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Illinois House passes changes to workers’ compensation

Posted on January 13th, 2011 No Comments

Despite heavy lobbying by union leaders, doctors, and lawyers, new legislation has passed the Illinois House which makes significant changes to workers’ compensation plans. The new legislation says that:

Workers’ comp benefits would be capped either at age 67 or at five years after the injury
Injured workers must first visit a doctor chosen by employers, rather than a doctor of their own choice

Supporters say that the changes will reduce medical fee expenses for employers by up to 15 percent, but opponents say that the legislation is far below the minimum needs of workers. Another bill is currently in the works to reduce the number of state employees who are allowed to unionize.

If you need help fighting for the workers compensation benefits you deserve, contact a Des Moines workers’ compensation attorney from LaMarca & Landry, P.C. by calling 877-327-2600.

Woman awarded workers’ comp after injury during smoke break

Posted on December 15th, 2010 No Comments

An Arkansas woman who slipped and broke her arm during a cigarette break at work has been awarded workers’ compensation benefits after taking her case all the way to the state’s Supreme Court.

Originally, the woman was was told that workers’ comp would be awarded for her injures. However, this decision was later appealed when it was challenged that she was taking a personal break and was not performing employment services when she was injured.

The Arkansas Supreme Court later affirmed the original decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commision by ruling that, since at the time of the injury the woman was waiting to pick up her paycheck as required by her employer, she was indeed performing employment services.

If you are facing difficulty receiving the workers’ comp you need for your injuries, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Arkansas woman’s worker’s compensation case reaches Supreme Court of AR

Posted on December 14th, 2010 No Comments

The Arkansas Supreme Court this week ruled in favor or a Little Rock nursing assistant who was injured in a fall while on the job, ruling that she is eligible for workers compensation benefits.

According to court documents, in October 2008 the woman was returning to a mandatory work meeting after a cigarette break when she fell and fractured her left arm.

After she filed a workers compensation claim seeking medical and temporary total disability benefits, her employer rejected her claim. She then took them to local court, where an administrative law judge ruled in the woman’s favor.

The case was then appealed by the company, and an appeals court overturned this ruling. The woman then appealed her case to the Supreme Court where the original ruling was upheld.

If you are seeking experienced legal counsel regarding workers’ compensation, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Ohio Worker's Comp Bureau admin to be named

Posted on November 24th, 2010 No Comments

John Kasich, the newly elected Gov. of Ohio, is expected to name state Sen. Stephen P. Buehrer to the position of administrator of the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation.

Kasich has a morning press conference scheduled at the Fulton County Courthouse in Wauseon, where it is expected that he will announce Buehrer as the fifth confirmed member of his cabinet.

The 43-year-old Senator has been a member of the Senate since 2007 and also served as a member of the Ohio House from 1999-2006. He is currently chairman of the Senate Insurance, Commerce and Labor Committee, which handles injured worker claims.

If you are seeking experience legal counsel regarding workers’ compensation, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Nobles accused of worker's comp fraud

Posted on November 15th, 2010 No Comments

Richard Nobles, who owns several subcontract labor companies including Express Services, Labor Fast, Fast Track Systems and CSI Services Inc., was indicted this week on four counts of workers’ compensation fraud.

Prosecutors allege that Nobles underreported the number of workers he had on his payroll with the ultimate intent of defrauding the insurance companies that he owed workers’ compensation premiums.

The total amount of unpaid premiums amounted to more than $1 million. The fraud took place from January 2006 to 2010.

He faces up to 12 years on each count of fraud.

Don’t turn to fraud to solve your worker’s compensation problems. If you are involved in a worker’s compensation benefits dispute, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation files against city of Middleton

Posted on November 7th, 2010 No Comments

The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation this week issued multiple citations against the city of Middletown following the death of a city worker earlier this year.

The worker’s death was caused by inhalation of nitrogen fumes during a routine sewer line inspection. The Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation alleges that the leakage was due to poor maintenance by the city and could have been avoided.

The 31-year-old worker opened a manhole on the 2500 block of Yankee Road on May 7 earlier this year when he inhaled the fumes. Three firefighters also inhaled the fumes and became ill while attempting to rescue the worker.

If you are seeking experienced advice when it comes to a workers compensation case, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Massachusetts prison guard accused of workers comp fraud

Posted on October 31st, 2010 No Comments

A Massachusetts prison guard from Freetown pleaded not guilty in a Suffolk Superior Court last week to charges that he ran long-distance races while at the same time collecting worker’s compensation payments for an on-the-job injury he said made him unable to perform manual or strenuous labor.

The judge in the case released the guard on Tuesday on his own recognizance pending the trial date.

Prosecutors allege that the guard was injured in July 2008 while at work, and then collected about $56,000 in worker’s compensation benefits between January and March of the next year.

Authorities began the investigation this year following an anonymous tip to the attorney general’s office that the guard had run in a January 2009 marathon while receiving worker’s compensation benefits.

If you are seeking experienced advice when it comes to a workers compensation case, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Workers compensation costs rise as claims frequency declines

Posted on October 19th, 2010 No Comments

NCCI Holdings Inc. released a report last Friday that shows indemnity and medical severity for workers compensation claims continued to rise in 2009 while frequency of such claims continued to drop.

The Boca Raton, Fla.-based unit of the National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. said on Friday that the frequency of workers comp claims dropped 4% in 2009 following a 3.4% decrease in 2008.

The increased use of robotics, an aging workforce, and improved safety practices have contributed to this frequency decrease.

Complex claims, such as lower-back issues, have declined at a rate greater than the average decline for the last five years.

“It remains to be seen whether changes in average wage and indemnity cost per claim will begin to converge in 2010,” NCCI said in the research brief.

If you are seeking experienced advice when it comes to a workers compensation case, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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California vetoes new workers comp legislation

Posted on October 11th, 2010 No Comments

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week sided with insurers in vetoing legislation that would have forced workers compensation insurers to submit dispute-resolution clauses to the state’s insurance commissioner for review, according to a California lawmaker.

The legislation would also have required workers compensation dispute-resolution clauses to specify that California law applies in coverage disagreements involving California employers.

Currently, California law requires workers compensation insurers to submit for approval their policy forms to the insurance commissioner but does not require that side agreements be reviewed or agreed upon.

In a Sept. 30 veto message, the Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said that the bill is unnecessary because there is no evidence a problem exists and it could reduce “the competitive market for workers compensation California now enjoys.”

“The high-deductible contract negotiations the bill seeks to impact are conducted by sophisticated participants on both sides of the table that are well-versed in all aspects of workers compensation and other insurance products.”

If you are seeking experienced advice when it comes to a workers compensation case, contact the Des Moines workers’ compensation attorneys of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. at 877-327-2600 today.

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Fraud caught after Facebook posting

Posted on September 18th, 2010 No Comments

An Accord, New York woman was sentenced this week in state court for her role in defrauding her workplace for around $9,000 in undeserved workers’ compensation benefits and sentenced to three years probation, according to court documents.

The woman was accused of lying at a Workers’ Compensation Board hearing, wherein she stated that she was no working at the time that she was receiving worker’s benefit payments.

Authorities caught the woman when she bragged on Facebook about her salary and current job, where she was working while receiving benefits from her old company.