You’ve been injured on the job, but because of your injury restrictions you’re unable to return to work at your former position or former hours.
What can you do to protect yourself when you receive a lower rate of pay. What can you do about the difference between your pre-injury earnings and post-injury reduced wages? Read on . . . . Read the rest of this entry »
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
Written by: Michael H. Gruhin
Why Do I Need an Attorney If I’m Already Getting BWC Checks? This was a question asked by an injured worker today. No one wants to pay for something he/she can do on their own. That’s common sense. However, the OhioBWC is not the place where you want to get “on the job training”. The OhioBWC has its lawyers to protect its interests. And, the employer has attorneys to protect its interests as well. Who is looking out for you legal interests when you go it alone. So, the answer to the question is simple – this is what a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney will do for you, even if you are already receiving your BWC checks (temporary total for being off work):
1) I make sure that your claim is allowed for the complete and correct allowance – many times it is not when you go it alone or with a non-specialist attorney. Doctors, who diagnose a sprain/strain injury, many times do not want to take the time to seek additional allowances in the claim. The BWC is a paper intensive entity. Getting new conditions requires written reports, potential Industrial Commission hearings, etc. But you need to know that additional allowances can mean more compensation for the injured worker and additional and/or specialist medical treatment.
2) I make sure that your wages have been set correctly by the BWC. An inured worker is paid based on wages earned from ALL employers during the 52 week period prior to the injury. If you were unemployed for part of the time, there is a special circumstances statute that can be used to seek an increase to the setting of your average weekly wage. If granted, you can seek additional weekly money compensation in your claim while you are off work due to the injury. An increase in your wage computation may also increase your injury money award.
3) There are many other reasons to get a Board Certified Ohio Work Comp attorney to represent you in your claim.
To find out more, call Mike Gruhin, Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney. But don’t wait – there are time limits.
If you are the victim of an Ohio Work Injury, call a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney to represent you. Protect yourself and your family.
Gruhin & Gruhin, Attorneys
Gruhin & Gruhin Facebook Fan Page
Mike Gruhin’s Personal Facebook Page
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
Even if you have an allowed OhioBWC claim, there are rules relating to the payment of medical bills.
The first step, in some instances, is having your Physician of Record request authorization for services. This is done through the utilization of a C-9 Request for Authorization Form. Once the request is authorized, the medical bill must be filed wihing 2 years from the date of service. If it is filed after the 2 year deadline, the bill will not be paid even if the procedure was approved and related to your allowed claim condition.
The bottom line: an Injured Worker should periodically check with his/her medical providers to make sure their medical bills are paid.
Additionally, according to OhioBWC rules, if your medical provider is OhioBWC Certified and has accepted payment from the BWC for your medical care, the provider cannot pursue you for any money billed over the amount paid by the BWC. In other words, the provider cannot chase an injured worker for payment in excess of the BWC UCR (usual and customary fee).
Ohio Administrative Code Section 4123-3-23 sets forth the Limitations on the filing of fee bills and payments by the OhioBWC:
Fee bills requesting payment for medical or other services rendered in a claim shall be filed with the bureau or commission within two years of the date on which the service was rendered or shall be forever barred. In cases where the claim was disallowed and by later action is allowed, such fee bills shall be filed within six months from the date of the mailing of the final order allowing the claim or be forever barred. Thus, a fee bill to be timely filed, must be filed either within two years from the date services were rendered or within six months from the date of the mailing of the final order of allowance of claim, whichever period of time is longer, or be forever barred.
If you are the victim of an Ohio Work Injury, call a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney to represent you. Protect yourself and your family.
Gruhin & Gruhin, Attorneys
Gruhin & Gruhin Facebook Fan Page
Mike Gruhin’s Personal Facebook Page
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
Your Ohio Work Comp Claim is allowed, but now you find out that you have additional conditions or flow through injuries – How can you add the condition(s) to the claim? Read on . . . . Read the rest of this entry »
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
Many people wonder if the Permanent Total Disability Compensation they receive will ever go up over time. The answer is maybe. . . . For more information, read on. Read the rest of this entry »
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
Jul 27
A certified specialist usually limits his/her practice of law to workers’ compensation. Why would you want an attorney that does ‘everything’ when you can get a specialist to represent you at the same contingency percentage. Call around and discuss your claim with a certified specialist. All initial consultations should be free, with no obligation to hire the lawyer. You can contact Mike Gruhin to discuss your claim, get information on the specialist way of handling your claim, and all at no cost or obligation.
Mike will explain Ohio Workers’ Compensation as it relates to the facts you give. Don’t wait, there are time limits.
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
I went to an Ohio Workers’ Compensation seminar yesterday and was informed that the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit is now checking Facebook pages of injured Ohio workers.
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
Jul 25
When a person is injured on the job, getting a work comp claim allowed can be a fight. Employers deny claims and fight the claim allowance in order to keep their rates down. Self insured employers are more litigious than other employers. Even the BWC has its doctors to render opinions of whether a claim condition should be allowed as a work accident claim. And both employers and the BWC have attorneys to protect their legal interests. In this economic climate, an injured worker just can’t go it alone. Read the rest of this entry »
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.
An accident on the job can cause devastating injuries which keep you from providing for your family. Every day in Ohio, workers are injured on the job. Work accidents and job injuries including, but not limited to, slip and falls, lifting, repetitive lifting, repetitive motion injuries (carpal tunnel, etc.) car crashes, defective products, failure to follow safety rules, occupational diseases, punch press injuries, construction site accidents, tow motor accidents, amputations, and more, are just a few examples of the many ways workers sustain injuries on the job.
Ohio Workers’ Compensation statutes provide for income benefits regardless of whether the injury was due to the employer’s negligence, the worker’s negligence, or the negligence of other employees. In Ohio, workers’ compensation is a no fault system. As long as a worker does not intentionally inflict him/herself with an injury, there is coverage.
Ohio’s workers’ compensation laws provides injured workers with temporary total disability compensation when you can’t work. An injured worker will also receive medical care, therapy, and rehabilitation services. These benefits are designed to protect you until you are able to return to work and once again help to provide for your family.
In Ohio, all businesses employing three or more workers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. You are covered by workers’ compensation from your first day on the job until your last day.
If you have been injured on the job, it is important to immediately call a board certified Ohio workers’ compensation specialist attorney. Workers’ compensation can be very confusing to an injured worker. You will need a specialist attorney to help you get through the bureaucratic red tape and the legal mumbo jumbo. There are time limits, so call now.
Mike Gruhin is a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney. There are only 152 certified specialists in the state of Ohio. And, did you know that many lawyers who take on Ohio work comp cases are NOT specialists? Choose your work comp lawyer wisely. Choose Mike Gruhin.
Benefits
In Ohio, you are entitled to bi-weekly income benefits if your injury keeps you away from work for more than seven days, until you reach maximum medical improvement (MMI). You are entitled to receive a percentage of your full weekly wage and a percentage of your average weekly wage. There are many benefits available to injured workers, but the employer and the BWC usually doesn’t tell you about everything you are entitled to receive.
Don’t guess what your rights are. Call Mike Gruhin, Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney.
The Process
In order to seek the benefits you”re entitled to receive you must file a claim within tw0 years of the injury date. There are other time limits so you should consult with a Board Certified Specialist. Call Mike Gruhin to find out what your rights are and what time limits apply to your claim.
After filing your claim with the OhioBWC, your claim will begin the time frame process. The process follows this time frame.
If you or a family member has been injured on the job, give Mike Gruhin a call at (216) 861-5555 to discuss your claim or send an email to start the communication process to discuss your OhioBWC claim.
Mike has years of experience with the OhioBWC. Let his experience help you find the right doctors to assist you in your recovery from your injuries and to get you back on your feet. Mike has successfully represented Ohio’s work force throughout the state and those who were injured in the service of an Ohio employer.
Have an Ohio claim, but now live out of state? Call Mike. He has the experience to represent injured workers who now live outside of Ohio.
In the event of any type of Ohio work injury, or Ohio job accident, a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney should be contacted to advise an injured worker on all the benefits available in such an industrial accident. There are time limits, so protect yourself and call now.
Contact Mike Gruhin, Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney. Find out your rights and protect yourself and your family!
© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.