| Waiver of Limitations Period for Notice of Injury and Claim |
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| As a general rule, if an injured employee fails to either provide timely notice of his injury or file a timely claim for workers' compensation, he will be denied benefits. However, in some instances, the employer or its insurance carrier may waive the limitations periods. For example, if an employer has actual knowledge of the employee's accident and resulting injury, the employer may be said to have waived formal notice of the injury. Likewise, if the employer voluntarily makes compensation payments to the employer, he may be deemed to have waived the requirement that the employee file a claim.More... |
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| Self-employment |
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| The central question of whether a given state can apply its workers' compensation statute focuses on various factors including the place that the employment contract was entered into, the place of the employee's injury, and the employee's usual place of employment. For example, an employee who entered into an employment contract with a construction company in California, and who was subsequently injured on a construction site in Nevada, may be able to seek workers' compensation benefits in both California and Nevada. However, double recoveries are generally not permitted.More... |
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| Representative Payees for Supplemental Security Income Beneficiaries |
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| When a Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiary is unable to manage his SSI funds, the Social Security Administration (SSA) appoints a representative payee to do so on behalf of the beneficiary. A representative payee can be an individual, organization, agency, or institution. Generally, an SSI beneficiary in need of a representative payee includes a child under age eighteen, a legally incompetent adult, and any other person who the SSA determines to be incapable of managing his funds.More... |
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| Injured Employee's Recovery Election |
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| Historically, when an employee was injured in the course of his employment, but at the hands of a negligent third party, he was technically able to pursue relief through both the workers' compensation system and a third-party action. Though not able to receive a double recovery, the employee was technically eligible to recover under either theory. However, strict election rules required that he choose which theory of recovery he would pursue, even if his "choice" ultimately left him with no compensation at all. For example, the injured employee elects to proceed with a third-party action, thereby foregoing workers' compensation, but ends up losing the third-party action. More... |
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| Recovery of Costs, Attorney's Fees, and Interest in Workers' Compensation Actions |
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| Generally, parties in workers' compensation actions are responsible for their own attorney's fees and costs. The amount of attorney's fees that can reasonably be charged to a claimant in pursuing his claim for benefits is specifically outlined in many state statutes. For example, some states will cap attorney's fees at a specified dollar amount; others will cap such fees at a designated percentage of the amount recovered as benefits by the claimant. More... |
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