NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.
Cousineau McGuire Chartered proudly announces the hiring of a new associate, Joseph D. Klemann. Klemann, a 2014 graduate of William Mitchell College of Law, is practicing in the Workers’ Compensation group.
Prior to joining Cousineau McGuire, he was a Certified Student Attorney for the William Mitchell Law Clinic, where he worked with clients on mortgage and predatory lending issues. During law school, Joseph was a legal extern for the Honorable Kermit E. Bye, United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit.
Cousineau McGuire is pleased to announce that Whitney L. Teel has been elected to shareholder effective January 1, 2015. Whitney concentrates her practice in the areas of Workers’ Compensation and Medicare Secondary Payer Act compliance. She represents employers and insurers in all aspects of workers’ compensation disputes, from initial liability consultations, all the way through trial and appeal.
Additionally, Whitney is a contributor to LexisNexis’ The Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance, a national publication regarding Medicare compliance in workers’ compensation claims. She also speaks nationally to clients and other attorneys on the Medicare Secondary Payer Act.
“I am honored to be elected shareholder,” says Teel. “As my practice continues to grow, it has been very rewarding to serve more clients and further develop my expertise.”
Whitney earned her J.D. from Hamline University School of Law, cum laude, where she served as Managing Editor for theHamline Law Review.
Industry news outlet Work Comp Central recently interviewedTom Atchison regarding the Supreme Court ruling inDykoff v. Xcel Energy.
The article discussed the Minnesota Supreme Court’s endorsement of the “increased risk” test as the standard for compensability.
The article also discussed how Minnesota courts have previously interpreted the statutory requirement that injuries “arise out of and in the course of” employment. According to Atchison, the interpretation has “varied from court to court and case to case” over the years and the recent ruling “clears up a point of uncertainty” for workers, employers, and carriers.
The full article is available from Work Comp Central here.
Prepared by Thomas W. Atchison, Esq. and Jennifer R. Augustin, Esq.
A bill was signed by Gov. Dayton on May 16 that has changed the way workers' compensation claims have been handled for over three decades - it recognizes mental-mental injuries as compensable. The following is a summary of several significant workers' compensation changes. We recently issued a survey regarding claim compensability to workers' compensation claims adjusters and have included those survey results at the conclusion.
Mental-Mental Claims: The definition of occupational disease has been expanded to include mental impairment. A mental impairment is defined as a “diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder by a licensed psychiatrist or psychologist.” However, a mental impairment is not considered a disease if it results from a disciplinary action, work evaluation, job transfer, layoff, demotion, promotion, termination, retirement, or similar action taken in good faith by the employer. Effective date: Applies to injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013.
Attorney Fees: Attorney fees will now be paid on a straight 20% contingency fee. The 25/20 formula has been eliminated. Further, the maximum fee has been increased to $26,000.00 per injury and per case. Partial reimbursement of fees to the employee under Minn. Stat. § 176.081, Subdivision 7 shall only apply to contingent fees payable from the employee’s compensation benefits; subdivision 7 fees are not payable for resolution of a medical or rehabilitation dispute. Effective date: Applies to injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013.
Compensation Rates: The maximum compensation rate will be 102% of statewide average weekly wage for the period ending December 31 of the preceding year. The current maximum compensation rate of $850 is eliminated, while the minimum compensation rate of $130 remains unchanged. Effective date: Applies to injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013.
Cost of Living Adjustments: For injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013, the adjustment shall not exceed 3% nor shall it be less than 0%. The initial adjustment is deferred until the third anniversary of the date of injury and the adjustment made at that time shall be for the last year only. Effective date: Injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013.
Rehabilitation Services: Job placement services must not exceed 20 hours per month or 26 consecutive or intermittent weeks. At the point 13 weeks consecutive or intermittent weeks of job placement/development services have been provided, the QRC must consult with the parties and either file a plan amendment reflecting an agreement by the parties to extended job placement services for an additional 13 consecutive or intermittent weeks, or file a request for a Rehabilitation Conference. The commissioner or compensation judge may amend or modify the rehabilitation plan, but it may not order more than 26 total consecutive or intermittent weeks of job placement services. Effective date: Applies to injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013.
Qualified Rehabilitation Consultant: A QRC must not provide medical, rehabilitation, or disability case management services related to an injury that is compensable under Chapter 176 when the services are part of the same claim, unless the case management services are part of an approved rehabilitation plan. Effective date: October 1, 2013, for all dates of injury.
Pain Contract: The commissioner shall adopt rules establishing standards and procedures for health care provider treatment. The rules shall include criteria for the long-term use of opioids or other scheduled medications to alleviate intractable pain and improve function, including the use of written contracts between the injured worker and the health care provider who prescribes the medication. Effective date: October 1, 2013, and applies to employees with all dates of injury who receive treatment after the rules are adopted.
Patient Advocate Pilot Program: The Commissioner shall implement a two-year patient advocate program for employees with back injuries who are considering back fusion surgery.
The 28th Annual Workers’ Compensation Institute was held on April 19 & 20 at the Minnesota CLE Conference Center. This content rich event featured sessions on significant cases, legislative changes, updates from OAH and DOLI, workplace violence, aging workforce, and more subjects covered in multiple break-outs.
Cousineau McGuire’s Mark Kleinschmidt presented Landmines in Drafting Stipulations for Settlement.
Thomas Kieselbach is speaking on a panel at this year's Minnesota Workers' Compensation Symposium. He will be joined by others from SECURA Insurance and US Bank discussingRun Away Litigation Cost.
Cousineau McGuire will also be exhibiting at the event which draws hundreds of claims adjusters annually. This Symposium will take place Wednesday, May 8 at the Minneapolis Marriott Southwest. For more information on this conference, please visit the website for the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Symposium.
On January 10, 2013, President Obama signed the SMART Act into law. The SMART Act revises the Medicare Secondary Payer Act and penalties associated with Section 111 Reporting. It creates a framework to simplify the process of resolving conditional payment liens. The Act sets a three-year statute of limitations for conditional payment recovery lawsuits. It also revises the mandatory $1,000.00 a day penalty for late reporting and orders the Secretary of HHS to publish new rules on penalties for late reporting. The Act further requires an exception to penalties when the responsible reporting entity has made “good faith efforts to identify a beneficiary. . . for reporting information.”
Please contact Whitney Teel for further information.