Bergen County Personal Injury Lawyer - Workplace Injuries

Back Pain - Injury or Accident

Donald Caminiti — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 12:57:21 GMT

11/04 Neuroscience article shows objectively that those in chronic pain have resultant cortical atrophy. i.e. the brain shrinks. Great article. It is not the only one, by the way. Here is abstract:

1: J Neurosci. 2004 Nov 17;24(46):10410-5.

Chronic back pain is associated with decreased prefrontal and thalamic gray
matter density.

Apkarian AV, Sosa Y, Sonty S, Levy RM, Harden RN, Parrish TB, Gitelman DR.

Department of Physiology and Institute of Neuroscience, Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois 60611, USA.
a-apkarian@northwestern.edu

The role of the brain in chronic pain conditions remains speculative. We
compared brain morphology of 26 chronic back pain (CBP) patients to matched
control subjects, using magnetic resonance imaging brain scan data and automated
analysis techniques. CBP patients were divided into neuropathic, exhibiting pain
because of sciatic nerve damage, and non-neuropathic groups. Pain-related
characteristics were correlated to morphometric measures. Neocortical gray
matter volume was compared after skull normalization. Patients with CBP showed
5-11% less neocortical gray matter volume than control subjects. The magnitude
of this decrease is equivalent to the gray matter volume lost in 10-20 years of
normal aging. The decreased volume was related to pain duration, indicating a
1.3 cm3 loss of gray matter for every year of chronic pain. Regional gray matter
density in 17 CBP patients was compared with matched controls using voxel-based
morphometry and nonparametric statistics. Gray matter density was reduced in
bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and right thalamus and was strongly
related to pain characteristics in a pattern distinct for neuropathic and
non-neuropathic CBP. Our results imply that CBP is accompanied by brain atrophy
and suggest that the pathophysiology of chronic pain includes thalamocortical
processes.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Donald Caminiti

Coming and Going Rule

Carter Corriston — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 16:03:33 GMT

What happens if I am injured on the way to work? Generally, unless you have arrived to your place of employment you will not be eligible to collect under workers compensation for injuries you suffer. This issue often is when are you deemed to have arrived at work. Certainly if your company has parking on the premises the minute you enter the lot you would be deemed to have arrived. Or if you take public transportation once you have arrived at the facility or office building.

This would be true even if your company shares space with other companies in the same building. However, if your employer designates that you park at a certain location and are injured while walking to your office or facility from that location you will be covered by compensation. If you choose to park in a non-designated area and are injured in that area and your employer has no control or connection to that property benefits may not be available to you. Conversely, if you are on your work premises but are not working then compensation may not be available. For instance if you went in on a day off to pick up your paycheck and were injured on your employer's premises then you may not be eligible for workers compensation benefits.

Another exception would be the special mission exception. This occurs when an employee is not on the premises of the employer but is in the course of employment. One does not have to have begun this special mission from work in order to be deemed a covered employee. A service technician on his way home from a call would be covered so long as he does not deviate from the special mission. that same employee who stops for dinner would not be covered for anything arising after dinner. Even employees traveling out of town on a special mission would be covered when they leave their residence. Workers on their way to the airport for a business trip have declared to be in the course of employment for workers compensation purposes.

Look for more examples in upcoming BLOGS.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Carter Corriston

Empoyee's Right to Treatment for Injuries

Carter Corriston — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 11:33:21 GMT

Workers who are injured while working must report the injury to their employer, as soon as practical, and follow the employer's directions for treatment, this includes the physicians who are authorized to treat the worker. This usually means the directions of the employer's insurance carrier but not always. Some employers, like hospitals, may direct the treatment on their own. An employee may not seek their own medical care and if they do will be responsible for any bills incurred for this unauthorized treatment. As with any rule there are some exceptions.

If the employer denies the employee suffered an injury or that the injury was not work related the employee may seek treatment on their own without penalty. If the worker later proves there was an injury and that it occurred at work the worker may seek repayment of the medical bills, plus a potential 25% penalty paid to the employee and attorneys fees all because of the employers failure to act properly. The worker's private health carrier may also seek reimbursement for any medical they may have paid because of such an injury. Additionally, an employer will be responsible for the bills incurred if an emergency exists. This most commonly applies to two situations. First, when the initial injury results in an emergency like a severe fall or car accident. Second, when during approved treatment an injury worsens to such degree that an emergency situation arises. For example a person has a back injury and they suddenly experience loss of use of a limb or severe numbness. Once the emergency no longer exists the employer will be entitled to regain control of the treatment. A worker should consult an attorney who specializes in the field of workers compensation if they have difficulty receiving treatment to make certain their rights are being protected.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Worksite Injuries and Workers Compensation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Carter Corriston

Rates of compensation for full and Part Time employees

Carter Corriston — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 16:13:05 GMT

Workers who are injured while at the workplace become eligible for payment for lost income if the injury prevents them form working in accordance with New Jersey Workers Compensation laws. The rate of compensation is 70% of the worker's actual wage subject to statutory minimums and maximums, which are adjusted yearly.

Part time employee who may be unable to perform work for other employers are not eligible to receive temporary benefits based on any other lost employment. They may, however, be eligible for State disability benefits for any other employment they are unable to perform.

It is important to remember that if the part time employee is eligible for an award of permanent disability because of their injury then their rate of compensation for the permanent injury may be adjusted, or reconstructed, to reflect a wage they would have received as if they were working full time. By example say worker X is hurt while working part time at big box store we will call "Orange" and her wage is $10.00 per hour for 20 hours. The temporary rate would then be $140.00 per week until she were returned to work by the authorized treating physician ($200.00 x .70). However, if worker X were eligible for a permanent disability award for the same injury she may be entitled to a reconstructed rate of $400.00 per week for these purposes ($10.00 x 40 hours). Therefore, the maximum rate for a permanency award would be $280.00 per week instead of the $190.00 per week statutory minimum. If the worker were to receive 200 weeks of permanent disability payments this would result in an $18,000.00 difference in the award between the two rates. Therefore, it is important to tell your attorney all the facts surrounding your employment, whether it is full or part time.

This example assumes worker X would meet the criteria for a reconstructed rate, the details of which are too great to fully explore in this forum.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Workers Compensation.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Carter Corriston

U.S. Nonfatal Workplace Injuries Lowest Since 72'

Chrissie Cole — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 00:44:10 GMT

A new report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows the lowest rates in workplace injuries and illnesses since they began collecting data in 1972.

In 2006, private industry rates were at its lowest since the launch of BLS. Rates have dropped 4.6 cases per 100 workers in 2005 to 4.4 cases in 2006.

In 2005, manufacturing sector of good-producing industries had an especially lower rate of illnesses dropping from 66.1 in 2005 to 27.7 per 10,000 workers in 2006.

The decline resulted from a two percent increase in the amount of hours worked and a 3 percent decrease in the number of nonfatal injuries and illnesses.

The report confirms OSHA's consistent emphasis on prevention is paying off with lower on-the-job injuries and illnesses.

This report encourages us to continue our balanced strategy of fair and effective enforcement of standards, accident prevention education and cooperative programs with labor and industry, said OSHA Administrator Edwin Foulke.

For more information on this subject, please visit our section on Workplace Injuries.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Chrissie Cole