Yes. And they do. All the time. They didn’t use to be allowed to do that, but very very often they did anyway. Successful lobbying with Gov. McCrory and the political leaders in the legislature lead to a huge change in the law. Now employers can talk to your doctor but are not required to tell you immediately that the conversation occurred or what the details of the conversation were.
Is this necessarily bad? While we doubt that doctors are engaged in conniving with adjusters we don’t really understand what all the secrecy is about. The old law required the adjuster or employer to write to the doctor but to let the injured worker see the letter before it went out so that they could ask for anything to be added. That seemed really fair. Why did insurance adjusters and employers want this changed? It doesn’t seem to be an exaggeration to say they must have had a motive if they were going to lobby the government to change that requirement. So it’s fair to say that they specifically want to be able to communicate with the doctor.
One of the laws that Gov. McCrory enacted prohibited the Industrial Commission from forcing an employer to decide to accept or deny the claim within a month of having actual written knowledge of the claim. Thus the adjuster has thirty days within which to hold back on all payment without any repercussions against her whatsoever. It is our observation from speaking with a lot of claimants with modest injuries that they are sorely tempted to give up their claim and beg the doctor to return them to full duty because they cannot afford to go a whole month without pay. While some adjusters may dispute the insinuation that this is a goal of theirs, the fact that it occurs is beyond dispute.
If you do not have a note from a doctor taking you out of work, and if the doctor wasn’t one the adjuster or the employer sent you to, then you can be assured that the checks are going to be a little slower getting started. And if you have a note returning you to work but you haven’t gone back because it hurts too much – without another out-of-work note from the doctor it’s going to be difficult. It can be done but it often requires an attorney’s help in doing so.
They can and they will. It makes no sense to us but it is legal for private investigators to follow you and film you. Why this isn’t stalking is beyond our understanding. Some insurance companies such as Stonewood use private investigators in a very large percentage of their cases. We should note that Stonewood has repeatedly complained that we say this and have, through their attorneys, suggested that they would file ethics charges against us if we didn’t stop. Yet even some of those attorneys admit that what we are saying is true.
The law is that a private investigator is not supposed to trespass, nor are they supposed to be peering into your windows after dark, tapping into your phone lines, or placing a tracking device on your vehicles. We’ve heard numerous stories of investigators violating all of those rules.
Victims of car accidents are often in situations that they don’t understand or know how to deal with. In addition there may be medical issues or insurance questions. To protect your rights, you need to know what to do after an accident.
The personal injury attorneys at Oxner Permar + Richardson have decades of experience helping accident victims get fair compensation for their injuries. Here are a few tips about what to do if you are in a car wreck.
Don’t worry! Now you know what to do if you’re the victim of a car accident. We hope it never happens to you but if it does you can always give us a call to speak with an experienced personal injury attorney.
Afternoon naps, limited household chores, and unscheduled days lounging around the house. Looking from the outside, being a Social Security Disability (SSD) recipient seems a like a great deal. Receive income without working? Fantastic!
What some people do not know is that those afternoon naps may be required because of chronic fatigue or negative side-effects of a prescribed medication. Household chores are limited because the disabled person is physically unable to bend/stoop/push/pull/lift without excruciating pain. Lastly, staying at home may be the only option if driving causes intense pain or being in social situations induces paralyzing panic attacks.
Some people believe the current SSD program encourages able-bodied people to stay out of work. While this dream-world might be true for a very small percentage of cases, if we look a little closer, a different picture begins to appear.
As of November 2015, the average monthly benefit for a Disability recipient was $1,165.76. That makes for a yearly income of $13,989.12, which is only $2,219.12 above the 2015 Poverty Guideline for a one-person household. Looking at these numbers, it becomes clear that Disability payments do not provide for luxury goods.
Just in case you’re curious – in 2014 the average able-bodied American’s salary was $46,481.52 a year.
Aside from the limited financial aspects, it is also important to remember that the majority of individuals receiving Disability payments are battling severe medical problems. Health dominates their thoughts, controls their actions, and affects their relationships with family, friends, and loved ones.
Lastly, did you know that 1 out of every 5 males and 1 out of every 7 females on Disability will die within 5 years of getting approved? This dire statistic supports the idea that those individuals would not have been active within the workforce, regardless of if they were on disability or not.
The Social Security Administration’s Monthly Statistical Snapshot can be found at: http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/
