When is the Best Time to Hire an Attorney in Arizona Work Comp Claim?

I've posted about this before, and I'll say it again - the best time to consult with an attorney if you've been seriously injured on the job in Arizona is AS SOON AS YOU CAN AFTER YOUR INJURY.  I have met with too many clients who wait until their claim is closed or even after the closure has gone final to contact an attorney and find out what their rights are.  I just met with a lady yesterday who came to us to see if we could reopen her claim and I didn't have the heart to tell her that she could be getting twice as much per month in permanent benefits if she had consulted an attorney. 

Remember that no matter how nice the claim representative from the insurance company is, they are in business to make money - which they do by paying you less.  Whether you contact Snow & Carpio or another workers compensation law firm, take advantage of the free consultation and find out your rights immediately after your injury. 

Chad T. Snow is an attorney in Phoenix, Arizona who limits his practice to representing workers who have been injured on the job.  He can be reached at (602) 532-0700, (520) 647-9000, or through the firm's website at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley.

FRIENDLY REMINDERS FOR INJURED WORKERS

FRIENDLY REMINDERS FOR INJURED WORKERS

Your doctor releases you to light duty work. You must go back to your employer where you were injured and see if they have light duty work available for you. If your employer does not have light duty work, you must look for light duty work within your work restrictions in good faith. Look for 3-4 jobs per month and keep a record of them. Most employers will not hire you, but the law requires you to look for work. Remember to ask your doctor each time what your work restrictions are, if any.

When you are seeing a doctor, don’t exaggerate your symptoms. For example, never say your pain is 10 out of 10, or that you never get out of bed. If you over-exaggerate your symptoms, the doctor is not likely to believe you. It is o.k. to say that you have good days and bad days, and that sometimes you are able to do more things than other times. This includes filling out questionnaires in doctors’ offices. Never indicate that your symptoms affect you to the most severe level possible. If they move you, pull you, touch you and it doesn’t hurt do not say it hurts, if it hurts then say it hurts. There is no need to exaggerate your symptoms. Simply be honest.

Be aware that occasionally insurance companies do surveillance of injured workers. You do not need to become paranoid and think that you are always being followed; just do not act one way in the doctor’s office and another way in public. If you tell the doctor you cannot do certain activities and you are caught doing them on surveillance, a judge will probably not believe you. Remember your work restrictions, if you do not know your work restrictions you will not know what you can or cannot do. Knowing your work restrictions is essential to your case.

Keep our office informed. If you move, tell us. If your phone is disconnected, let us know how we can get a hold of you. If AHCCS or your private healthcare insurance will pay for your surgery because the workers’ compensation carrier is failing to authorize, under Arizona law we must provide the insurance carrier adequate notice in writing of your upcoming surgery for them to be possibly liable for it in the future. Do not have a surgery without telling us first. If you see a new doctor or are treating with another doctor please tell us. We must be aware of all the doctors that are treating you. We can represent you best when we know everything about your case.

Your attorney is always willing to meet with you to discuss your case. However, just like with your doctor, you need to make an appointment first. We are usually busy throughout the day going to court, depositions, and meeting other clients. Make sure you let our staff know the purpose of your appointment so the attorney knows what your meeting will be about.

Be careful what information you put on public social media sites. Insurance carriers have become very skilled at getting negative information about injured workers from social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or MySpace. Be aware that information you put on public social media sites can be used against you in court even if your profile is set to private.

You can reach any of our staff anytime at their e-mail address, which is (the person’s first name) @snowcarpio.com. For example, Mr. Snow’s e-mail is chad@snowcarpio.com, Mr. Carpio’s is alex@snowcarpio.com – the same for everyone in the firm. This is often the best way to get a hold of us and get a quick response. You can also see all of our services at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley. However, if it is something complicated or you do not have access to email please call us to set up an appointment.

Disturbing Talk About What Your Doctor Doesn't Know

I have an app on my I-phone to a website called ted.com that has interesting speakers lecturing about a variety of timely topics. Listened to one this morning that is jaw-dropping in its revelations about what doctors don't know about the medications they prescribe and incredibly damning of the concept of "evidence based medicine" that many insurance carriers would like to make the hallmark of the Arizona Workers Compensation system.  A link to the talk is below. 

What Doctors Don't Know About the Drugs They Prescribe

Goldacre is a physician/researcher who talks about how negative trials of medicines or treatments don't get published in peer-reviewed medical journals because they aren't as sexy.  As a result, doctors don't have all the information they need about medications and this can result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of patients a year due to uninformed doctors. 

The part that caught my attention as a workers compensation attorney was what Goldacre described as the "cancer at the core of evidence based medicine".  EBM is a system of medical care in which individual doctors' choices are severely limited to pre-determined treatment based on "evidence" of research that has been done on that specific diagnosis.  Goldacre exposes the severe fundamental flaws in relying on the "literature" in making treatment decisions. 

Chad T. Snow is an attorney practicing in Phoenix and Tucson Arizona who represents workers injured on the job.  He can be reached through his firm's website: Snow, Carpio, and Weekley.

What is a Functional Capacity Evaluation (Arizona Work Injury Claims)

In many Arizona workers compensation cases, the injured workers permanent restrictions dictate how much compensation is received for their injuries.  Determining permanent work restrictions is an art, and restrictions can vary significantly between doctors.  For example, John Beghin, a local spine surgeon who is the darling of the insurance carriers, believes that anyone who has had spine surgery is magically healed and rarely recommends permanent work restrictions.  To say that a 60 year old man with a three level spine fusion can return to work as a roofer is a little ridiculous, but I digress...

One manner that some doctors prefer to use to determine work restrictions is a Functional Capacity Evaluation.  Most of these evaluations are done by physical or occupational therapists and involve several hours, often over two or three days, simulating work-like activities and measuring the injured workers tolerance of those activities.  It seems to be a more objective measure of work capability than the doctor pulling restrictions out of....  (My partner, Alex Carpio, once had a client who weighed 98 pounds that the insurance carrier's doctor said could life up to 100 pounds on a continuous basis in spite of her back surgery!) 

Chad Snow is a workers compensation attorney at the firm of Snow & Carpio.  With offices in Phoenix and Tucson Arizona, he can be reached at (602) 532-0700, (520) 647-9000, or on the firm's website at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley.

What Pharmacy to Use When Injured at Work in Arizona

A trend I have seen in the last couple of years in Arizona workers compensation claims is carriers trying to steer injured workers to use pharmacies with whom they have special discount arrangements.  Many times, the carrier will send out a "prescription card" or some other method of making the injured worker believe that they are required to use that pharmacy or network.  As with many things carriers try to do, this is not the case!

Just like selecting a treating doctor, an injured worker in Arizona has the right to choose his or her own pharmacy.  Many doctors self-dispense medications which is a great convenience for the injured worker.  We have also had a very good experience and highly recommend Injured Workers Pharmacy(IWP), which is a very reputable nationwide pharmacy specializing in servicing those injured on the job.  What I like about IWP is that they fill the prescription immediately and deal with the insurance company later, which ensures that our clients get their medications as soon as possible. 

Any questions about medical treatment or pharmacy needs in an Arizona work injury claim can be directed to our firm through our website at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley.

Bad Faith in Arizona Work Comp Claims

I have written previously about "bad faith" as it pertains to an Arizona workers compensation claim.  Insurance carriers have a duty to process a claim in "good faith", which means that they cannot take any action which is arbitrary, capricious, or does not have a reasonable basis in fact.  For example, a carrier cannot just deny a claim because they want to - they have to have a legitimate reason for doing so.  A carrier that is found to have committed bad faith in a work injury claim in Arizona can be forced to pay a penalty of $500 or 25% of the amount in issue, whichever is greater. 

Some of the more common examples of bad faith in Arizona work comp claims are carriers failing to pay compensation in a timely manner, carriers refusing to approve recommended medical care, and claim representatives having improper communications with a represented applicant.  The Industrial Commission's Claims Division, under the new leadership of attorney Melinda Poppe, seems to be taking legitimate complaints of bad faith and unfair claims processing seriously. 

Chad Snow is a workers comp attorney in Arizona, with offices in Phoenix and Tucson. He can be reached at the firm's website at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley.

Notices of Average Monthly Wage

One of the most important things we do as workers compensation attorneys is make sure that the injured worker's "average monthly wage" (AMW) has been set correctly.  This is important because all compensation that an injured worker receives in their claim is based on the AMW. There are various methods of calculating the AMW.  The presumptive method is by taking the injured worker's earnings during the 30 days prior to the injury.  If the 30 days prior does not accurately reflect what the worker earned during an average month, the Industrial Commission can "expand the wage base" - taking a longer period of time and coming to a monthly average.  For example, if a construction worker had fewer hours in the month before his injury due to bad weather, it may be favorable to take an average of the monthly earnings during the prior 12 months. 

The problem in calculating the Average Monthly Wage is that the current process is almost entirely in the hands of the insurance carrier, which has an obvious interest in setting the wage at the lowest possible amount.  The carrier is supposed to issue a form 108 within 30 days of the injury, which sets the AMW.   The ICA then can either adopt this recommended wage or set a different wage, although they rarely vary from what the carrier has recommended. 

There are rumors that the Commission's Claims Division is going to start seeking input from the injured worker prior to determining the wage.  This should result in a fairer and more accurate calculation of the worker's true earnings. 

Chad T. Snow is a workers compensation attorney in Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.  He can be reached at (602) 532-0700, (520) 647-9000, or on the firm's website at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley. 

Maximum Average Monthly Wage for 2012

The Industrial Commission of Arizona has calculated the maximum average monthly wage for work injuries occurring in calendar year 2013 at $4,185.78.  This is a 74% increase in the maximum wage since 2007.  In 2006 a group of attorneys who represent injured workers in Arizona lobbied at the state legislature for an increase in the maximum wage, which had been stuck at $2,400 for several years and was among the lowest in the country.  The wage has been increased to $3,000 in 2008, $3,600 in 2009, with indexed increases every year since.  This is a boon for higher wage workers with permanently disabling injuries, who previously were only compensated a small fraction of their lost earning capacity.

Snow, Carpio, and Weekley

Best Time to Get an Attorney In Arizona Work Comp Claim

Too many of our clients and prospective clients wait too long to get an attorney in their cases.  The best time to get an attorney is as soon as possible after your injury.  Most Arizona Workers Compensation attorneys offer a free consultation and it is always best to know your rights from the very beginning.  Clients who wait until their claim is closed or their compensation or medical treatment have been cut off are very difficult to help.  By that time, the file may be full of medical reports that are unfavorable to your claim.  Your average monthly wage is usually set shortly after your injury and is often set incorrectly by the carrier.  If you wait too long to hire an attorney, it may be too late to protest an incorrectly set wage - upon which all compensation paid is based. 

At Snow & Carpio, there are many things we can do early on in a case to insure that we obtain a more favorable result for our client when it comes time to settle their case.  These include selecting supportive doctors, ensuring compensation is paid correctly, keeping nurse case managers off the case, and making sure that all body parts injured are accepted.  Also, since we usually only charge a fee on the compensation that is paid at the end of your case, you are paying the same fee regardless of whether you hire us at the end or the beginning.  Hiring us earlier makes our job easier, and your case better. 

Chad T. Snow is a workers compensation attorney with the firm of Snow, Carpio, and Weekley, PLC.  With offices in Phoenix and Tucson, the firm handles exclusively workers compensation and Social Security Disability claims.

Social Media in Workers Compensation Claims

We have had a number of clients recently whose claims have been negatively impacted by information that the carrier has obtained through the injured worker's social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Instagram, etc.  Remember that insurance carriers have tremendous resources to find information upon which to base a denial of a claim, denial of treatment, or cutting off of compensation.  Be very careful with the information you post on public social media and aware that it may negatively impact your case.  Here's some free legal advice based on a few unfortunately very real examples: 

Do not post pictures of your recent river trip three weeks after your shoulder surgery!

Do not put links to your favorite porn sites on your Facebook!

Do not list a current employer when you are telling the carrier and ICA that you aren't working!

Don't have your friends posting all over your wall about all of your partying!  Even though you can still have a good time when you're injured, it doesn't look good. 

Remember that if you ever have to go to court on any issue in your claim, your credibility will be at issue.  Anything you post on your Facebook or other social media can and will be used against you!


Chad Snow is a workers compensation attorney with office in Phoenix and Tucson.  He can be reached at (602) 532-0700, (520) 647-9000, or through Snow, Carpio, and Weekley's website.

Ever wonder if those Ergonomic Keyboards really make a difference?

According to a CDC report, "....there is little information to assist

people interested in purchasing alternative keyboards. While the scientific evidence about whether alternative keyboards prevent musculoskeletal disorders is inconclusive at

this time, this document provides basic information about common alternative

keyboard designs and their effects on work posture".

I tried out one of these funny looking keyboard awhile back and it brought nothing but frustration. It slowed down my typing, cause me to making numerous typing errors and in the end; I put it away in the supply closet and brought back out my old, flat, nothing fancy keyboard.

If your curious about all the different types of ergonomic keyboards and what they are supposed to help with, check out this article: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/97-148/pdfs/97-148.pdf.

Snow, Carpio, Weekley

Blog posted today by April Lang, Business Manager

in the absence of Chad Snow, Attorney.

Here it is!

Attorney at Law Magazine - July Issue featuring Snow and Carpio, PLC as Law Firm of the Month!


Click on the link to be directed to the publication directly.

Keep Your Attorney Informed

Our office at Snow, Carpio, and Weekley have had a recent rash of clients who have failed to keep my office informed about their whereabouts. Oftentimes in workers comp cases, your attorney needs to get a hold of you on short notice for medical appointments, court appointments and other information regarding your case. If we cant get a hold of you, oftentimes it makes it impossible to represent you adequately. If you have an attorney, make sure you always keep them informed about how they can reach you.

Welcome to Dustin Vidrine, a new attorney at our firm!

Dustin is a native of Ville Platte, Louisiana, and has resided in Arizona since 2006-living in Tucson for five years prior to calling Phoenix home.  He completed his undergraduate studies at Louisiana State University, earning a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Political Science in 1999.  Dustin subsequently attended the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at Louisiana State University, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Civil Law (BCL) and a Juris Doctorate (JD) in 2006. In addition to being licensed in Louisiana, he is licensed in Arizona and with the US Federal Court, District of Arizona. Prior to joining Snow, Carpio, and Weekley, Dustin practiced primarily in the areas of Social Security Disability Law, Personal Injury Litigation, and Consumer Bankruptcy Law.  Currently, he devotes his entire practice to pursuing Social Security Disability claims on behalf of disabled workers throughout the State of Arizona.

Don't forget to check out Snow, Carpio, and Weekley's official firm Facebook page. Make sure to "like" it so that you can get the weekly updates!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Snow-and-Carpio-Workers-Compensation-and-SSD-Attorneys/129899957064544



Look for the July 2012

Attorney at Law Magazine.

Snow and Carpio will be featured as Law Firm of the Month!

Congratulations

to the

Snow, Carpio, and Weekley Soccer Team

for advancing to the next round in the play-offs!

Look Who's Coming to  a Magazine Near You!

Snow and Carpio and Weekley, PLC

and our Attorneys Chad Snow, Alex Carpio and Erica Gonzalez-Melendez

will be featured in the July 2012 issue of Attorney at Law magazine!

Look for the article about our firm, photos of of our attorneys and information on our community activism and our amazing legal team!

Blog updated by April Snow, Office Manager

Safety Tip of the Day:



Safety Tip of the Day:

 

Don’t eat at your workstation and in front of your computer.

Eating in the workplace saves time but, be sure though that it is not done near computers and other electrical equipment.

Accidents caused by water must be avoided at all cost.

Snow, Carpio, and Weekley

Arizona Legislature Tries to Screw Injured Workers

There is an old saying that while you might not take an interest in politics, politics definitely takes an interest in you.  That is very true for injured workers during this session of the Arizona legislature.  Two bills in particular could result in very negative changes for those injured on the job.  Representative Karen Fann from Prescott has introduced the bills, almost definitely at the behest of ALEC, a national organization funded by large corporations that tries to enact changes in state legislatures which will enrich said large corporations, often at the expense of working people. 

The first bill would force all injured workers to treat with doctors chosen for them by the insurance carriers - a sort of workers comp HMO.  You can imagine the disastrous results this would cause for injured workers.  Most carriers would enlist a panel of extremely conservative doctors whose primary concern would be to cut costs for the carrier in order to maintain the relationship.  These doctors would provide a minimal amount of treatment and then tell the worker that they are fine and can go back to full work - even if they aren't.  This happens all the time currently when workers allow their care to be directed by the insurance company. 

The second bill would force treating doctors to follow pre-determined guidelines set by an out-of-state group - again with the goal being cost reductions for the carrier.  It would remove any independent judgement on the part of the doctor and severely limit their ability to treat injured workers according to their experience and on a case by case basis. 

As soon as Karen Fann and the rest of the legislature enlists in an HMO where their doctors are told what treatment they can do, I'll advise my clients to follow right behind.  In the meantime, we'll keep fighting!

Chad T. Snow and X. Alex Carpio are attorneys who limit their practice to workers compensation and Social Security Disability with offices in Phoenix and Tucson Arizona.  They can be reached at (602) 532-0700 or (520) 647-9000.