Tag Archives: medical

Nevada Insurers Often Wrong About Pre-existing Conditions

By Jason Weinstock on October 7, 2014 Posted in Medical Care

Any injured worker over the age of 30 with a serious work injury is likely to find some reference in his or her medical records to degeneration of the body part being examined. Degenerative disc disease, for example, is actually a normal part of the aging process. But insurers and their third-party administrators start to … Continue reading Nevada Insurers Often Wrong About Pre-existing Conditions →

Out-of-State Medical Care for Nevada Injured Workers

By Jason Weinstock on August 11, 2014 Posted in Out-of-state care

Nevada has a highly transient population, with people moving in and out of the state frequently, particularly in this volatile economy. I remember the days when they used to publish the Las Vegas phone book twice a year. (Now no one uses a phone book; we use our smart phones.) When an injured worker … Continue reading Out-of-State Medical Care for Nevada Injured Workers →

Bad Law on Doctor Choice for Nevada Injured Workers

By Jason Weinstock on July 17, 2014 Posted in Medical Care

Change Needed to Nevada’s Law on Physician Choice for Injured Workers A. A Short History of the Law In 1913, Nevada first enacted the Nevada Industrial Insurance Act and the Nevada Occupational Disease Act, now known as NRS Chapters 616A-D, and NRS Chapter 617. It was administered by the NIC (Nevada Industrial Commission). The NIC … Continue reading Bad Law on Doctor Choice for Nevada Injured Workers →

Injured Workers Should Get Their Medical Records

By Jason Weinstock on May 18, 2014 Posted in Medical Care

All injured workers should get a copy of their medical records at some point. Remember that your employer is being copied by the adjuster on all his/her letters to you and on some of your medical records. You should know what your doctor says about you and your injury, particularly if you are having problems … Continue reading Injured Workers Should Get Their Medical Records →

How to Stop Getting Medical Bills on Your Nevada Work Comp Claim

By Jason Weinstock on November 8, 2013 Posted in Medical Care

Injured workers with accepted workers’ compensation claims should not be getting bills for medical treatment from hospitals, doctors, an anesthesiologist, or radiologist. You know whether you have an accepted claim or not by whether you have received a letter from your self-insured employer or from a third-party administrator that says your claim is accepted. … Continue reading How to Stop Getting Medical Bills on Your Nevada Work Comp Claim →

Concussions from Work Accidents

By Jason Weinstock on November 6, 2013 Posted in Medical Care

Obtaining appropriate medical treatment for post-concussive symptoms from a work accident can be as frustrating as the symptoms of a concussion. A concussion is the term use to generally describe a head injury that may or may not result in the loss of consciousness. It is unusual for someone who has a severe blow to … Continue reading Concussions from Work Accidents →

The First 30 Days of Your Nevada Work Comp Claim

By Jason Weinstock on April 13, 2013 Posted in Claims

The first 30 days of a serious job injury claim are confusing and scary. Here are a few important tips : Keep a copy of the C-4 Claim for Compensation form that you filled out to start the claims process when you first got medical care. Check it to see whether you were taken … Continue reading The First 30 Days of Your Nevada Work Comp Claim →

Why Nothing is Happening on Your Claim

By Jason Weinstock on March 28, 2013 Posted in Benefits

Most injured workers who call my office are fed up with delays in getting decent medical care or getting compensation checks from the workers’ compensation adjuster. Here’s a list of why you might be having problems: 1. Your claim hasn’t been accepted yet. The adjuster handling your claim for your self-insured employer, or the … Continue reading Why Nothing is Happening on Your Claim →

Suspended Benefits for a Non-industrial Medical Condition

By Jason Weinstock on March 23, 2013 Posted in Benefits

Some injured workers are delivered a low blow by their adjuster when their treating surgeon for their Nevada work comp injury finds that they first take care of a unrelated medical problem before surgery can go forward. For example, many hurt workers will find that their blood pressures spike from being in pain from the … Continue reading Suspended Benefits for a Non-industrial Medical Condition →

Does An Injured Worker Have to Go to Their Doctor?

By Jason Weinstock on March 10, 2013 Posted in Medical Care

Injured employees in Nevada have a limited right to choose a treating doctor. The workers’ compensation insurer or third-party administrator for the employer has a list of doctors that have contracted to provide medical care at reduced fees. Once the injured worker’s claim is accepted, he or she has the right to ask for a … Continue reading Does An Injured Worker Have to Go to Their Doctor? →

More Unfair Tactics Against Nevada’s Injured Workers

By Jason Weinstock on March 2, 2013 Posted in Injuries,Medical Care

The most important benefit under the Nevada workers’ compensation system is the injured employee’s right to get medical treatment. I have prior blog posts about the limitations on that right that are written into Nevada law, such as the limited right to choose a treating doctor. I also just wrote about insurers’ attempts to deny … Continue reading More Unfair Tactics Against Nevada’s Injured Workers →

Questions You Absolutely Must Ask the Surgeon

By Jason Weinstock on September 8, 2012 Posted in Benefits

Unless you have a very obvious surgical problem, it usually takes two to three months for the adjuster on your worker’s compensation claim to schedule a consultation with an orthopedist or a neurosurgeon. I like to remove my clients quickly from the clinic mill, with a request for change of physicians right away. Otherwise, the clinic … Continue reading Questions You Absolutely Must Ask the Surgeon →

It’s NOT About the Money

By Jason Weinstock on June 7, 2012 Posted in Lawyers

A local personal injury attorney has a TV ad in which he says that a personal injury claim is all about the money. While that may be true for that attorney’s clients, my clients want more than money. Here is what on most injured workers’ minds who visit my website, read my blog posts, or meet with … Continue reading It’s NOT About the Money →

Patient Advocate a Necessity If You Are Hospitalized

By Jason Weinstock on March 8, 2012 Posted in Medical Care

Most injured workers who call me for advice are frustrated with poor medical care or problems obtaining good care as a result of insurance issues. Making sure that injured workers get the best possible medical care is what I do for a living, so I didn’t need a personal experience to convince me how important … Continue reading Patient Advocate a Necessity If You Are Hospitalized →

Unfairly Surprised by Your Doctor’s Work Release?

By Jason Weinstock on February 10, 2012 Posted in Medical Care

I caution all injured workers to look carefully at the physician progress report (PPR) they are handed at the end of each visit to their doctor assigned to treat their industrial injury. Most doctors and clinics that are on the various third-party administrators’ medical provider lists use the D-39 form approved by the DIR. Sometimes the clinic or doctor … Continue reading Unfairly Surprised by Your Doctor’s Work Release? →

5 Huge Mistakes Injured Workers Make

By Jason Weinstock on January 12, 2012 Posted in Claims

1. Going along with bad medical care You don’t have to accept substandard medical care just because you were injured at work. It is hard to correct a botched surgery. If you feel reluctant or have a gut feeling that the surgeon the insurer has assigned to you isn’t very good or isn’t listening to you, change doctors. You … Continue reading 5 Huge Mistakes Injured Workers Make →

Neck and Low Back Pain- Does Physical Therapy Help?

By Jason Weinstock on December 23, 2011 Posted in Medical Care

I’ve had a couple clients referred by local neurosurgeons to a particular physical therapist who is certified in the McKenzie’s Protocol, and I decided to investigate this personally. I’ve got chronic neck pain from various horse-related accidents over the years, and am always searching for ways to increase my range of motion. I also want … Continue reading Neck and Low Back Pain- Does Physical Therapy Help? →

Nurses and Attendants at Risk for Low Back Injuries

By Jason Weinstock on October 28, 2011 Posted in Medical Care

Back injuries, followed closely by shoulder injuries, are the most common job-related injuries for my clients in the nursing field. Nurses, and those employed as nursing attendants are at high risk for these injuries primarily because they must transfer patients from beds to gurneys or to wheel chairs, or to baths. A new law in California requires hopsitals to … Continue reading Nurses and Attendants at Risk for Low Back Injuries →

Prescription Drugs and Nevada Workers’ Comp Claims

By Jason Weinstock on September 16, 2011 Posted in Back Injuries

Part A The NCCI is an organization that keeps statistics on work injuries in the various states. A recently released August 2011 NCCI Research Brief by Lipton, Laws and Li focused on prescription costs. According to this study, prescription drugs are 19% of the medical costs on an average claim. The study showed that it was not the price of drugs that was responsible … Continue reading Prescription Drugs and Nevada Workers’ Comp Claims →

Delays in Getting Medical Care on Your Nevada Work Comp Claim

By Jason Weinstock on September 9, 2011 Posted in Delays in Getting Medical Care

Delays in getting medical care authorized are the reason most injured workers contact me for help on their claim. Here is some additional information about treatment delays and what you can do to get proper medical care on time on your Nevada workers’ compensation claim. An insurer won’t authorize expensive tests like MRI’s or EMG/nerve conduction … Continue reading Delays in Getting Medical Care on Your Nevada Work Comp Claim →

Should You Get a Second Opinion Before Having a Spinal Fusion?

By Jason Weinstock on June 9, 2011 Posted in Back Injuries

Most industrial insurers will schedule injured workers for a second opinion before authorizing an orthopedic surgeon or a neurosurgeon’s request to do a spinal fusion. It is a good idea, even if the insurer isn’t requiring it, to get a second opinion on whether a spinal fusion is the best treatment for you. Many injured workers immediately agree … Continue reading Should You Get a Second Opinion Before Having a Spinal Fusion? →

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