Title: How Pre-Existing Conditions Impact Workers’ Compensation

When someone is injured at work, they typically have protection under workers’ compensation. Does your coverage get complicated if you have a pre-existing condition? In some cases it does. The following explains the basics of how pre-existing conditions impact workers’ compensation.

Conditions Related to Prior Claims

If your pre-existing injury is the result of a prior workplace injury for which you were compensated under workers’ compensation, your current benefits will slightly be reduced. If you cannot work because of the injury, your employer will pay you time loss compensation. If you end up with additional medical bills, your employer will pay those as well.

Keep in mind those time loss compensation benefits won’t be the same when the claim closes. You will typically only receive compensation if your impairment has increased. If there has been no increase in medical costs, you may not receive additional compensation.

It’s possible your pre-existing condition isn’t reinjured. Perhaps you have an entirely new injury near the same location on your body. This will make a big impact on workers’ compensation, so be sure your doctor has all the documents needed to completely understand your previous injury.

Conditions Not Related to Prior Claims

If your pre-existing condition does not relate to a prior workers’ compensation claim, the payout may be the same. For example, if you injured your hip in a car accident, and you have reinjured it at work, you may only be entitled to compensation that will account for the worsening of the condition.

Something to keep in mind is there are medical professionals who deal with workplace injuries on a regular basis. They know what terminology to use and what to look for when evaluating working professionals, so it might be wise to seek for such a medical doctor.

Unrelated Conditions

It’s possible your pre-existing condition is unrelated to your current injury all together. For example, you may have gotten whiplash in a car accident years ago and have suffered neck and back problems ever since. Your new workplace injury could be the result of a forklift crashing into your legs, resulting in a broken femur. As you can see, the two injuries would not be related at all. Workers’ compensation would then cover your new injury, while your unrelated injury would continue to be covered by your personal health insurance or a car accident settlement.

Get Assistance From an Attorney

If you were injured on the job and have a pre-existing condition, your employer may try to get out of paying for your medical bills and lost wages. With a workers’ compensation attorney on your side, you can strive to show the court you deserve that compensation for one or many reasons. Contact a Milwaukee work injury lawyer today.

Thanks to Hickey & Turim, SC for their insight into workers compensation and pre existing conditions.

As hard as it may be to send your loved one to a nursing home, the last thing that you would want is to have placed them in danger. Unfortunately, nursing home abuse is more common than we believe and you should understand what that type of abuse is should you send your loved one to a nursing home for assisted living.

It is understood that when you send your family to a nursing home you are expecting that they are getting the best care, especially considering this is not always a free service. Nursing home abuse occurs in several different instances and while it is very common you should be able to understand what the most common nursing home abuses are so that you can be aware when you place your family or loved one in these facilities.

To make matters much worse and alarming, nursing home abuse cases are often gone unreported because no one is made aware of these things. We are going to discuss the most common nursing home abuse types so that you can ensure your family or loved one is not being abused while away at a nursing home.

1. Physical abuse. Physical abuse is the most obvious abuse of the four we will discuss. And this can be determined based on physical bruising, scratching, etc. these injuries come from staff, faculty, or other patients hitting, or even restraining your loved ones.
2. Emotional abuse is as hard to prove in these instances as it is in any personal injury case. These injuries come about from being under distress. Because your loved one is likely very vulnerable it is easy to be taken advantage of and ridiculed. Your loved one may be afraid and feel alone and say nothing to you. Emotional abuse causes depression, and anxiety.
3. Sexual abuse is close to physical abuse in that sometimes these are easy to prove. However, without being informed of sexual contact or misconduct it is hard to handle. You may not think these situations occur, but they do. Should your loved one or someone mention that there has been sexual abuse you should contact a medical professional to get your family member examined.
4. Usually as the patients are older, they have finances that they no longer manage. Caretakers are known to also take advantage of this vulnerable state and convince your loved one to pay money to them. Be sure to check your loved ones financial statements and communicate with them as much as possible to ensure that no one is taking their money when they shouldn’t be.

Nursing home abuse comes in many forms. These are the most common forms that you may find. Should your loved one or family member be a victim of nursing home abuse there is a possibility of being compensated for these damages. Speak with skilled personal injury attorneys in Atlanta, GA as soon as possible to see what your options are.

Thanks to Andrew R. Lynch, P.C. for their insight into personal injury claims and nursing home abuse.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently reported that primary care doctors are failing to properly screen high-risk patients for lung cancer. A physician’s failure to order screening, particularly as part of a well-office visit, can give rise to a medical malpractice claim.  

Many people hear the word “cancer” and think that it is a singular disease process that may affect different organs.  In fact, there are many different kinds of cancer, each with its own characteristics, prognosis, and treatment protocols. To a medical malpractice lawyer, a delay in diagnosis of cancer is a common complaint from prospective clients. Usually, delayed diagnosis and delayed treatment occurs as a result of a doctor’s failure to take symptoms seriously or the failure to create a differential diagnosis that takes into account that a patient’s symptoms may be caused by a malignancy rather than a benign medical condition. Delayed diagnosis can also occur when test results are misinterpreted, lost, or ignored. In some cases, early diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. As a result, the American Cancer Society (ACS) has published guidelines for screening of patients to identify different types of cancer at the earliest possible moment. 

Screening Guidelines

Most patients are not aware of the ACS screening guidelines.  They rely on their physician to alert them to important health-related information. Likewise, primary care physicians owe a duty to alert patients to applicable screening protocols. Screening recommendations are appropriate when a patient comes in for a routine well check-up, also called an annual physical exam. Not all patients regularly schedule annual physicals. The question remains open as to whether a primary care physician owes a duty of care to alert patients about screening recommendations during sick visits, if the patient does not have a history of regular annual check-ups.

High Risk Patients

One such recommendation is that patients between the ages of 55 and 80 years old who smoke, or have quit smoking within the last 15 years but have a smoking history of greater than 30-pack years, should have an annual low dose CT scan to assess for evidence of lung cancer. Survival rates are better if lung cancer is found at an early stage.

However, despite these clear-cut recommendations, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force found that only one in eight high-risk patients was undergoing the low dose CT screening exam on an annual basis. Therefore, 87.5% of patients who should be screened were not being screened. While the 5-year survival rate for lung cancer is 17%, the survival rate improves to 52% if the disease is found at an early stage. The rate of early detection is best with low dose CT imaging, as opposed to chest x-rays.  

Though lung cancer screening is confirmed to save lives, many patients report long delays in the diagnosis of lung cancer, which leads to a poor long-term survival rate.

Medical Negligence 

Why are primary care doctors negligently failing to recommend lung cancer screening to high risk patients? There are many reasons for the low compliance rate. First, many patients do not schedule or even understand the need to schedule annual check-ups. Until primary care doctors are held fully accountable for failing to make screening recommendations during sick visits for those patients who do not routinely schedule annual check-ups, these patients will remain neglected. In other instances, negligent physicians are simply not aware of the ACS screening guidelines. Family physicians and internal medicine doctors who provide primary care would be well-advised to establish a notification system to alert patients to screening recommendations by mail or email on their birthdate. A medical malpractice lawyer, like a medical malpractice lawyer in Cleveland, OH, can advise you whether a physician’s failure to order lung cancer screening falls below accepted standards of medical care.

Thanks to Mishkind Kulwicki Law for their insight into how the failure to screen for lung cancer could be medical negligence.

It can prove to be a difficult decision to put loved ones or elderly in a place like a nursing home. When you place them in a nursing home, you don’t expect them to stay in a reclusive environment instead, you want them to receive better care and attention, which you fail to provide because of your job, or any other commitment. If they have suffered any harm, violence, or negligence by the employees at the nursing home, you are allowed to take an action legally against them. 

Usually, the elderly end up falling victim to the abuse of the nursing home, and it goes unnoticed by the caretakers. Many times they end up leaving them in seclusion, treat them poorly, or resort to physical abuse. When you choose to hire a personal injury or nursing home abuse lawyers, they are meant to provide help to the victims and their families so they can get financial support if the elderly fell prey to the nursing home abuse.The family admit the elderlyin the nursing homes, so they are taken care of instead, mostly the employees end up resorting to physical abuse, and secluding the elderly, causing mental damage. 

Personal injury attorneys spent years trying to fight for the victims who have suffered the abuse, which left a permanent traumatic experience in their minds. The lawyers also make sure to care for the victims whose needs are ignored by the employees at the nursing home, which can cause damage or result in an injury to the senior. 

The Job of the Nursing Home Abuse Attorneys 

A nursing home abuse lawyer in Kansas City, MO makes sure to care for the wants and rights of the victims who fall prey to the nursing home abuse.The lawyers are not in it for the money, as they only get a payment if the clients receive compensations for the financial loss. 

The lawyers take care of various nursing home abuse cases. For instance, they include physical violence, sexual harassment, and negligence of needs, seclusion, or exploiting them financially. 

After finding out about the neglect of the nursing home, the attorney meets up with the family of the victim and makes sure the lawyers are allowed to take action legally.The lawyer after being aware of all the condition and neglect suffered by the victim, he/she can determine the next step to take. The personal injury lawyer then lodges a suit on behalf of the patient against the nursing home, after which family and the victim become the case’s plaintiffs. The points that will be raised against the nursing home are: 

• The nursing home negligence to provide proper assistance to the victim, as it is their duty legally.

• The nursing home negligence to look after the requirements of the victim, and resorting to physical abuse.

• The consequences of the damage caused by the nursing home which caused permanent mental damage to the victim.

Bottom Line

Then, the responsibility of the attorney is to see if any other needs to be taken further after filing a suit against the nursing home. The lawyer will ensure that the victim’s rights are protected and that the family gets financial support. 

Thanks to Royce Injury Attorneys for their insight into personal injury claims and nursing home abuse.

The ability for anyone to marry, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, felt like a big leap for many people in the LGBT community. Although in many ways, this is true, there is a long way to go for LGBT couples to have legal equality – particularly with regards to family law matters. 

Like any other couple, same-sex couples may with to draft a prenup, get married, have a family, and even proceed with a divorce. Unfortunately, there are certain legal matters, as well as, what many believe is long-standing prejudice, that can stand in the way towards living a life of peace, happiness, family love for those who are a part of the LGBT community. 

As family lawyers, we support the LGBT community and strive to help men and women achieve their goals for getting married and having a family. Some of the most common issues we have handled for the LGBT community include:

Adopting a Child

Many same-sex couples will choose to adopt a child. However, their options for doing so are much less than heterosexual couples. Unlike the latter, who can go through practically any agency in the United States, or elsewhere, LGBT couples are limited. Many adoption agencies will not give same-sex couples the right to adopt a child from them – regardless of the amount of care and love they can provide. In other words, same-sex couples may be faced with discrimination and prejudice when trying to adopt. A family lawyer may be able to guide same-sex couples in the right direction, or help with the adoption process, once a child has been chosen. 

Custody of Biological Children

Because adoption can be so difficult for same-sex couples, many are choosing to have a child by one parent. The biological parent will be given automatic parental rights, but the non-biological parent may have no parental rights. This is often true even if their name is on the birth certificate. For example, the non-biological parent may be unable to make medical decisions. Or, if the biological parent dies, the non-biological parent may be unable to retain parental rights to continue raising the child. When this is true, the non-biological parent may need to file for adoption. Depending on the state, this might not be possible. Even if it is, some states will not honor their parental rights in the same way. 

Another concern to consider is that in the event of a divorce, the non-biological parent may have no custody rights. To avoid this, the legal adoption of the child should be considered. A family lawyer from [law firm name] can explain the applicable laws to you during a consultation. 

In addition to the above concerns, same-sex couples may also face legal problems with estate planning. For example, a same-sex couple who is not legally married should certainly have an estate plan. This is necessary to protect the ones they love. Healthcare issues, including a power of attorney, should also be thought through. For example, in medical emergencies, a hospital might only grant permission to see your loved one if you are a legal spouse. If you cannot prove this, you may be presented with a challenge. Although this kind of discrimination is not right, it is, unfortunately, happening throughout the U.S. A power of attorney can protect both parties, legally, and grant one another access to each other in the event of an emergency. 

If you are seeking legal assistance for a family-related legal matter, please call a divorce lawyer, like a divorce lawyer in Austin, TX,  today. 

Thank you to the experts at Gray & Becker, P.C., for their insight into divorce law.

If you are the beneficiary of a living trust, you may have a lot of questions. First and foremost would be what rights do you have to the assets within the trust? Do you have any control of the assets and can you potentially borrow money against it? The best way to understand your rights as a beneficiary is to understand what living trusts are used for.

What Is a Living Trust?

A living trust is a trust that the grantor creates in his or her lifetime. He or she will put assets or property into the trust and then appoint a trustee to handle the assets for the beneficiaries. As a beneficiary, you do not generally have any control over the trust. This is left up to the trustee to handle and to remain strict with the regulations and guidelines set down by the grantor.

Trustees have to collect the assets for the trust and protect those assets. In addition, if there are any investments, he or she needs to have authority over them and ensure that every decision may benefit the interests of the beneficiary. The trustee should have extensive records of all financial decisions and transactions.

What Are Your Rights?

As the beneficiary, you have the right to request financial information from the trustee if you think that the trustee is not upholding his or her fiduciary duties. If he or she is in violation of his or her responsibilities, then you can act against the trustee. You would file against the trustee in probate court.

Now, the grantor is who establishes the rules and detailed instruction for how the assets in the trust are handled. Revocable trusts include assets that the grantor can revoke at any time, whereas irrevocable trusts have assets that are permanently removed from the grantor. Now, you can begin receiving assets and wealth while the grantor is still alive.

In a living trust, you cannot borrow against the trust. The grantor can remove property to borrow against and then return the property afterwards. In an irrevocable trust, beneficiaries cannot borrow money. The trust has its own terms when it comes to distributions that you have to follow.

If you are a beneficiary of a trust, then it can be confusing to understand your rights. After all, you are not the one who put together the trust. To find out more about your rights as a beneficiary, set up a consultation with a living trust lawyer in Sacramento, CA.

Thanks to the Yee Law Group for their insight into estate planning and trust beneficiaries.