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Showing posts from April, 2022

Study Reveals Bias Among Doctors Who Classify X-rays For Coal Miner's Black Lung Claims

University of Illinois Chicago researchers are the first to report on the financial conflicts of interest that exist among doctors who review the chest X-rays of coal miners who file workers' compensation claims of totally disabling disease with the U.S. Department of Labor's Federal Black Lung Program. The UIC researchers found that the determinations of these doctors-who are known as B-readers and who are certified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, or NIOSH-were strongly associated with the party that hired them. By analyzing 63,780 radiograph classifications made by 264 physicians in Black Lung Program claims filed during 2000-2013, the researchers found that B-readers who were identified as ever being hired by a coal miner's employer read the images as negative for pneumoconiosis in 84.8% of the records. Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of lung diseases caused by the inhalation of dust-coal worker's pneumonoconiosis, or CWP,

DWC - I Was Injured At Work

California workers’ compensation law requires claims administrators to authorize. Pay for medical care that is reasonably required to cure or relieve the effects of the injury. Under laws enacted in 2003 and 2004, this means care that follows scientifically based medical treatment guidelines. It is illegal for a physician or medical facility to bill a worker if they know the injury is or may be work related. What type of medical care am I entitled to? You are entitled to reasonable medical treatment to cure or relieve work-related injuries and illnesses. The doctors who treat you must follow treatment guidelines referred to as the medical treatment utilization schedule (MTUS). Only the treatment that meets the guidelines must be approved. All employers or claims administrators handling their workers’ compensation claims are required by law to have a program called utilization review (UR). This program is used to decide whether or not to approve medical treatment recommended by your doc

Can You Sue A Workers' Compensation Doctor For Medical Malpractice?

Normally, workers' compensation claims are very different from medical malpractice cases. But what happens when medical malpractice results from treatment for an injury covered by workers' compensation? Can You Sue a Workers' Comp Doctor for Malpractice? In short, the answer is yes. Because Missouri law considers workers' compensation doctors as third-parties, they are not covered by the same laws as your employer and can be held liable for medical malpractice. This predicament can be unbelievably frustrating. It's upsetting enough to be injured and unable to work: when you feel you have an unsympathetic doctor who isn't treating you effectively, a tough time becomes even tougher. Seeing an injury worsen when you're expecting it to improve can be disheartening. Even alarming - particularly when medical bills are continuing to pile up. Workers' Comp Doctor Malpractice in Missouri So, can an injured employee sue a workers' comp doctor (who is typically

Texas Worker Compensation - Employement Law

By a recent study of working conditions in the Texas construction industry. The highest total construction wokers died for any state. The report on construction states that one in five surveyed construction employees has suffered a workplace injury requiring medical attention. These same workers often have no health insurance (76 percent), sick days (87 percent) or vacation leave (77 percent). Three-quarters of the workers were not covered by employer-based health insurance. Texas workers compensation is the only insurance coverage optional for employers. Our state ranks last in the nation in workers' comp coverage, and when employers don't provide workers' compensation coverage, the employees or hospitals are forced to pay for the medical costs of work-related injuries. In addition, 64 percent of surveyed construction workers had received no basic health or safety training. According to the Texas Association of Responsible Non-subscribers, employers who have implemented a