Rem Jackson: Hello everyone and welcome to today’s call. This is Rem Jackson and I am delighted that today with me I’ve got attorneys Ronald Calhoon and Steven Spahr of Calhoon & Associates. They are specifically Workers’ Compensation attorneys working in the Harrisburg, Chambersburg area of Pennsylvania with reach I believe throughout the state.
I asked them to be on the call today to really answer a lot of the questions that I’ve been hearing that people have about really the entire area of Workers’ Compensation. For those people that are considering filing a Workers’ Compensation claim and for people who are currently on Workers’ Compensation and are really wondering what they next steps are.
So first of all Ron, I’d like to say welcome to the call. Thank you so much for taking the time out today.
Ron: Hi, and good afternoon, Rem.
Rem Jackson: And, Steve, the same to you. I want to thank you for being on the call with me as well.
Steve: Thanks for having me.
Rem Jackson: Now Ron, I think I’m going to you. Could you please give our listeners who are on the call today, or might be listening to this later, an idea very specifically of just exactly what a Workers’ Compensation lawyer is, and what you guys do?
Ron: To me, Rem, a workers’ compensation lawyer fights for the rights of an injured worker against the Workers’ Comp insurance company, whose job it is to minimize your medical treatment, your injury, pretend it does not affect your functional abilities or your earnings to the degree to which it actually does.
Basically, their job is to downplay, minimize the effects of the injury in an effort to reduce the number of dollars paid out per claim.
In that sense, it’s the job of the Workers’ Comp attorney to even that playing field to provide their knowledge, their expertise, their skills, with a passionate caring for those that have been injured that are being taken advantage of.
Rem Jackson: I see. Well, that makes perfect sense to me. And Steven, with that in mind, what really are Workers’ Compensation benefits, and how can people get it and what are they?
Steve: The Workers’ Compensation system is not a lawsuit against your employer. Rather, it is an administrative process, which is designed to provide compensation for wage loss and medical benefits for someone who’s been injured on the job.
Before the Workers’ Compensation Act was put in place, you had to prove that either your employer or co-worker were negligent and, therefore, caused your injuries.
Workers’ Compensation replaced that requirement. You are, in fact, entitled to wage loss and/or medical benefits related to a work injury, regardless of fault. An injury need not be the result of a traumatic incident or accident.
There are injuries that result from cumulative wear and tear. An example of that would be something like carpal tunnel or an aggravation of a pre-existing back condition due to the work activities.
In some incidences, you may also be entitled to scarring, specific types of scarring in Pennsylvania. And there is also an entitlement to penalties if the Workers’ Compensation insurance carrier does not promptly pay, or reasonably pay, for bills and expenses related to your work injury.
Rem Jackson: I see. Now, in your book, which you guys have just recently published and the name of that is “The Seven Deadly Sins That Can Ruin Your Workers’ Compensation Case.” Ron, I want to ask you, you talk in this book, which we’ll talk about a little bit later, apparently is available for free to anyone in Pennsylvania that’s having these kinds of problems. You talk about in that book about the key mistakes that people make that can really greatly impact getting the benefits they’re actually entitled to, because that is, apparently, a very difficult problem. You’re entitled to benefits, but getting them is a whole ‘nother thing. So what is the first one that people should be really focused on?
Ron: The first on would be the acknowledgement that your boss does not decide if you are entitled to workers’ compensation, whether your injury or condition is work related or how much you’re entitled to.
In the same way that the insurance adjuster feeding information to an injured worker can misguide them and is under no obligation to inform them of what they’re actually entitled to.
The same with the company doctor, the hired gun by the Workers’ Compensation insurance company, they don’t decide whether your condition is work-related, just as the boss and the adjuster doesn’t.
Ultimately, if disputed, that goes under due process of law, presentation of all evidence, and would be decided by a Workers’ Compensation Judge. So I would say that’s the number one mistake is people accepting what a company doctor, or the employer or insurance company, is telling them are their rights and ending it there.
Rem Jackson: I see. So if you’re injured, then one of the worst things you can do is fail to adequately report your work injury? Would that be fair?
Ron: Yes, you’re not only required to report your injury, but you’re required to report that your injury is work related. Saying my back hurts, I need to go home, I need to cut out early on the shift, is not reporting a work injury as required by the Workers’ Compensation Act. It has to be my back hurts and I believe it came from lifting that 50 gallon drum about half an hour ago. That’s reporting a work injury and that qualifies.
Rem Jackson: I see. Now, you mentioned the company appointed doctor and you referred to him as sort of a hired gun. I’m interested in what you meant by that and also I think you say in the book, as I read it, that staying with the company doctor too long can be a really grave error. Is that right?
Ron: Yes, unfortunately, Rem, the company doctors tend to be the lower rung of the medical profession out there, kind of the strip mall, shopping mall type doctor. And they are on various employer’s posted physician list and that provides them with a constant stream of consumers, of paying patients being paid by the Workers’ Compensation carriers for the various employers.
And to keep that relationship going, they have a very cozy relationship with the Workers’ Compensation carriers and the employers, and they will, basically, provide what is needed, what is requested, by the referral source and will bend over backwards for the referral source, not necessarily looking out for the benefit of the patient.
An example we see over and over and over again, I would say 90 percent of work related herniated discs, whether they be low back or neck, are initially diagnosed during that first 90 days with the company doctors as strains, cervical strain, lumbar strain. It’s just consistently diagnosed as a strain to minimize the injury, to minimize the exposure.
In our book, we have a list of exceptions to, number one, the need to ever even see a company doctor for a work injury.
And number two, if you feel the desire or need to see one, the exception is having to stay with him for the full 90 days, and also how to switch around within that list itself, as detailed in the book itself.
Rem Jackson: I see. Now, Steven, from the book myself, I understand that many people, and I don’t really understand why people do this, it’s just sort of the way we are, they make a big mistake whenever they just sort of minimize their injuries or don’t talk about their past injuries. And this, again, could really be a problem for folks. Could you kind of dig into that for us and tell us why, and what we should do about it?
Steve: Well, it’s very, very important for an injured worker who is seeking medical treatment, to explain to the doctor in a very complete statement, as Ron said, where, when and how the injury happened and what body parts are affected.
Oftentimes you see histories, when we receive medical records from doctors, where there’s a very sketchy history and there are several reasons why this occurs. I mean a lot of times people were just stoic.
They don’t want to acknowledge the extent of their injuries. They are embarrassed. They frequently have an injury that, at the time of the accident or the injury, which is more problematic, more painful and is getting more of their attention and, therefore, ends up getting more of the attention of the doctor.
It only becomes apparent later on that once they had been treated for the most severe of the injuries, that there are, in fact, other injuries which may be as, or more, problematic than the one that was initially the focus of all the treatment.
The reason this becomes a problem is if later on you say gee, at the same time I hurt my back, I also injured by knee.
And the insurance company goes through your medical records and sees that there’s no mention of a knee injury.
They’re going to say well, why should we pay for this? You didn’t report a knee injury. How do we know this is our problem? Then you end up in a scenario where you end up having a dispute over whether or not the knee should be paid by the Workers’ Compensation insurance company.
Another problem is people frequently do not disclose, for various reasons, again, a past history of an injury. You may have had a knee injury when you were 17 to you right knee. You had minimal treatment for it. It got better and, essentially, you forgot about it because it’s not been an ongoing problem. But the sole purpose of the insurance company is to, basically, make a mountain out of a mole hill.
They will say well gee, you did not tell the doctor that you had a prior knee injury and now you’re saying this is our responsibility, but how do we know it doesn’t relate back to that.
It’s very, very important that you give your doctor a complete and accurate medical history at the time that you seek treatment for a work injury.
In Pennsylvania an aggravation even of a pre-existing condition, for example, if you have degenerative low back disease and you have an injury super-imposed upon that degenerative low back disease. That makes it a new injury. It’s an aggravation of a pre-existing condition and that is compensable under the law.
Rem Jackson: I also understand that people can get really tripped up in just the normal way that we live our lives. Some of us now have a lot of electronic lives, and we may have been injured, but we’re just living our lives and there could be problems there. So could you explain exactly what’s going on?
Steve: Well, two things in particular. Obviously, because you no longer have a work injury it does not mean that you no longer have a life. But people who are injured on the job must be aware that the insurance company does, on occasion, and particularly in certain circumstances such as when they have scheduled your for an appointment with an “independent” medical doctor, have your surveilled by a private investigator.
And, again, not to repeat myself, but the insurance company spends a great deal of effort trying to make mountains out of mole hills. And even if you are performing activities, which are within your restrictions related to your work injury, they will try to make it seem as if you’re off work and living an unimpaired life, when that may be the farthest from the truth.
You need to be aware that any time you are in public; you are subject to observation and possibly surveillance video taping. They do not have a right to peek in your windows, but living their daily lives you often see insurance companies, lawyers, come in with video tapes suggesting that there’s something relevant here. It’s just something that people need to keep in mind.
One of the bigger issues that we are seeing is with the increase in the use in social media, such as Facebook, Twitter and My Space, is that people are not often aware of that without adequate privacy controls they’re putting a lot of information out there that is visible and can be seen by anyone, including the insurance company, your employer and their attorneys.
I had a case not too long ago where the insurance company did an investigation of my client’s My Space page. And, although there was nothing incriminating on that page, it also was not very flattering. And often times there will be information in there that the insurance company will find ways to further investigate you.
We often advise our clients to shut down their Facebook page during the pendency of the litigation, being aware that there’s no point in taking chances and putting information out there that doesn’t need to be out there. If you wouldn’t say it directly to your insurance adjuster, I would suggest that you certainly not say it on a social medical network.
Rem Jackson: Because it’s pretty much the same thing, because they’re definitely out there looking for it. You know, Ron, you say in the book that the insurance adjusters, the company nurse, for example, this whole crew of people aren’t my friends. They aren’t your friends. They are not representing you.
They are representing the insurance company and, in fact, even though you don’t know it, you’re in an adversarial relationship with these people. Can you explain what you mean by all of this? This is surprising I think to very many people.
Ron: Well, for example, the company nurse or the rehab case manager that will seek to be friendly to gain access to your physician by meeting you in the waiting area outside your doctor’s office is merely seeking to become an elusive private investigator of the Workers’ Compensation insurance company.
They are the eyes and ears of the adjuster. Their paychecks are signed in the lower right hand corner by the Workers’ Compensation insurance company.
So no matter how friendly they are acting, it’s merely to get this free access to information from you and from your doctors to which they are not otherwise entitled to.
We advise our clients to not consent to cooperating with the company nurse or rehab case manager without first speaking to us, and do not sign any forms permitting that consent without speaking to us. And 99 to 100 times we advise our clients, and send letters to the company nurses, etcetera, that any prior authorizations signed by the clients prior to our representation are hereby revoked and to cease all that contact with the doctors and with our clients.
We believe the injured worker has the right to a physician/patient privilege, and just because they suffered a work injury that does not waive that right.
We ask our clients to never permit that contact without first contacting one of us, because we don’t believe being on Workers’ Comp makes you a second class citizen or that you need a babysitter or private detective with you at your doctor’s appointments.
Rem Jackson: To me it’s just amazing, because you’d think that in your time of need when you need help and all these folks are there to help you that, in fact, they’re not. That this is a whole different situation than you ever expected whenever you had this kind of benefit. And the other thing that strikes me is that so here I am, I’ve been working hard all my life.
I have a great relationship with my employer. I get injured. My employer spent the money to get the Workers’ Compensation insurance and now I’m stuck with absolutely no experience, no idea what to do dealing with a whole bunch of people who know exactly what’s going on and know every single possible misstep I can make to deny me my rights.
So one of the big things you guys say in the book is, obviously, a very big mistake people make is not hiring a competent and respected Workers’ Compensation lawyer.
Okay, so here I am. I’m injured. I’m either thinking about getting on Workers’ Comp or I’m already on. How do I know? How can I tell that I’m working with someone that’s going to take care of me? I need somebody on my team.
How do I figure that out?
Ron: Well, lawyers differ, and hiring the right lawyer does make a difference. It makes a substantial, dramatic difference in not only the weekly benefits received, but the ultimate lump sum settlement received at the end of the case.
I’ve had clients come to me on Workers’ Comp who have talked to more than one Workers’ Comp attorney, and a labor attorney who’s told them they’re getting all they can get. The insurance company is sending you your checks. This is all you’re entitled to. And upon a review of the case, I see that they’re entitled to a lot more than they are currently getting.
Despite that they were told by lawyers they’re not entitled to any more, I file a petition and I get those additional benefits for them. Then, of course, that would change the ultimate outcome of the case because the amount of money being paid out would ultimately affect the overall lump sum settlement when you’re settling on the future benefits.
As far as settlement values go, I can state with confidence that the dozens and dozens of cases I’ve seen handled by other attorneys that on average they’re settling for $0.50 on the dollar, as to what the fair value of that case would be.
You make to make sure your attorney is not turning cases, doesn’t just dabble in Workers’ Comp, is not looking for the quick buck. That they have devoted years and years of their practice to the practice of Workers’ Comp. If you needed surgery, would you hire a surgeon who performed that surgery a thousand times or would you go to a surgeon that performed a thousand different surgeries, but only your type once? There is a learning curve to this as there is in surgeries.
I would ask yourself if talking with the attorney, if looking at their website, you feel you’re gaining knowledge, you’re learning something. So many times after I meet a perspective client for the first time, I will hear 30, 45 minutes into the conversation, “I’ve learned more about Workers’ Comp in this last half hour than I learned in the last three, four years I’ve been on comp and I’ve talked to other attorneys.”
I would research how the particular attorney is recognized by their peers, by the attorneys in the community they practice with, by the judges, by their opposition, by the defense workers’ comp attorneys.
I’ve had numerous cases referred to me, loved ones of insurance companies, insurance company executives. When their loved ones are hurt, who do they send their cases to?
But most importantly, absolutely most importantly, I would get a sense from talking to that attorney as to why have they chose to devote their professional life to representing injured workers. Intent does affect results.
You’d want to make sure that attorney has the passion, believes in the rights of the injured worker; leveling that playing field. And do you feel comfortable with that attorney? Do you feel like he’s a friend, he’s on your side, but ready, willing and able to fight the adversary, the Workers’ Comp insurance company.
It’s not uncommon for me to be invited to my client’s weddings. If you’re in town, stop over for a barbeque. I do get that sense of we’re in this together to fight the other side.
Rem Jackson: Well, I just think that is so important and, to me, its impressive. And just so folks are clear too, this is the kind of law you guys practice. You aren’t doing all kinds of other law and this is just one of your sidelines. This is what you do every day, all day, right?
Ron: Yes. The four of Workers’ Comp attorneys at Calhoon & Associates have practiced on a combined basis over 75 years in the area of Workers’ Comp. It’s all we’ve been doing for year in and year out, with the exception of Attorney Deb Packer. She, in addition to Workers’ Comp, also does Social Security disability claims, which has become a natural outflow of having represented thousands of injured workers to help the interplay between those two benefits and the coordination of those benefits.
Rem Jackson: Now Ron, I wanted to make sure that we touched on this before we end this call soon, and it’s for the people that are listening to this call right now and they say okay, I’m already on Workers’ Compensation now do I need a lawyer, and what’s next for me. I know that’s like what you do most of. So could you explain really what that’s all about and what people should be thinking about?
Ron: Yes. Most of our clients that come to us are already on Workers’ Comp the day we meet them. We have offices in Chambersburg and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We have meeting facilities in various cities around the state. The majority of our clients are from central Pennsylvania, Susquehanna Valley, but we do go outside those areas, again, only for Workers’ Compensation cases.
We help those on Workers’ Comp understand their rights, understand what they’re options are. We help them navigate through the twists and turns of their cases and the interplay of various benefits, such as Social Security disability, pension benefits, 401(K), schooling, OVR grants for schooling, etcetera.
We provide proactive guidance and advice for them to put them in a position to minimize an affects of any future petitions filed to reduce, modify or suspend their benefits.
We know what the insurance carriers are going to do before they even know what they’re going to do, and before they even decide to do it. Having done this for 22 years, we know what’s coming down the road and we can get our clients in that position now to start preparing for it so that they’re in a better position and not taken off guard and having to make up ground.
Rem Jackson: I see. I just want to thank both of you so much for spending time with all of us today to just go through these really incredibly important points, so the people understand that they need an advocate, someone who’s on their side standing up for them against a very experienced, very prepared group of people whose sole goal is to make sure they get as little as they possibly can for what they’re completely entitled to. So thank you both, gentlemen, very, very much.
Steve, I’ve got just one last question for you before we conclude today, and I’m sure it’s the number one question on everybody’s mind. How can people who either are considering getting on Workers’ Comp or are on now, how can they get in touch with you?
Steve: Well, as Ron indicated, we have two offices. One is located at 2411 North Front Street in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. We also have an office at 14 North Main Street in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. We can be reached by telephone at 717-695-4722 or 1-877-291-9675.
We also have a website, which is www.pa-workers-comp-lawyers.com. And we can be contacted through the website. There’s also a great deal of information for clients and potential clients to take a look at.
Rem Jackson: I’ve been to your website and it’s just really great, folks. I’ll give you that URL in a moment, again. Get a pencil and paper and you can write this down. And you can get a copy of their book, by the way, absolutely for free, from their website as well and that’s “The Seven Deadly Sins That Can Ruin Your Workers’ Compensation Case.”
Ron, I want to say thank you for your time today. You’ve been very gracious, and super informative. So that you so much.
Ron: Thank you, Rem.
Rem Jackson: And Steven, the same exact thing to you. I can’t tell you how helpful this has been. So thank you so much for your time as well.
Steve: It’s always my pleasure.
Rem Jackson: And everyone, make sure you get your pencil and paper there because I want to give you this information again. My guests today have been attorneys Ronald Calhoon and Steven Spahr. They are Workers’ Compensation attorneys. It’s what they specialize in. It’s what they do. And they have offices located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. But by no means are they limited. One of the things we learned today is if you are in other parts of the state and you’re looking for really great representation, you don’t have to consider that you’re limited to just that area, because they have the ability to work throughout the state if needed.
You can call them at this phone number, 717-695-4722 or you can call 877-291-9675, 877-291-work. And their website is www.pa-workers-comp-lawyers.com.
This is Rem Jackson. Until next time folks, have a great day and certainly stay safe and stay healthy. And if you do get injured make sure you contact these guys right away because if anything ever happens to me I know who I’m calling first.
Thanks a lot and have a great day.
