“Nearly every other nation on earth has adopted a more protective 85 dBA exposure limit – which means that U.S. workers have a substantially greater risk of developing noise-induced hearing loss than do the workers of almost every other nation,” said Rick Neitzel, PhD, CIH, NHCA President.   “Also, workers in industries like construction, agriculture, and oil and gas drilling are currently not covered by an effective regulation, which is unacceptable, given the high levels of noise exposure associated with these industries.”

Currently, there has been discussion at the Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation adopting a lower hearing loss threshold.  The attorneys at the Ramos Law Firm are monitoring this development as to whether it will find its way into the 2010 legislative bill.

If you have suffered a hearing loss at work, call now for your free consultation (404) 355-3431 or contact the Ramos Law Firm via our website.

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At the Ramos Law Firm, we have represented many construction workers.  In many cases these workers present the highest risk of injury given the nature of the job.  Typical injuries include back pain, torn rotator cuff tears, and knee pain.  If a construction worker is injured on the job, he or she should receive immediate medical treatment.  In fact, the worker may choose a doctor from a pre-selected panel of doctors.   If the injured worker’s injury is severe enough to miss time from work, he or she would be eligible for temporary disability benefits.

For more information or if you need assistance getting the treatment you need, contact us at 404-355-3431 or click here.

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The attorneys at the Ramos Law Firm have represented the workers in various chicken processing plants, and they are familiar with the tactics employed by these corporations. If you have been injured on the job, please feel free to contact the Ramos Law Firm for your free consultation.

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When an employee is injured on the job, he or she is either rushed to the hospital in severe cases or instructed to treat with “Concentra” or “Urgent Care.”  These places are industrial clinics that focus in minor occupational accidents.  If the injury requires more specialized care, the employee is often referred to an “orthopedic” doctor.  The term, ‘orthopaedic’, literally translates to “straightening a child” as if he or she had a broken bone.

Some orthopedists will exclusively focus their practice on particular body parts such as shoulders, knees, hands, elbows, or the spine.  These doctors also are referred to as practicing “sport medicine.”  These physicians may also perform the surgical repairs and may be instrumental in developing and monitoring the coordination of physical therapy and other modalities of recovery.

In the greater-Atlanta area, groups such as the Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic, Resurgens Orthopaedics, and Dominion Orthopaedics are common players in the workers’ compensation realm.  These groups are often on the Employer’s “panel of physicians.”  It is important to remember that an injured worker has the right to choose his or her doctor from this panel or list of doctors.  Understand that your health is at issue and you should take an active role in the medical care.  It is also very important to know the doctor’s reputation as being a “patient advocate” or someone directed by the insurance company.  It is also prudent to inquire with the State Medical Examiners Board to determine if any of these doctors are in good standing or if they have ever been disciplined by the State.

The ultimate goal of all treatment is achieve a “cure”, or at least get you better to return to work in some capacity.  More often than not, a “cure” is only an ideal.  Lingering pain and chronic discomfort are common symptoms that may last a lifetime.  However, the issue is whether you are able to return to work from a medical standpoint.  Obviously, this is a question for the treating doctor based on the medical evidence.

In some instances, doctors may prematurely release the injured worker back to work when the employee remains disabled.  In these unfortunate cases, the worker is at a disadvantage.  He or she is faced with either risking further injury by returning to work or face a termination (of benefits or the job) for failing to report to the job site.  In these situations, it would be prudent to consult with a lawyer who practices workers’ compensation law.  At the Ramos Law Firm, the consultation is free and confidential.  If you would like to speak to an attorney about your case, please call 404-355-3431 to arrange an appointment.

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For example, the Latino or Hispanic worker may not speak English.  In these cases, adequate language translation services may be utilized to assist the injured worker in acquiring medical treatment, relaying crucial information to his or her supervisors, or communicating key facts to the attorneys handling the workers’ compensation claim.  At the Ramos Law Firm, our attorneys are equipped to handle claims involving non-English claimants.

In the Hispanic and Latino communities, these workers often accept the hardest and most labor intensive jobs.  Therefore, these workers often sustain injuries to their backs, knees, arms, or hands while on the job.  When these injuries occur, they are required to report the injury just like any other worker and follow the same protocol as outlined in the law.  Likewise, these injured workers may be entitled to medical and income benefits.

There is no question that some of these Latino or Hispanic workers may also have issues involving the adequacy of wages or even immigration.  These issues may be confusing and intimidating for all the parties involved in the claim.

The attorneys at the Ramos Law Firm have handled hundreds of claims involving workers’ compensation matters and the Hispanic worker.  If you have any questions or want further information, please contact our attorneys today.

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Following are some of the changes:

Allowing the ICMS email system to serve as the “notice” and “service” vehicle for ALJ Awards.  The bill also contemplates the “issuance” of awards  via email will be recognized as notice and service to the parties for appellate matters.

The medical release language has been broadened and it’s possible that an employee’s psych recods may be produced.  Click here to see a full copy of original post outlining some of the changes with examples.

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The question, then, is what constitutes notice.  On a very obvious level, if the claimant’s counsel calls the employer’s counsel and says “I want Dr. Smith, the doctor who treated my client while the claim was controverted, to be the ATP,” I imagine that would suffice.

But what would be the effect of Dr. Smith calling the adjuster for the insurer to try to authorize an appointment?  Is that notice?  Should the adjuster be required to infer that Dr. Smith is now the authorized treating physician?

What if counsel for the claimant simply sends bills to the employer from Dr. Smith asking for payment?  Is that notice?  When does the notice take effect?  Should the employer pay for the bills?

The obvious answer is to avoid all of these questions.  The claimant’s counsel should write a letter to the employer’s counsel setting out the claimant’s intention to name Dr. Smith as the ATP.  It takes all of the guesswork out and avoids unnecessary litigation.

If your claim has been controverted and you are attempting to get medical treatment, please contact an attorney with the Ramos Law Firm.  We are here to help Georgia’s injured workers.

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When the Employer/Insurer “controverts” or determines a workers’ compensation claim is not compensable, the Employer/Insurer will not pay for the injured Employee’s medical treatment. Consequently, the injured Employee will be responsible for finding a physician to treat with and for payment of his or her medical bills.  This determination does not necessarily mean the injured workers’ claim has ended.  It is merely the position the Employer/Insurer has taken.  It will be the claimant’s burden to prove that the Employer/Insurer is wrong. From a practical perspective, the Employee has the daunting task of locating a qualified physician to continue treatment.

When a claim is controverted, the Employee may choose to treat with a physician of his or her choice, pursuant to Board Rule 201(b).  This Board Rule  states that “the Employer/Insurer cannot restrict treatment of the Employee to the panel of physicians, conformed panel of physicians, or WC/MCO when the claim has been controverted.” Therefore, the Employee is free to choose his or her authorized treating physician.

Although an injured Employee has greater control of his or her medical treatment when a claim is controverted, the Employee is still left with the challenge of paying for medical treatment.  Since the cost for medical treatment will escalate within a short period of time, an Employee must consider alternatives to paying for medical treatment either out of pocket or through another insurance carrier.  An attractive alternative for Employees is to identify a physician who will provide medical treatment on a ”lien basis”.  Treating on a lien basis means the Employee will not pay for medical treatment or services at the time the treatment is rendered, but will pay for the treatment at the time his or her claim settles.

A physician or medical facility which offers medical treatment on a lien basis to workers’ compensation patients will protect their interests by requiring that the Employee and his or her attorney sign a ”letter of protection.”  A letter of protection is a contract between the patient, attorney and medical provider, which ensures the attorney will pay all medical bills for treatment rendered on a lien basis from the Employee’s settlement funds.

Seeking treatment on a lien basis is not the ideal for most Employees and attorneys, but it is a workable alternative for the injured Employee who cannot afford the immediate out-of-pocket cost.

If your workers’ compensation claim is controverted, please contact the Ramos Law Firm to discuss seeking treatment for your work injuries.

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In a Georgia workers’ compensation claim, an employee’s personal health information can be used by the employer/insurer to assess the compensability of a claim.   Medical records are of interest to the employer/insurer because these records reveal whether an injured worker has previous injuries to the body part injured in the work accident at issue or pre-existing conditions (such as diabetes or high blood pressure).  It is critical to investigate previous injuries because the employer/insurer may not be liable for payment of medical treatment for an injury which occurred before the accident at issue and/or did not occur in the course and scope of the employee’s employment.  Additionally, if an injured worker is a diabetic or suffers from high blood pressure, these pre-existing conditions can slow down an injured worker’s recuperation or cause complications in healing.

For example, if an injured worker sustains a broken ankle and is also suffering from type 2 diabetes, but is non-compliant with her diabetes treatment plan, he or she may experience delays in her recuperation due to poor circulation or possible nerve damage in the lower extremities.  In the aforementioned example, the repercussion of non-compliance with her diabetes treatment plan can lead to serious complications, which may prevent the employee from returning to work and may sever the employer/insurer’s liability for continued medical treatment for the broken ankle.  The employer/insurer will point to this fact to deny future benefits.  Obviously, this will be a medical question for the administrative law judge.

The medical records are also a tool the employer/insurer can utilize to gather information about injured worker’s conversations with his or her medical providers.  Ordinarily, a patient’s conversation with his or her physician is confidential, however, when an injured worker files a workers’ compensation claim and seeks medical treatment for work-related injuries, the patient-physician conversations are no longer considered confidential.

Pursuant to O.C.G.A § 34-9-207, when an employee files a workers’ compensation claim, the employee waives

“…any privilege or confidentiality concerning any communications related to the claim or history or treatment of injury arising from the incident that the employee has had with any physician… .”

Employees should not be discouraged from filing a claim due to privacy concerns. The release of workers’ compensation information to non-parties is generally prohibited under the workers’ compensation code.  Employees must keep in mind that in order to receive the best medical care, the doctors must have access to his or her medical history to create an effective treatment plan.  The mutual goal of all parties is to return the injured worker back to normal duty if possible.  However, it is important to realize that this may never happen depending on the severity of the injury.  If the goal of “normal duty work status” is not reachable, then the injured worker should still strive to reach maximum medical improvement.

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