You were injured at work, but for some reason the workers’ compensation insurer has denied your claim. At this time, you are now faced with a question that many injured workers face. What do I do now? A majority of these injured worker’s retain an attorney to assist them in fighting for their entitlement to work comp benefits. From that point on, the litigation portion of the Minnesota workers’ compensation system begins. The following is a brief summary of the litigation process for Minnesota workers’ compensation cases.
The Workplace Safety Consultation (WSC) unit of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry undertook a collaborative project to provide ergonomics assistance to nursing homes to help management and workers reduce ergonomic risk factors and improve the safety of their workplaces.
The study can be found here.
It was noted in the report that work-related injuries and illnesses are very common among nursing home workers. In 2008,private industry nursing homes had an estimated 2,300 recordable injury and illness cases, 3 percent of the state’s total number of recordable cases. Private-sector nursing homes had a total OSHA-recordable case (TRC) rate of 7.6 cases per 100 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers in 2008, compared with an overall private sector rate of 4.2 cases per 100 FTE workers.
The intervention homes made more investments in their safety programs during the ergonomics services program, and generally had greater safety and health improvements. The intervention nursing homes reported a significant increase inthe number of electric lifts, while the controlhomes added very few new resident-handling devices. On each of the 36 measures made from the OSHA logs comparing the pre- and postservice case rates, the intervention homes showed larger absolute and percent decreases in their injury and illness rates.
As I have posted before, health care workers have a higher likelihood of sustaining certain injuries than that of construction, mining, and manufacturing workers. This can be associated to lifting, transferring and pushing patients.
If you have been injured on the job and denied benefits, contact an experienced workers’ compensation attorney to assist you. We at the Law Office of Thomas Mottaz would be more than happy to sit down with you and discuss your legal options. For free consultation, please visit our website here.
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry requests comments on its possible amendment to rules governing worker’s compensation medical services and fees, penalties, and certified managed care. Although all the rules in Minnesota Rules, chapters 5218, 5220 and 5221 are being considered for amendment, the department is specifically considering amendments to: Minn. R. 5221.0500, subp. 2 governing prevailing charges for medical services; Minn. R. 5221.0600 and Minn. R. 5221.0700 governing payer and provider responsibilities for submission and payment of medical charges; Minn. R. chapter 5220 with respect to penalties for failure to pay or deny medical charges as required by applicable law; and Minn. R. chapter 5221 to establish a fee for surgical implants. The department is also considering the amendment or repeal of Minn. R. 5218.0600, governing billing and payment of medical services provided by health care providers who participate in certified workers’ compensation managed care plans.
A draft of the proposed amendments is available here.
The Medical Services Review Board will discuss the possible rules at a meeting on Tues., June 8, 2010, at 5 p.m. in the Minnesota Room at the Department of Labor and Industry
Written comments, questions, requests to receive a draft of the rules when available, and requests for more information on these possible rules should be directed to: Laura Alsides, Department of Labor and Industry, 443 Lafayette Rd. N., St. Paul, MN 55155; telephone: (651) 284- 5006; e-mail: dli.rules@state.mn.us. TTY users may call the Department of Labor and Industry at (651) 297-4198.
Interested persons or groups may submit comments or information on these possible rules in writing until 4:30 p.m. on July 16, 2010.
If you have some free time on your hands. Check out the video DOLI developed for injured workers. You will need Windows Media Player to view it or you can order a DVD through the website.
The video is about 50 minutes long so plan on sitting at your computer for awhile. If you have a general question you may be better off searching Comp Wonk or the DOLI website.
