Articles Posted in Workers Compensation

By Fred Lewis and George Casper

An FCE is a one or two day test where a Physical Therapist puts the injured worker through a series of lifting exercises in order to test his or her ability to exert force in any kind of way. The PT also has the injured worker stand, walk and sit. Based on the results of this testing the PT then gives lifting restrictions, stating how much the injured worker can lift frequently, occasionally, and rarely. The PT also determines how long the injured worker can comfortably sit, squat, handle objects, or use fingers for tasks such as typing. The PT then compiles all of this data and creates a report listing all of the restrictions. The injured worker’s attorney then sends copies of the evaluation to the medical practitioner/s that gave the injured worker his or her impairment rating. The doctor then determines if the restrictions are reasonable and if so adopts these restrictions as the injured workers’ permanent restrictions. These restrictions then become the bedrock medical opinion that drives the disability case.

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By Fred Lewis and George Casper

This post is part two of a two-part blog explaining the basic steps in a worker’s compensation case. Part one focused on the benefits injured workers entitled to by law. Part two will focus on the benefits an injured worker can receive in excess of his or her impairment. In order to get these benefits, the injured worker will need the help of an experienced Workers’ Compensation attorney.

As stated above, litigation with the help of an attorney is needed in order to gain these disability benefits in excess of impairment. These benefits are called Permanent Partial Disability (PPD) Benefits. These benefits are in addition to PPI Benefits.

By: Fred Lewis and George Casper

Workers’ Compensation is a system of insurance that pays an employee that cannot work because he or she has been injured while working. Workers’ Compensation can have very complicated medical and legal issues depending on the severity of the workers’ injuries and other factors. Although some cases can get complicated, every case follows the same general pattern. Knowledge of this pattern helps clients to understand what stage of the claim process they have reached. The purpose of this two-part blog is to explain these steps to make injured workers aware of potential legal actions they can take.

Any worker injured while performing duties related to their job is entitled to certain worker’s compensation benefits by law. These benefits are: (1) The payment of any medical care necessary to treat the injury, (2) Total Temporary Disability (TTD) Benefits, and (3) Partial Permanent Impairment (PPI) Benefits. These benefits are normally acquired without the intervention of an experienced Idaho Worker’s Compensation attorney. However, it is always helpful to have the assistance of experienced Idaho Worker’s Compensation attorney to guide you. (no fees will be charged when the claim has been accepted and the above benefits are being paid.) The payment of medical bills is pretty straightforward, so there is no need to delve further into the topic.

By Fred Lewis and George Casper

This post is relatively simple to comprehend: The Idaho Industrial Commission has the exclusive right and duty to assess fault in cases that are tied to worker’s compensation claim. There are many previous cases and many entries in the Idaho Code that highlight this truth. Here are a few examples:

• Idaho Code 72-707 states, “All questions arising under this law [about who has fault]… shall be determined by the commission”. This law also states the Industrial Commission has exclusive jurisdiction of all questions arising under worker’s compensation law; this includes subrogation claims.

By Fred Lewis and Gorge Casper

Determining the payout of a Idaho workers’ compensation cases that occur at work and are the result of negligence by a third party can be very complicated. Cases where a third party is responsible for the injury suffered by the worker are generally severe. When medical bill payments are coupled with the large disability payments workers get from these types of injuries because of their extended (sometimes permanent) time away from work, the subrogated claim can often be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Injured workers need as much of the settlement money they can get because they can more often than not no longer find work that pays even half of what they were making before their accident. They need this settlement money to support their families.

Before joint and several liability was abolished in 1987, the injured employee could collect 100% of the tort damages from the negligent third party, but was subject to deduction for his or her own negligence. A credit was also given to the third party for any workers compensation benefits paid by the employer’s insurance company. For example, if a claimant was awarded $1,000,000 in the third party case, and the third party was found to be 60% negligent, the employer 30% negligent and injured worker was found to be 10% negligent (a deduction of $50,000), the injured worker would receive $900,000 from the third party, with a deduction for workers compensation benefits paid .

By Fred Lewis and George Casper

In Idaho Worker’s Compensation cases where the injury is partially caused by a third party (resulting in two separate lawsuits), there is a big misconception that one can gain a cash settlement that is larger than the actual value of the case. Some argue that workers with legitimate third party claims can hit the lawsuit lottery if they are able to sue multiple entities at the same time. This is simply not the case. The type of recovery described above is called a “double recovery” in the legal world and expressly prohibited. In order to protect against a double recovery for an injury, the ruling court (in the case of a Worker’s Compensation case, this would be the Idaho Industrial Commission) will make sure that there is no double recovery. This basically means that the employer’s insurance company would lose their chance at reimbursement of their subrogated claim (what they have paid in medical bills and disability benefits) if the employers is found negligent. The only exception to this would be if the worker’s compensation benefits and the benefits won in the third party case add up to be more than the actual value of the case.

In order to better illustrate exactly what would constitute a double recovery, here is an example:

Mediation is a voluntary, informal meeting between the people involved in a disputed workers’ compensation claim. The goal of the meeting is for all sides to reach agreement on a fair solution to the dispute.

A neutral Industrial Commission mediator who has experience in resolving disputes assists in mediation. The mediator conducts the meeting but does not give advice to the participants. Mediation is often requested because it:

Makes Everybody a Winner. All participants must agree to mediate a dispute or mediation will not take place. The participants control the outcome. Everybody must be in agreement for a settlement to be reached.

To begin the formal hearing process, you must file a Complaint Form with the Industrial Commission. You may obtain a copy of the Complaint Form from the Industrial Commission or your attorney.

To obtain a date for your hearing, you or your attorney must file a “Request for Calendaring” with the Idaho Industrial Commission.

Idaho Industrial Commission

If you believe you are entitled to receive certain workers’ compensation benefits and are not receiving them, you should:

Talk directly with your employer and your employer’s insurance company about your concerns.

If your employer or your employer’s insurance company cannot help you with your questions or concerns, contact an Idaho Industrial Commission Compensation Consultant, by calling 1-208-334-6000, toll free 1-800-950-2110 V/TDD.

You may generally expect to receive your first check within twenty-eight days of the injury, unless you have been notified that the claim was denied or is being investigated. Contact the insurance company to determine exactly when benefits checks are issued.

Idaho Industrial Commission

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