Written By: Daniel Richardson On October 27, 2021, OSHA published in the Federal Register an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) on the issue of Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings. According to this Notice, heat is the leading cause of death among all weather-related phenomena. “Excessive heat exacerbates existing health problems like asthma, kidney failure, and heart disease, and can cause heat stroke

Written by: Margaret “Meg” H. Donahue, Esq. On March 23, 2022 The SC Workers' Compensation Commission issued this advisory notice clarifying information to be included on the Form 19 at the close of a claim. The Commission has determined that expenses that are not specifically medical care and treatment are being included on Line 6, Total Medical Benefits Paid. The Commission requests that only costs for actual medical products

Written by: Rayford H. Taylor, Esq. The Employee, in the case of Noa v. City of Aventura and Florida League of Cities, appealed an Order of the judge of compensation claims (JCC) denying an increase in her average weekly wage (AWW).  The Employee contended she was entitled to include a pro rata share of her annual merit bonus in the calculation of her AWW for the thirteen weeks prior

Written by: Rayford Taylor, Esq.  The Hampton case established the mere fact an attorney fee amount has not been established does not prohibit the Statute of Limitations from operating to defeat payment of additional benefits.  The Tejeda case reaffirmed that a claimant who voluntarily changed their authorized physician cannot return to the prior physician for treatment and require the employer/carrier to pay for that unauthorized treatment. Hospitals East, LLC, et

ATLANTA, GEORGIA – January 5, 2022 – Hall Booth Smith, P.C. has named 11 attorneys to Partner as the firm recognizes the dedication, hard work and leadership of the senior attorneys. The attorneys who join the firm's partnership as of January 1 are: David W. Badie, a Partner based in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, who concentrates his practice on health care and the defense of medical malpractice matters Sandra

Written by: Peter Skaily, Esq. One of the most important aspects of any workers' compensation claim is control of medical treatment. The employer/insurer will want the claimant to treat with a provider from the panel of physicians. On the other hand, the claimant will want to treat with an off-panel, claimant-friendly physician. A common way for the claimant to argue entitlement to treatment with an off-panel, claimant-friendly physician is

Written by: Meredith Knight, Esq. Famously, the Medicare Secondary Payer Act has not changed significantly in decades.  It is clearly understood that the MSPA prohibits Medicare from making payments that are the responsibility of a primary payer.  Such primary payers include workers’ compensation plans.  Workers’ compensation employers/insurers have a duty to consider Medicare’s interests as they pay for ongoing medical care and engage in settlements, especially those closing a

In an article published on September 27, 2021 by CLM, Meredith Knight provides guidance on dealing with workers’ compensation claims related to COVID-19. “Do not make bad case law. We hear this from our mentors, our supervisors, at our continuing education seminars. We appeal bad rulings knowing that, in Georgia and some other jurisdictions, appeals are discretionary for workers' compensation claims. Yet, over the past few years, we have

Written by: Daniel Richardson, Esq. When a claimant files a hearing request, the first thing to check is whether there is an applicable statute of limitations defense. The Georgia Court of Appeals recently addressed a statute of limitations defense raised in a claim for a catastrophic designation in Sunbelt Plastic Extrusions, Inc. v. Paguia, 2021 WL 3673896 (Ga. Ct. App. August 19, 2021). On March 31, 2009, the Claimant injured

Written by: Rayford H. Taylor, Esq. The Court of Appeal was asked to again  interpret Section 440.093(3) Fla. Stat. concerning entitlement to temporary indemnity benefits based upon a mental injury arising out of a workers’ compensation accident in the case of Le’Tavia Jones v. State of Florida, Dept. of Corrections, and Div. of Risk Management, 1D20-1741 (July 29, 2021). On January 7, 2019, Ms. Jones was working in a correctional facility