Author Archives: Jay Butchko
What Medical Bills Does Workers’ Compensation Pay?
The average injury-related medical bills in the United States often exceed $100,000. Citing liability concerns, most health insurance companies refuse to pay these costs. And, most families do not have the financial resources to pay them out of pocket. As a result, without workers’ compensation benefits, most job injury victims would have to make… Read More »
What Not to Expect in a Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Case
Many people are at least somewhat familiar with the workers’ compensation process. They know they must promptly file claims in order to receive no-fault insurance benefits. However, many job injury victims still fear the unknown. Specifically, they are afraid of the repercussions which they believe accompany a workers’ compensation claim. A Jackson workers’ compensation… Read More »
Toxic Exposure and Occupational Diseases: What You Should Know
The latency period for mesothelioma and other occupational diseases often exceed twenty years. Furthermore, symptoms often appear so gradually that these victims, and even their doctors, do not immediately know the full extent of the illness. So, by the time a doctor diagnoses the disease and the victim connects that disease to the work… Read More »
First Responders and Unintentional Injuries
Media reports usually focus on intentional first responder injuries, such as police officers who are shot in the line of duty. Unintentional injuries, like falls and smoke inhalation, often go under the radar. Yet emergency responders have a significantly higher risk of unintentional injury than people in almost any other line of work. Whether… Read More »
Top Three Employer Workers’ Compensation Scams in Louisiana
Employee fraud workers’ compensation claims often dominate the headlines. Sometimes, unscrupulous workers fake or exaggerate injuries. Other times, unscrupulous doctors treat nonexistent injuries. But such claims account for less than 2 percent of all workers’ compensation claims in Louisiana. Employer fraud is a much more pervasive problem. Some of the more common schemes are… Read More »
Top Five Knee Injuries in Mississippi
Serious knee injuries affect millions of Americans every year. A significant number of these injuries are work-related. As a result, even if the victim was partially at fault for the accident which caused the injury, financial compensation might be available. These families need this money to carry on with their lives. However, the claims… Read More »
Compensation in a Job Injury Claim
Originally, the agreement between workers and management known as the Grand Bargain sped benefits to injured workers, so they could quickly get back on the job. Today, the workers’ compensation system is a bloated bureaucracy dominated by insurance company interests. Yet the injuries these victims sustain are more serious than ever, mostly because of… Read More »
The Five Phases of Medical Treatment After a Job Injury in Louisiana
After a serious injury, like a spine injury, the medical bills could exceed $4 million. Much of these expenses are associated with one of the five phases outlined below. Health insurance companies usually do not cover injury-related costs, and most families cannot possibly pay these costs out of their own pockets. To help families… Read More »
Diagnosing and Treating Work-Related Neck Injuries
Neck injuries are among the most common work-related injuries in Mississippi. Actions like craning one’s neck and turning one’s head do not immediately cause injury. But people who do these things dozens of times a day almost every day for decades often develop a repetitive stress disorder. Work-related motor vehicle collisions often cause whiplash,… Read More »
Work-Related Hearing Loss: A Closer Look
Hearing loss has both physical and emotional effects. Frequently, the emotional effects are worse. Prizefighter Jake LaMotta, the subject of Raging Bull, was mostly deaf in one ear. His frustration over his inability to follow simple conversations and participate in special events probably explains his violent temper. That’s an extreme example. But symptoms like… Read More »