New York Workers Compensation Alliance

Amid growing opposition to the AMA Guidelines to Permanent Impairment in a multitude of states across the country ( see the excellent blog post from our distinguished New Jersey colleague, Jon Gelman, Esq.  here), the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance can safely predict that the Sixth Edition of the AMA Guides are totally, unequivocally, 100% dead as a door nail in New York.  You can take that to the undertaker!

Good riddance to Bruce Topman and the New York State Insurance Department who tried to sneak this one past the AFL-CIO and our Alliance.  We only wish we had caught them sooner before they  wasted $163,000 of taxpayer money hiring insurance company hack, Dr. Christopher Brigham.  In addition, there is a move afoot by New York Injured Workers' Bar Association President, Barbara Levine, to ask the American Medical Association to remove their support for this anti-worker and anti-doctor publication.  She has written to the current AMA President asking that this prestigious organization remove its imprimatur from this anti-patient document.  Congrats to Barbara and the entire IWBA for their initiative on this issue!

Interestingly, Mr. Topman and his boss, Eric Dinallo, have been nowhere to be seen on this issue since the Spitzer scandal and have canceled multiple meetings with the AFL-CIO to discuss where to go from here to implement fair medical guidelines. 

The bottom line is that the New York Workers' Compensation System is now in a complete state of chaos.   Former Governor Spitzer pushed through his anti-worker reforms over a year ago and established an awkward rating scale for permanent partial disabilities which was tied to a presumed promulgation of new medical guidelines.    Because of Mr. Topman's wrong turn detour down the AMA road, New York workers, lawyers, insurance carriers, employers and judges now have a reform law that is impossible to implement!   The only fix is a revision of the existing 1996 Medical Guidelines by a distinguished panel of fair New York doctors.

Essentially, Judges at the New York Workers' Compensation Board are being asked to play a new game with the same old playbook.  Workers' Compensation Board members, many of whom are lay people holdovers from the Pataki administration, will now be interpreting the disgraced former Governor Spitzer's reform law.  It will be "bedlam times 10" unless new Governor David Patterson and his senior staff take control of the situation - and fast!

In an effort to assist the new Governor and his senior staff in fixing this broken system with all deliberate speed, the New York Injured Workers' Bar Association recently issued a draft of its 2008 Legislative Proposals to fix the mess created in the last year.  They are even-handed proposals that restore the "worker" element to the New York State Workers' Compensation Law (which many had mockingly started to call the "New York State Employers' Compensation Law" ).   The new Governor and his senior staff could ameliorate some of the damage caused in the last year by carefully reviewing and implementing some of these proposals. Here they are:

1. Amend WCL to correct effective date to July 1, 2007 for dates of accident from 3/13/07 to 6/30/07

2. Eliminate “caps” upon expiration as cost-shifting tax burden from employers and carriers to NYS

3. Reduce from 80% to 40% threshold for application for lifetime indemnity

4. Appointment( s) of a more diverse Workers’ Compensation Board to include representatives from labor and minority communities

5. Emergency creation of a panel of NYS medical professionals to revise 1996 Medical Guidelines regarding permanency

6. Adoption of regulation authorizing attorney fees in “medical only” claims

7. Elimination of HIPAA release filing with C-3

8. Amend WCL Sec. 29 language to clarify attorney responsibility for securing consent to third party action and negotiating apportionment of costs

9. Amend NYCR&R Sec 325-1.3(b)(3) to extend from 22 days to 90 days submission of current medical reports from a treating physician

10. Amend WCL Sec 15.5-a to include a presumption that receipt and/or award of Social Security disability benefits is prima facie evidence of total disability and such benefits are not subject to offset against workers’ compensation indemnity payments

11. Support passage of S.6325 requiring mandatory ATF deposits by SIEs and SIF

12. Amend WCL 13(a) to specify the right of an injured worker to continuing, symptomatic medical care and treatment in all claims

13. Amend WCL Sec 23 to make the WCB liable for costs and attorney fees upon reversal of a Board Panel decision following submission of a perfected record to the appellate court

14. Seek restoral of the participation of the NYS Attorney General in review of appeals for Full Board Review and to the appellate division

15. Amend appropriate sections of the WCL to restore claimant choice of provider

16. Create participation procedure for attorney professional evaluation of WCLJs

17. Advocate mandatory annual CLE for licensed representatives

18. Amend the WCL to provide for a “whistle blower” protection for employees and employers who provide information concerning workers’ compensation fraud, especially failure to carry coverage and mis-classification of employees

19. Amend NYCRR section 325-1.24(c)( 1) to require payment of a medical bill within 30 (currently reads 45) days after the bill has bee submitted.

20. Amend WCL section 16 to modify the offset for Social Security Survivor’s Benefits. Section 16 (1-c) applies to accidents after July 1, 1978. Two hundred dollars (the AWW at which compensation benefits are reduced by 50%) in 1978 was worth $615.00 in 2006 using the Consumer Price Index.

Posted By WCA In Legislation , NY Workers' Compensation Reform , Workers Comp Claims , Workers' Comp Politics , Workers' Compensation & AMA Guidelines | 2 Comments Permalink

What a difference one year makes.  On March 13, 2007,  former Governor Eliot Spitzer bullied and pushed through some of the most anti-labor workers' compensation reforms in the history of the New York Workers' Compensation Law.  As conceded by his own former administration, over 750 million dollars were taken out of the pockets of struggling injured workers and their families.   And why would a liberal New York Governor known for crusading against insurance companies give big business such a big, wet kiss at the expense of injured workers? 

One commentator has suggested that someone at the Business Council of New York State may have had Eliot's number long before the US Attorney did.  Far fetched?  Maybe, but who would have bet two weeks ago that Eliot Spitzer, of all people, would have been brought down in disgrace by criminal, unethical and immoral conduct? 

That's why it was so refreshing to watch new Governor David Patterson's first address live on CNN's Internet streaming video this afternoon.   When he boldly announced, "Let me re-introduce myself - my name is David Patterson and I am the Governor of New York!", it was with a sense of pride and excitement - shared by all in attendace and viewing from afar.  His address was serious without being somber, humorous without being light-weight , and most importantly, stressed "public service" rather than "politics".  His story about, and imitation of, Shelly Silver, Speaker of the Assembly,  preventing  the new Governor's gavel from turning a legislative session into a Jewish wedding was hilarious and self-deprecating at the same time.  No wonder legislators on both sides of the aisle like this guy!  As we said, what a difference one year makes.

So what does a Governor Patterson administration mean for injured workers?    Well, first, lets remember that David Patterson is the son of one of New York's most respected labor-side mover and shakers, former New York Secretary of State, Basil Patterson.  Basil Patterson has a long relationship with Local 1199/SEIU, the historically progressive and always powerful NYC health care workers union, made up of largely of lower wage minorities. (Full Disclosure - the Workers' Compensation Alliance's long-time Counsel, Richard Winsten, is Basil Patterson's partner at the politically astute law firm of Meyer Suozzi English & Klein) . 

But it goes far deeper than that.   Governor David Patterson was raised in the atmosphere of, and operates comfortably in, the politics of his father's generation and the Harlem political scene.  The dignitaries present at his swearing in today were a "who's who" of a different element of the Democratic party than those recognized in the former Spitzer administration.  Besides his father, Gov. Patterson recognized , among others, former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, former State Comptroller Carl McCall, former Governor Hugh Carey, former Mayor Ed Koch and Senator Chuck Schumer, sometimes to thunderous applause.  Had it not been for a severe cold, the old sly fox and Washington power broker, Congressman Charlie Rangel, would have been their also.  Even Senator Hillary Clinton took a day off the campaign trail to be present.  Even if it was just for nostalgic purposes, a resurgence of the old democratic guard was on display.  Many of Spitzer's former top aides and agency heads are already on the way out of State government. Expect them to be replaced by a greater percentage of minorities from backgrounds far different than Fifth Avenue and Princeton.

As the new Governor humbly acknowledged, he did not seek the Governorship of the great Empire State.  Yet here he is, and the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance warmly welcomes him with the hope that the most vulnerable among us - the injured and disabled - have an empathetic friend who, more than some others, understands both their plight and their dreams.

Posted By WCA In NY Workers' Compensation Reform , Workers Comp Claims , Workers' Comp Politics , Workers' Compensation & AMA Guidelines | 0 Comments Permalink

Private hospital workers, emergency medical technicians (EMT's) and paramedics who were dispatched  to Ground Zero after 9/11 will be potentially the first workers in New York State Workers' Compensation history to receive 75% of their lost wages, as opposed to the traditional 66 2/3% rate of compensation, based on a new bill passed last week in Albany. 

This is a significant victory for these forgotten heroes of 9/11 and another victory for the hospital workers' unions in Albany.  As reported in Workers' Comp Central:

• "New York Workers Compensation Alliance, which includes claimants' attorneys and other workers' advocates, praised the compromise bill Thursday.
  
  Troy Rosasco, co-chairman of the alliance, said a board member of the organization helped draft the legislation.
  
  "It is a great victory for some of the forgotten heroes of 9/11," Rosasco said. He said the bill will help bring parity with benefits already paid to public employees. "

Posted By WCA In 2007 WCA Workers' Comp Proposals , 9/11 Workers' Comp Claims , Legislation , Workers Comp Claims , Workers' Comp Politics | 0 Comments Permalink

Zachary S. Weiss, Esq, a lawyer and long time confidant to Governor Eliot Spitzer, was confirmed late last night as the new Chairman of the New York State Workers' Compensation Board.  See Mr. Weiss' biography here.  The New York Workers' Compensation Alliance wishes him well in his new position and pledges to work with him and his administration to better the plight of New York's injured workers.

Despite his new position, the Workers' Compensation Alliance (WCA) has been working with the new Chair since earlier this year on such issues as the "Rocket Docket Task Force" while he was Special Counsel in the New York State Insurance Department.  In recent conversations with the Workers' Compensation Alliance leadership, the new Chair has stated a strong willingness to work with injured workers and their representatives to improve a system that has taken a decidedly "employer turn" in the previous administration.   

The twin goals of speeding benefits to injured workers and lowering employers costs are attainable. For instance, eliminating costly and unnecessary medical depositions would help both injured workers and employers.  In addition, the Chair will be overseeing the implementation of revised medical and vocational guidelines to help determine an injured workers' true level of disability and potential to return to work.

Again, the WCA welcomes Zachary "Zack" Weiss as the new Chair of the venerable and prestigious New York Workers' Compensation Board.  He is a sharp, well seasoned professional. Injured workers need a strong advocate in their corner.

Posted By WCA In 2007 WCA Workers' Comp Proposals , 9/11 Workers' Comp Claims , NY Workers' Compensation Reform , Workers Comp Claims , Workers' Comp Politics | 0 Comments Permalink

M. Patricia Smith, Gov. Spitzer's new Commissioner of Labor, has graciously accepted the invitation of the New York Workers' Compensation Alliance (WCA) to attend our cocktail party this Friday, September 28th, 2007 at the Desmond Hotel in Albany.  The WCA event immediately precedes the New York Injured Workers Bar Association Seminar scheduled for the following day.

Commissioner Smith is making headlines in the sphere of workers' compensation by spearheading Governor Spitzer's efforts to stop employers from mislabeling "employees" as "independent contractors" -  a money saving scheme that has cost the state and honest employers alike millions of dollars in past years.  In addition, Gov. Spitzer has charged Commissioner Smith  with crafting "return to work" initiatives for injured workers. We look forward to hearing Commissioner Smith's comments on these important issues this Friday.

Any workers' compensation attorneys who have not yet signed up for this event can do so by contacting WCA Co- Chairs John Sciortino at 585-475-1100 or Troy Rosasco at 631-582-3700 x123.  Hope to see you there!

Posted By WCA In Alliance Friends , Alliance Members , Alliance News , Upcoming Events , Workers Comp Claims | 1 Comments Permalink

Need another reason to vote for Eliot Spitzer for New York Governor tomorrow? This guy just keeps on working for the little guy and fighting greedy insurance companies right up to his presumptive landslide win on Election Day. His most recent victory last week over disability claim insurer UnumProvident is just further evidence that Eliot puts injured workers first. This wasn't about getting votes (he doesn't need any more at this point) - it was about doing the right thing for disabled workers. 

Unum agreed to $15.5 million dollars in restitution to over charged policyholders and a $1.7 million dollar civil penalty. This settlement with UnumProvident, the nation's beleaguered yet largest long term disability claim insurer, comes on the heels of Spitzer's prior settlement with UnumProvident requiring them to re-access tens of thousands of previous unfair long term disability claim denials. Give Eliot Spitzer credit and your vote tomorrow - to date, he has done more to protect injured and disabled than any past NY Attorney General of recent memory.  The New York Workers' Compensation Alliance has been in his corner since our first fundraiser for him in April 2005. Now let's hope he protects New York workers' compensation claimants just like UnumProvident claimants in his new role as Governor. Good luck Mr. Governor!

Posted By WCA In Breaking News , Comp Truth '06 , NY Workers' Compensation Reform , Workers Comp Claims , Workers' Comp Politics | 0 Comments Permalink

On the fifth anniversary of 9/11, the Board of Governors and Members of the New York State Workers' Compensation Alliance respectfully remember and honor all those workers who lost their lives or were injured during the 9/11 attacks - the largest workers' compensation catastrophe in the history of the United States.  We also honor the hero rescue and first responders who saved lives at Ground Zero, unfortunately often at the expense of their own health.  Finally, we offer hope and consolation to  the surviving families and loved ones.  9/11 is our generation's Pearl Harbor - we will never forget. 

Posted By WCA In Workers Comp Claims | 0 Comments Permalink