Article Categories | Joe Miller Law, Ltd.

Medicare and Workers’ Compensation- Prevention of Double Recovery

The reason for a Medical Set-Aside (MSA) is to prevent a double recovery. Simply, the federal government, through its Medicare program, believes that your worker’s compensation benefits are the primary source for payment of worker related injury expenses. Medicare wants to make sure injured workers are not paid twice, once by Workers’ Compensation carrier and …

What Is the Medicare Set-Aside Requirement (MSA)?

Part and parcel of any settlement calculation of a workers’ compensation claim is figuring the costs of future medical care. Ideally, the calculations will be perfect and the money the insurance company pays for your medical care matches what you actually need during your lifetime. Often, though, the calculation is not correct and you end …

Medical Non-Compliance

In addition to using a nurse case manager and a vocational rehabilitation counselor to try to terminate your workers’ compensation benefits, there are other indirect tricks the insurance carrier for the employer will try.

Rehabilitation Transportation Costs and Other Costs

The employee is entitled to be reimbursed for expenses incurred in meeting with and complying with the Vocational Rehabilitation Officer. This includes mileage costs to see the VCR for rehabilitation meetings and the mileage cost to attend interviews, obtain and return applications

Medical Aspects of Vocational Rehabilitation-the Nurse Case Manager

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission has many guidelines for the Nurse Case Manager counsel regarding the medical treatment of the employee. These guidelines hold that:

The Role of the Employee’s Lawyer in Vocational Rehabilitation

The employee is entitled to hire an attorney to represent his worker’s compensation cases. Our firm strongly suggests every claimant have qualified Virginia legal Workers Compensation counsel. The Guidelines from the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Commission directly address the role of the employee’s attorney as follows:

Virginia Guidelines for– Meetings between Employee and the Job Counselor

The Virginia Guidelines for meetings between the employee and the vocational rehabilitation counselor are regulated as follows:

Things a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor Cannot Do in Virginia

The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor is subject to the Virginia Worker’s Compensation Law. This means the VCR has to follow these Commission Rules for his recommendations to be valid. Some of the things a VCR cannot do are:

Typical Vocational Rehabilitation Manager Scenario

There are many reasons why an employee may ask to reschedule a meeting with the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor. The employee can be ill, there can be a family function or matter to attend to, the employee may not have transportation to the Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor (VCR) that day. On occasion, the employee may forget about the meeting.

Can Your Lawyer Approve a Workers’ Comp Settlement Without Your Permission in North Carolina?

No attorney can or should approve settlement of any legal matter including a North Carolina worker’s compensation case without your permission. Your lawyer works for you and you have the right to be informed and the right to make the decision as to settlement. As a practical matter, workers’ compensation settlements are approved through a strictly enforced process which requires that the client sign off on the settlement before it will be approved. The most a North Carolina Workers’ Compensation lawyer can do is recommend a settlement and explain the pros and cons of settling versus continuing with the litigation.