Attendant care can be ordered by the treating physician for an injured worker when s/he needs some type of assistance with daily activities, like bathing, cooking, or help with walking. For example, the treating doctor could order two hours a day for light household assistance or more significant assistance (e.g. dressing and bathing) depending on the patient’s condition. Attendant care professionals are sometimes referred to as home health aides and have varying levels of skilled training. In some cases, an injured worker’s spouse or family member may be authorized to provide these services and receive payment for his or her time. In North Carolina, these services can be paid for by workers’ compensation.

Over the past several years, the case law and statutory law on attendant care has been evolving. The North Carolina legislature in 2011 created a prerequisite that an injured worker obtain an order from the authorized treating physician as well as approval from the insurance company (or the Industrial Commission) before attendant care services will be authorized.

Last week the North Carolina Supreme Court released two opinions addressing the issue of attendant care in workers’ compensation cases (see Mehaffey v. Burger King and Chandler v. Atl. Scrap & Processing). The issue in these cases dealt primarily with when or how an injured worker could request attendant care services before the 2011 legislative change, and whether the injured worker could require the workers’ compensation insurance company to pay retroactively for attendant care services provided by a family member. If you think you may be entitled to attendant care benefits then you should probably discuss this issue with an attorney. Restrictions apply and it has become a complicated area of law.

Today’s post was shared by Gelman on Workplace Injuries and comes from www.maciverinstitute.com

Median Workers Comp Payments Nearly 5 Times the Medicare Rates for Same Procedures The Workers Compensation Advisory Council (WCAC) is worried that medical costs are out of control and has spent the past few months formalizing a plan to keep them in check. Documents recently obtained by the MacIver Institute show there is reason to worry. The documents, prepared by Wisconsin Compensation Rating Bureau (WCRB), compare the median payments from Workers Compensation to Medicare reimbursement rates in 2012. WCAC is currently considering a plan to tie Workers Comp payments to 175 percent of the Medicare reimbursement rate, which is similar to what other states have done. Unfortunately, the 2012 data shows that the median amount paid by Workers Comp was nearly five times the Medicare reimbursement rate for the top 25 procedures performed in 2012. That is 177 percent greater than what is being proposed by the Council. Arthroscopic shoulder surgeries, which doctors perform to inspect, diagnose, and repair problems within a person’s shoulder joint, had the largest differentiation in cost at 1,680 percent of the Medicare rate. The next highest was arthroscopic knee surgeries at 796 percent. None of the Workers Comp median payments for the top 25 procedures were within 175 percent of the Medicare reimbursement rate. The lowest differentials were for office or outpatient visits. Workers Comp median payments were between 199 percent and 232 percent of the Medicare rate for office…

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Today’s post was shared by Take Justice Back and comes from www.change.org

We applaud you and your colleagues for taking the next steps towards revising regulations to allow generic drug manufactures to update their warning labels. We want to thank you for your efforts to restore the rights of Americans injured by generic drugs. We believe it is critically important that all prescription medicines, including generic drugs, carry current and accurate safety warnings. People who are hurt by generic drugs should have the same legal rights as those who are injured by brand name versions of the same medications. Both brand name and generic manufacturers should be accountable for the safety of their products. If no one is accountable, no one is safe. We hope this issue will be addressed as quickly as possible in order to ensure generic drugs are safe and patients’ rights are restored. Safety is an issue that cannot wait.

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Today’s post was shared by The Workers’ Injury Law & Advocacy Group and comes from www.prnewswire.com

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is an independent federal agency created by Congress in 1973 and charged with protecting the American public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency’s jurisdiction. To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call the CPSC hotline at 1-800-638-2772, or visit http//:www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. Further recall information is available at http://www.cpsc.gov. (PRNewsFoto/U.S. CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION) WASHINGTON, Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ – Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product. (Logo: http://www.cpsc.gov/Global/Images/Recall/2014/14015/Jacket1LARGE.jpg) Recall Summary Name of Product: Boy’s hooded jackets Hazard: The jackets have drawstrings in the hood around the neck area that pose a strangulation hazard to young children. In February 1996, CPSC issued guidelines about drawstrings in children’s upper outerwear. In 1997, those guidelines were incorporated into a voluntary standard. Then, in July 2011, based on the guidelines and voluntary standard, CPSC issued a federal regulation. CPSC’s actions demonstrate a commitment to help prevent children from strangling or getting entangled on neck and waist drawstrings in upper outerwear, such as jackets and sweatshirts. Remedy: Refund, Repair Consumer Contact:…

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What happens when a major journalism program runs a program without interviewing both sides? You get something like what “60 Minutes” aired in early October in “Disability, USA.” It’s one of the media’s favorite topics, “exposing” disability fraud on the part of the claimant. But how much truth is there to the allegations made on “60 Minutes”?

After watching the show, the viewer is lead to believe that almost anyone with any medical condition could be approved for Social Security Disability. You hear from an administrative law judge that the standards are too lax. However, over 66% of all disability claims are initially denied. Thereafter, only about 10% win disability benefits on appeal. The application and appeal process alone takes months, if not years. This sure doesn’t sound like an easy way to survive. Even if benefits are ultimately awarded, they are taxable and paid only on a monthly basis with the average disability payment of about $1,100.00.

While it’s true the number of disability claimants has increased, this is hardly surprising. Overall, we have an aging population which increases the ratio of disabled claimants. Likewise, with jobs scarce, those with disabilities are having an increasingly difficult time finding work.

It’s very disappointing that no one at “60 Minutes” took the time to interview a single disability applicant. If they had taken the time, they would have learned that the application is an arduous process. Failure to present your medical records or respond within strict timeframes, results in an automatic denial. Recently, one of our workers’ compensation clients reported that he underwent two separate disability applications and four appeals (cumulatively) before finally being approved in 2013. He has been out of work since 2006.

For more information, check out “Just the Facts” as well as this article published by the National Organization of Social Security Claimant Representatives in response to “Disability, USA.”