Workers Comp Matters

Continuing our discussion of the 50th anniversary of the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation (as it was called) report. We’ve come a long way, but … it’s complicated. Guest Abbie Hudgens, Administrator of the State of Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, shares her thoughts on how far we’ve come with the “great bargain” that balances workers’ rights and the need to file a lawsuit for any injury on the job. It’s a bit messy to this day. Fifty states, 50 systems. Are higher-paid workers being shortchanged? Should older, rural, or less educated workers receive more than others when they are injured and can’t work. And what’s the goal of a Workers’ Comp system, security for life, or helping workers get back on the job. There remain many questions about disability and impairment, and even partial disability. It’s a fragile balance. As we’ve said, it’s complicated. Mentioned in This Episode: “AMA Guides® to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment: an overview” Workcomp Central

July marks the 50th anniversary of the National Commission on State Workmen’s Compensation laws. The system we have in place wasn’t always so. Even after the passage of protections for workers, it took years to develop today’s standards. In 1972, a federal panel released a comprehensive review of state Workmen’s Compensation (as it was then called) laws and guidelines. As Alan explains, several states had to readjust their systems. Our current system is a complex and delicate balance of federal and state oversight, adequate protections, and employer insurance costs. Fifty years after the initial report, is it time to review Workers’ Compensation? The workplace has changed, the shift to gig working may be leaving many behind in the “new economy.” On July 11, the U.S. Department of Labor hosts a public roundtable on the topic featuring Alan Pierce.You can register to join online as stakeholders across the workplace safety and protection community discuss the future of Workers’ Compensation.

Guest Joanne Doroshow is the founder and executive director of the Center for Justice & Democracy, a national consumer organization dedicated to protecting our civil justice system. She shares a new report from the Center’s Emily Gottlieb, “System Letdown: Worker Safety, Harm, and Compensation in the Age of COVID-19.” The report examines the role of industry and the government during the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects on workers including illness, deaths, and worker safety violations. From the start of the pandemic, the Center found businesses mishandled the situation and put front-line workers in peril. But issues didn’t end there as government protections, Workers’ Comp, and the civil justice systems continued to fail workers. Go beyond data to the tragic personal stories as promised protections were pushed aside. Were the working people who kept the U.S. fed and supplied with goods – often lauded as heroes and essential – intentionally put in harm’s way in the name of profit? Who got stuck with the tab, and what did we learn?  

It doesn’t matter what country you’re from or if you’re in the U.S. documented or not. Workplace injuries don’t care about immigration status or language abilities. Everyone hurt on the job deserves representation. Arizona-based workers’ rights attorneys Robert Wisniewski and Javier Grajeda share their vast experiences representing immigrant workers. Communication is vital, and those with limited English proficiency often need help. Wisniewski shares tips on helping foreign workers communicate the extent of their injuries. American demographics are changing, but our system of protections is for everyone. A competent, certified interpreter is one key. Undocumented workers, and even documented immigrants, may not know they have rights or may be afraid to speak up. Some may not have valid tax ID information or may work under an assumed name. Others may have left the country or been deported after an accident. What are cultural tells? How do other cultures react in a courtroom? How do legal professionals vet interpreters? How can you ask simple, direct questions that may uncover information a case hinges on? These and other tips, in this episode of Workers’ Comp Matters.   Special thanks to our sponsor PInow.com, Posh Virtual Receptionists, and MerusCase.

Our guest is law student Simon X. Cao, winner of this year’s College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyer’s John F. Burton Jr. Student Writing Award. His essay, “Fighting The Tide – Overcoming The Rebuttable Presumption of Intoxication In The Age of Marijuana,” examines a common Workers’ Comp defense arguing an injured worker was somehow culpable in his own injury by virtue of intoxication. Cao examines to what extent – if any – evidence of prior marijuana consumption can be used against injured workers, as a growing number of states legalize marijuana both for recreation and medical use. The nexus of marijuana and injury compensation is a sticky issue. Evidence of marijuana can be detected in an injured worker’s system for weeks after use, unlike alcohol, but it can be present without indicating intoxication. How reliable is testing? How consistent are the rules across states? And what about presumed consent for a drug test after a workplace accident? All interesting topics that could affect your clients. Special thanks to our sponsor PInow.com, Posh Virtual Receptionists, and MerusCase.

Guest Malcolm Crosland is a South Carolina attorney with more than 30 years’ experience protecting workers and their rights. In today’s gig economy, it’s up to Workers’ Comp attorneys to guard against employers, lobbyists, and insurance carriers as they angle to classify workers in ways that could exclude them from workplace protections.  Crosland shares how important Workers’ Comp attorneys are both in fighting against efforts to weaken protections and in helping injured workers navigate a system that is increasingly adversarial and complex.  Public understanding of Workers’ Comp is, for many, out-of-sight-out-of-mind. Until they need it. Workers’ Comp attorneys and the Workers Injury Law and Advocacy Group stand at the ramparts ensuring that working people across the country are cared for and supported when a workplace injury occurs. Special thanks to our sponsor PInow.com, Posh Virtual Receptionists, and MerusCase.

The 1972 issuance of the Report of the National Commission on State Workmen's Compensation Laws is one of the watershed moments in modern workers' compensation. As this year marks the 50th anniversary of the report, we felt it was worth revisiting our conversation with John F. Burton, Jr., who served as chairman on that commission. In this episode, originally released in December of 2018, host Alan Pierce talks to John F. Burton, Jr. about his career as a workers’ compensation expert. They discuss the history of workers’ compensation, outlining its legal evolution through different political and economic eras in the United States. Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and MerusCase.

Workers’ compensation cases take many forms and cover myriad workplace injuries. In this episode, guest Christopher Hug dives into one very specific area, maritime industrial accidents, injury, and compensation.  Hug specializes in maritime industrial cases, often under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act and the very specific Defense Base Act, a World War II creation that covers workers on overseas assignments under contract to the military.  The Defense Base Act is especially interesting in that it covers workers in all fields on military installations, from mechanical workers to teachers or even dentists and can include both physical and emotional disability. Compensation is most often handled through private insurers.  In addition, Hug explains case timelines, representation across jurisdictions, and how lawyers are compensated for their representation.   Special thanks to our sponsors, PInow and MerusCase.

Guest Phil Alvarez, director of 9/11 Outreach and Education for the law firm Hansen & Rosasco, shares how his brother fought to the end like the hero he was. Luis Alvarez was an NYPD detective who worked in the toxic ruins of the World Trade Center for months, not knowing a silent beast would stalk him for the rest of his life, and dying of cancer caused by the chemicals in the air and the rubble.  Before he died, Luis fought for every victim – past and future – of the terror attack, pressing Congress to pass a final, permanent victims’ fund, the “Never Forget the Heroes: James Zadroga, Ray Pfeifer, and Luis Alvarez Permanent Authorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund Act.”  This heartbreaking tale of determination is a testament to our everyday heroes and the advocates who never give up their fight to protect America’s workers. Take a moment to listen and reflect on the vital importance of worker protections.

Guest Leo V. Boyle recalls the frantic 60 hours after the 9/11 terror attacks of 2001. He calls that time “law’s finest hour” as pro bono tort attorneys collaborated with Congressional leaders to craft the $7 billion victims’ compensation fund.  Boyle shares how lawyers from across the country came together and rushed to head off potentially pointless class action suits in favor of protecting victims, survivors, and their families in apparent contrast to everything he’s ever stood for. What would be the point of winning a judgment if there were no one who could pay? It was a time when everything changed for tort law.  Boyle’s tale coincides with the 20th anniversary of the most horrifying mass murder of our generation. The behind-the-scenes race to protect and provide for families is a story rarely told but truly represents the work so many in tort and workers’ comp law do. Don’t miss this episode. Special thanks to our sponsor PInow.com.