INJURED AT WORK?

One of the biggest challenges in representing injured workers in the State of Nevada is helping each of them get their benefits, especially medical treatment authorized as quickly as possible, after they have been injured at work and filed a workers’ compensation claim.

This can be even harder to understand considering the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act requires interpretation of the laws to ensure the quick and efficient payment of compensation to employees who are injured or disabled at a reasonable cost to the employers who are subject to the provisions of those chapters.

At Muslusky Law, our focus is helping our clients get all of their accident benefits and compensation as quickly as possible! These benefits can range anywhere from medical, surgical, hospital or other treatments, nursing, medicine, medical and surgical supplies, crutches and apparatus, including prosthetic devices, preventative treatment and money to replace an injured workers’ wages if the injured worker is taken off of work due to a surgery, or has work restrictions which the employer cannot accommodate. Benefits could include mileage reimbursement for travelling to various medical appointments if the injured worker qualifies for same. Compensation often comes at the end of the case if an injured worker ends up suffering a ratable, permanent impairment, or becomes permanently and totally disabled.

While it may seem obvious, the Insurer should authorize and expedite whatever the doctors request, such as testing, imaging, therapy, injections, surgeries, etc., and oftentimes other issues arise which delay things. Assuming the injured worker’s claim is accepted, many injured workers make the mistake that the full extent of their injuries are known and accepted by the workers compensation insurance companies.

One of the most litigated issues is the “scope” of the claim. Often, injured workers are initially diagnosed with sprain/ strain type of injuries if x-rays fail to show broken bones, and before additional imaging such as CT scans or MRIs are ordered. Even more difficult to initially diagnose can be spine injuries, which are often given the “sprain/strain” diagnosis by the initial doctors who are typically clinic-based. Many times, more significant injuries are not diagnosed unless an injured worker sees a specialist. Also critical are the time limits wherein an injured worker can initially choose their own physician in the first 90 days of the claim or choose a second doctor if unhappy with the first doctor.

Time is of the essence when it comes to locating a law firm which covets the opportunity to make the injured worker’s treatment flow as quickly as possible! The various deadlines, if missed, can have far-reaching and potentially devasting consequences if the right attorney is not chosen as quickly as possible. And if the case goes into litigation, our clients are represented by one of the first Workers’ Compensation Specialists recognized by the Nevada State Bar in 2019. Don’t wait until it is too late. MV