Report: Workplace injuries and illnesses continued to decline in 2015

Nov 08 2016

One of the points we strive to emphasize on our blog is that work injuries can happen at any time to any worker in any sector. Of course, our purpose in this is not to cause unnecessary alarm among workers, but rather to help them understand that they don’t have to feel afraid if they are injured on the job, as they are far from alone in this regard and, perhaps more significantly, that workers’ compensation benefits can supply a much-needed financial lifeline in these situations. In keeping with this idea, consider the recent release of the 2015 Employer-Reported Workplace…

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Which states have the highest, lowest work comp rates in the nation?

Nov 01 2016

For the last 30 years, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services has been releasing a biennial report comparing and contrasting the workers’ compensation rates of each state with the national median rate, which currently stands at $1.84 per $100 of payroll. The most recent edition of this much-anticipated report was released just a few weeks ago with the usual suspects filling the same slots and, of course, some surprises. How is the study structured? The researchers utilize a constant set of risk classifications in order to put each state’s work comp rates on comparable terms. Once this is…

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What ‘wounded warriors’ need to know about securing disability benefits

Oct 27 2016

It’s extremely important for those brave men and women who suffered some manner of disabling injury while serving in our nation’s armed forces to understand that they may be entitled to more than just the benefits available through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Indeed, they may also be able to secure benefits via the Social Security Disability Insurance program. The SSDI program is structured in such a manner that these “wounded warriors” can receive expedited processing of their disability claims from Social Security Administration staff. As to which armed forces personnel are eligible for this expedited processing, the SSA offers…

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Alverson + O’Brien on USA Legal News Brief Radio This Weekend

Oct 27 2016

We are happy to share that we will be appearing on USA Legal News Brief Radio this Saturday, October 29, 2016 between 2:00 and 3:00pm. We will be discussing topics related to Workers’ Compensation and Social Security Disability Insurance. These are our professional specialties, and we hope to answer many of the questions people have about their situations and offer assistance or direction in your time of need. The local radio stations are 95.3FM and 1220AM. We hope you tune in. Visit the radio stations’ website for more information. You can listen live online by going to this tune in…

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Am I eligible for temporary disability benefits? – III

Oct 18 2016

In today’s post, we’ll continue with our discussion of temporary total disability benefits — otherwise known as TTD benefits — which are available to those workers here in Colorado who are left completely disabled for a relatively short amount of time To recap, TTD benefits provide injured workers with two-thirds of their average weekly wage (subject to a predetermined limit), are payable a minimum of once every two weeks, and taxable at neither the state nor federal level. Under what circumstances would an injured worker see their TTD benefits reduced? It’s important for injured workers to understand that their TTD…

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Report: Work comp laws in 33 states engaged in ‘race to the bottom’

Oct 13 2016

Over the last ten days, the majority of people have more than likely seen their daily dose of news coverage consumed by reports relating to the imminent presidential election. While this comprehensive reporting makes sense, it can sometimes serve to push other important stories to the backburner. For example, many people might have overlooked the release of a fascinating and potentially game-changing report from the U.S. Department of Labor examining the approach of the 50 states towards workers’ compensation and characterizing 33 of them as engaged in a “race to the bottom.” The report was prompted by a letter sent…

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Report identifies emerging safety issues in the healthcare field

Oct 04 2016

As we’ve made clear in previous posts, those men and women who earning a living in the healthcare sector as nurses, nursing assistants and aides are at an elevated risk of suffering serious work-related injuries given the physical demands and other risks they encounter during the course of a typical shift. Interestingly enough, Aon Global Risk Consulting recently released its much-anticipated biennial report on workers’ compensation in the healthcare field, which in addition to examining the severity, frequency and total loss rates associated with work comp claims, also identified emerging trends of which employers and employees alike should be aware….

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Am I eligible for temporary disability benefits? – II

Sep 28 2016

Last time, our blog began discussing how injured workers here in Colorado can derive considerable comfort from the fact that they’re eligible for wage replacement, otherwise known as temporary disability benefits. To that end, we explored how there are two different types of temporary disability benefits — temporary total disability and temporary partial disability — with the former available to workers left completely disabled for a temporary amount of time, and the latter available to workers who have healed enough to return to modified duty on either a part- or full-time basis. We’ll continue our discussion in today’s post, taking…

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Am I eligible for temporary disability benefits?

Sep 23 2016

In the wake of a work-related illness or injury, the affected worker typically has two primary concerns: their medical expenses and their lost wages. As we’ve been discussing in a series of posts, reasonable and necessary medical expenses related to the illness or injury will be covered by the employer’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier. As far as lost wages are concerned, state law dictates that workers are indeed eligible for wage replacement or, as it is otherwise known, temporary disability benefits. When would a worker be able to start collecting temporary disability benefits? While you might think that wage replacement…

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When you have questions about qualifying for disability benefits, we can help

Sep 14 2016

When you are diagnosed with a medical condition or suffer an injury that prevents you from working in any capacity, it is an understatement to say that you are concerned. Indeed, not only do you have to worry about your health, but also how you will cover such basic expenses as groceries, utilities or mortgage payments. Compounding your anxiety may be the fact that when you went online to investigate the possibility of securing disability benefits from the Social Security Administration, you saw that your condition and/or injuries weren’t found among the agency’s list of impairments. Firstly, it’s important to…

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