© 2012, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

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.Many hearings are scheduled because the Employer’s MCO (medical care organization) denies medical treatment and the injured worker files an appeal to the denial. Other hearings take place when the employer or the BWC try to get an injured worker off temporary total disability compensation (the money you get when you can’t work) by saying the worker has reached MMI (maximum medical improvement). There are hearings on other issues as well.

Bottom line, an injured worker can’t fight the system alone against the lawyers hired to represent the interests of the employer and the BWC.

You should get a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney to represent you.  A Board Certified Specialist can protect all of your legal interests at the BWC and the ICO (Industrial Commission of Ohio).

Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Once the claim is allowed, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (OhioBWC) or an Ohio Self Insured Employer may issue compensation which includes, but is not limited to: temporary total disability compensation (“TTD”), one of several types of wage loss, which can include non-working wage loss, working wage loss; and/or living maintenance payment. But, most times, there are continuing legal issues related to payments made.

Compensation resulting from inability to work or for loss of extension, flexion, and/or rotation may be payable once a claim is allowed.

In general, temporary total disability compensation (TTD) is paid when an employee is injured in the course of and scope of employment and cannot return to work.  The fight may begin when the injured workers’  own doctor labels the worker TTD, but another doctor (either on behalf of the BWC or the employer) finds the injured worker capable of returning to work.

In this situation, having a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney in your corner can help prevent termination of your TTD, or a premature return to work where further injury or complications may occur. A premature return to work could prevent full healing or cause further injury, or unnecessary complications.

Having issues with the OhioBWC or your employer in your Ohio Work Comp claim? You need a specialist in your corner. Call Mike Gruhin, Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney.  Don’t wait, there are time limits.

Wage Loss Compensation for Injured Workers

The Ohio BWC may also pay an injured worker wage loss compensation (WL). Generally speaking, wage loss compensation is payable where an injured worker:  Suffers a loss in earnings and the loss is directly attributable to the allowed conditions in his/her claim.

There are 3 types of wage loss compensation under Ohio Work Comp:  Working wage loss, Non-working wage loss, Living maintenance wage loss. Contact a Board Certified Specialist to see if you qualify for wage loss compensation.

Additional Resources

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

Ohio Workers’ Compensation Lump Sum Settlement – Should you ‘cash out’ your claim? Is that the right move to make?

If you have an allowed OhioBWC claim, you are eligible to seek workers’ compensation benefits. You might be contacted by the employer or the employer’s representative with a lump sum settlement offer. You might be tempted to take a lump sum cash payout instead of getting biweekly payments based on your full weekly wage / average weekly wage and payment of medical and prescription bills.

In order to determine if a lump sum settlement is in your best interest, you have to understand all of the options available to you under your Ohio Workers’ Compensation claim. In order to get the information you need, you should seek the advice of a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney. Taking a lump sum payment to close your claim without the advice of a specialist is the wrong move and can lead to financial and medical disaster.

The advice and knowledge of a Board Certified Specialist Attorney is critically important.  You should ask for your free no obligation consultation with Mike Gruhin.

Understand how to maximize OhioBWC benefits before you settle your claim.  Learn that settlement closes out all future compensation benefits, that’s money for you and payment of your medical expenses.

Sometimes a settlement is not in your best interest. Don’t let a big dollar settlement offer tempt you to close your claim without understanding the future value of your claim. Your employer or its attorneys know the future value of the claim and that’s why they act to close out your claim.

You need a Board Certified Specialist Attorney to help you get through the legal maze and understand the legal mumbo jumbo.  Don’t be fooled.  You need a specialist representing your legal interests and helping you understand what the right decision might be for your unique situation.

You have questions, Mike Gruhin has the answers. Contact us today to find out what your rights are and get the peace of mind you need.

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

It’s been a long, hard week and I apologize for the lack of postings on the blog and here where I post legal items of interest regarding injury claims, and Ohio Worker’s compensation claims. Mike Gruhin together with co-counsel, John Vanik, were in jury trial all week against a major Cleveland Area workers’ comp self-insured (SI) employer. Under Ohio Workers’ Compensation Law, if a company has over 500 employees, it can be self insuring for work comp.  If any readers were injured in the employment of a self-insured employer, you know how litigious your work comp claim can be and usually is. In this case, I have to believe the SI employer spent thousands of dollars to deny & fight our client’s work comp claim.   But the jury saw through the employer’s “smoke & mirrors” and disregarded BOTH of the HIRED doctors’ testimony. John  & I successfully discredited the employer’s expert witnesses – a Board Certified Occupational Health & Internal Medicine doctor AND a Board Certified Orthopeadic Surgeon. Gruhin & Gruhin showed the jury the real story through the testimony of our client, his wife, his co-worker who was at the scene of the injury and who worked with our client for many years before and for a short time after the injury, together with our expert medical witness, our client’s treating doctor. That testimony, backed up by the medical records, sank the SI employer’s ship.  I am glad to report that the jury paid attention to every aspect of the trial. Bottom line, the 8 jury members voted 8-0 in favor of Gruhin & Gruhin’s client.  With Gruhin & Gruhin, our clients can and do fight ‘city hall’.  This is our 12th trial over the past few years and , I am glad to report, our 12th win in a row.  Let’s hear it for our clients, “the little guy”, who can go up against Goliath and win.  If you have an Ohio Work Comp claim, feel free to contact Gruhin & Gruhin to discuss your claim with Mike Gruhin, Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney. Check out our client’s video testimonials, hear how we protect our client’s rights.  Thanks for reading our blog.   Mike Gruhin.

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

Violation of a Specific Safety Requirement

An injured worker may be entitled to an additional award if the employer violates a specific safety requirement (“VSSR”) enacted for the protection of the life, health or safety of employees.  Read on…….Do you think your employer’s unsafe work conditions caused you to have an on the job injury?  If you do, then you need to discuss your claim with a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Attorney.

A VSSR award is in addition to other forms of compensation and is considered to be a “penalty” assessed against the employer.  But like the round peg going into the square hole, if the accident does not fit the specific categories of the Ohio Administrative Code related to VSSR definitions, there is no VSSR.  Even if  the Federal Occupational Health & Safety Administration (OSHA) finds a violation, that does not necessarily mean that it comports to an Ohio VSSR violation.

The Industrial Commission has discretion to determine the amount of the award, but the award may not be greater than 50% nor less than 15% of the maximum award established by law for the year of injury. Check out our website for more information related to Ohio Workers’ Compensation Claims and your legal rights.

1. For complete information pertaining to a VSSR action, contact Mike Gruhin, Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney. The consultation is free, so why wait? There are time limits, so don’t jeopardize your claim or lose money benefits.

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

Been hurt on the job?  You may be entitled to money awards and medical benefits for your injuries.  But to protect your legal right to money awards and medical benefits you should get a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney in order to avoid missing out on all of the benefits to which you are entitled. At Gruhin & Gruhin, Mike Gruhin, “The Ohio Work Comp Specialist” will guide you through the compensation process, the bureaucratic maze, and the legal mumbo jumbo.  Mike has decades of experience successfully representing Ohio’s injured workers.

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

A self-insured employer has 10 days to respond to an Ohio Workers’ Compensation  C9 Form request from the Physician of Record (POR).

You need to make certain that your POR keeps a fax transmittal sheet to prove the date the C9 was sent to the Sepf Insured Employer’s third party administrator (TPA).  Failure on the part of the SI employer to respond within the 10 day period, pursuant to OhioBWC rules, is considered permitting the treatment requested on the C9.

With regard to a state fund claim, the Ohio BWC has 3 days to respond.

If the SI Employer does not respond within 10 days, an injured worker can file a self-insured complaint with the Ohio BWC.

If you have a work comp claim with an Ohio Self Insured employer (SI), you need the representation of a Board Certified Ohio Workers’ Compensation Specialist Attorney.

Mike Gruhin is an OhioBWC certified specialist attorney.

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

A transgender man in New Jersey filed a discrimination lawsuit last week that could break new ground across the country, turning on the question of who is or is not a man. An employer fired El’Jai Devoureau because it said being male was a legitimate job qualification for his position at a drug treatment center, although Devoureau identifies as a man and has lived as a man throughout his life.
New York Times

© 2011, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

Yesterday, I received a call from a prospective client regarding a workers’ compensation claim. This injured worker stated that the employer stated that it did not have any BWC coverage, so a claim should not be made.

The injured worker believed that if there is no coverage, there can be no claim. To make matters, the worker sent in a letter saying the injury did not take place during work to see if health insurance would cover all of the medical bills from the serious injury suffered on the job.

In Ohio, even if your employer has no BWC coverage, you can still make a claim. The employer would be considered a non-complying employer by the BWC. Once the injured worker is granted a valid BWC claim, the BWC pays all of the compensation (medical bills, prescriptions, lost wages, injury money, etc.). The injured worker is fully covered.

The BWC then goes after the non-complying employer and seeks reimbursement dollar for dollar. The bottom line – if you get hurt on the job, make an accident report, tell a co-worker, get medical attention if necessary, and call a workers’ compensation specialist.

You can’t go it alone. The climate in BWC is not employee friendly. You need protection in order to obtain all of the benefits to which you are entitled

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© 2009, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.

Many employers refuse to settle workers’ compensation claims while the claim is in their experience rating period. That rating period for most state fund employers is 5 years. After the 5 year period, any settlement, no matter what the amount, is not charged to the employer’s risk. How do you calculate the end of the 5 year period?

As an example, you are injured October 4, 2004. The 5 year period includes 2004. Therefore, the 5 year risk period expires on 12/31/08. On 1/1/09, the employer is clear of any monetary obligation towards that claim.

If you are interested in settling your Ohio BWC claim, give us a call. We would like to discuss and review your claim to determine if you should settle or if there are more advantageous alternatives for you to pursue.

© 2009, Gruhin & Gruhin Attorney's. All rights reserved.