing no symptoms before the accident. The truck driver did not know about the brain defect but began experiencing severe headaches, facial numbness, ringing in the ears, difficulty when swallowing, gagging, blurred vision, confusion, speech problems, weakness, back pain, and pain in his arms and leg. He also suffered herniated discs and developed post-traumatic lumbar disc disease.

According to this case, the truck driver dismissed hospital treatment at first, but had an MRI when his chiropractor suggested it. Then the rare Chiari Malformation brain anomaly was finally found and due to his worsening condition, the truck driver had three surgeries to try and correct and stop his condition. The truck driver was denied workers’ compensation at first and when the case was reexamined with new counsel, he won a settlement following mediation.
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Nashville Workmens Compensation Lawyer discusses a persons rights under the Tennessee work comp act. You can watch Jim’s interview here:

 

 

The work comp act has gone through some major changes in Tennessee this year. It seems that each year the legislature meets they strip the act a little bit more. The benefits remaining are there to protect employees and help them get back to work. If you have a work injury it is important to know how the law can help you reach these goals.
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I have handled workers compensation case in Tennessee for the past 18 years. One thing I have learned over the years is that it is important to consider more than just the Tennessee Workers Compensation Act when determining what benefits are out there to help a client.

The most common laws that arise to help injured workers, in addition to the TN work comp act, are:

The Americans with Disabilities Act The Social Security Act The Fair Labors Standard Act The Family Medical Leave Act
Each of these Acts contain laws that can either help an employee get back to work or obtain benefits for employees that just cant return to work because of their injury. Because these Federal Employment Laws arise so often in Tennessee Work Comp Cases we started an employment law section in our firm a few years ago. It is our hope that with an experienced work comp litigation staff and employment law staff we can offer a wide range of services for our clients.
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