Tag Archives: permanent


Nevada Insurers Often Wrong About Pre-existing Conditions
By Jason Weinstock on October 7, 2014

 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

Dr. Pirruccello Explains How to Rate Spinal Injuries
By Jason Weinstock on September 28, 2014

Virginia :  The primary purpose of my blog posts is to inform Nevada’s injured workers about the law and the claims process.  However, I occasionally like to offer my readers from the workers’ compensation industry a more detailed analysis of a current issue that requires a working familiarity with Nevada workers compensation claims.   The … Continue reading Dr. Pirruccello Explains How to Rate Spinal Injuries

Does Your Employer Need to Keep You When You Have Permanent Work Restrictions?
By Jason Weinstock on July 20, 2014

 Let’s assume that you have an accepted workers’ compensation claim in Nevada, and that your treating doctor has just released you with permanent work restrictions that would  ordinarily prevent you from being hired or going back to your regular duties at the job you had when you were injured.   The question is whether your … Continue reading Does Your Employer Need to Keep You When You Have Permanent Work Restrictions?


Quiz on Nevada Work Comp PPD Awards
By Jason Weinstock on February 18, 2014

  Test your knowledge of permanent partial disability awards on Nevada workers’ compensation claims with the following quiz.  I will post the answers next week with explanations. Have fun!  Quiz Time-  How Much Do You Know About PPD’s in Nevada? True  or  False?          Even if an injured worker has a surgery … Continue reading Quiz on Nevada Work Comp PPD Awards

Hearing Loss in Nevada FIre Fighters
By Jason Weinstock on January 24, 2014

A recent article published in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine that studied 425 fire fighters from three states showed that more than 40% of the fire fighters had hearing loss in the noise-sensitive frequencies (4 and 6 kHz).  Fire fighters with longer years in fire services demonstrated significantly worse hearing.  The conclusion was … Continue reading Hearing Loss in Nevada FIre Fighters

Child Support Deduction from Nevada Work Comp Benefits
By Jason Weinstock on January 21, 2014

Workers’ compensation benefits, including final settlement awards, called permanent partial disability awards, are generally not subject to assignments or garnishments, and are not subject to attorneys liens or medical provider liens. See NRS 616C.205. The one major exception to that general rule is that the statute does allow for payment of past due child support … Continue reading Child Support Deduction from Nevada Work Comp Benefits


Permanent Work Restrictions Aren’t Always Permanent for Nevada Work Injuries
By Jason Weinstock on January 7, 2014

Here’s an excellent question by someone posting a comment to my post about the difference between temporary light duty and permanent light duty:  Do Permanent Work Restrictions (light duty) follow me once my case is closed and a settlement has been granted? What happens if (5-10 years later) I take a job that is completely opposite from my restrictions? … Continue reading Permanent Work Restrictions Aren’t Always Permanent for Nevada Work Injuries

Rating Physician Richard Kudrewicz Dies
By Jason Weinstock on December 7, 2013

The workers’ compensation community lost one of the most authoritative and fairest rating  physicians on November 30, 2013.  Richard Kudrewicz, M.D. , or Dr. K, as most of us called him, performed about ten times as many permanent partial disability evaluations on Nevada injured workers as most of the rating physicians on the DIR’s rotating … Continue reading Rating Physician Richard Kudrewicz Dies

What’s My Nevada Claim Worth?
By Jason Weinstock on November 22, 2013

     I looked at a very interesting award calculator devised by a Maryland attorney based on his review of thousands of work comp awards in Maryland. It asks the injured worker to put a number from 1 though 10 on the level of pain and interference with activities for their injury,r the average weekly … Continue reading What’s My Nevada Claim Worth?


Maximum Compensation FY 2014
By Jason Weinstock on September 23, 2013

For those with accidents occurring after July 1, 2013 through July 1, 2014, the maximum state average monthly wage is $5,290.70.   That figure comes from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, Employment Security Division.   That figure is the maximum amount that can be used as an injured worker’s average monthly wage if the … Continue reading Maximum Compensation FY 2014

Cost of Rating Exams Up Again: Get It Right the First Time
By Jason Weinstock on March 12, 2013

     Effective February 1, 2013, the Nevada fee schedule that governs health care providers under the Nevada workers’ compensation system, raised the PPD (permanent partial disability) reimbursement to $718.96.    If the rating physician is rating more than two body parts, he or she can charge an additional $240.11 for each additional body part.  For … Continue reading Cost of Rating Exams Up Again: Get It Right the First Time

Will Accepting a PPD Award Affect My Job?
By Jason Weinstock on June 2, 2012

Question by an injured worker:  Will accepting a permanent partial disability (PPD)  award affect my job?    Answer:  It shouldn’t.  Having permanent work restrictions may affect your job, but your accepting a PPD award shouldn’t.   Here’s why.  PPD awards for injured workers with Nevada workers’ compensation claims are based on a combination of three … Continue reading Will Accepting a PPD Award Affect My Job?


Am I Entitled to a PPD Award If I’m Released Full Duty?
By Jason Weinstock on March 14, 2012

 Injured workers, employers, and even doctors on workers’ comp provider lists in Nevada remain confused about whether an injured worker who is able to return to work full duty is entitled to a permanent partial disability award.  Depending on the injury, an injured worker may be entitled to a rating evaluation and an award,  even … Continue reading Am I Entitled to a PPD Award If I’m Released Full Duty?

Should I Agree to the Insurer’s Rating Doctor?
By Jason Weinstock on March 6, 2012

If your treating physician on your accepted workers’ compensation claim in Nevada reports to your claims adjuster that you may have a ratable impairment, you should be scheduled for an impairment evaluation  30 days later.  This evaluation, also called a rating,  will be done by one of the 138 doctors and chiropractors who have been … Continue reading Should I Agree to the Insurer’s Rating Doctor?

Expensive to Obtain a Second Rating
By Jason Weinstock on January 30, 2012

 Each year the WCS Medical Unit of the Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) updates the Medical Fee Schedule that determines the fees for medical services, including impairment evaluations.  Effective February 1, 2012, the current 138 authorized rating doctors may charge $693.31 for up to two body parts.  $231.54  is chargeable for each  additional body part.  For example, an … Continue reading Expensive to Obtain a Second Rating


Terrible New Decision for Injured Workers on PPD Ratings
By Jason Weinstock on December 1, 2011

Just before Thanksgiving, the Nevada Supreme Court published a turkey of a decision that robs injured workers of disability award money.  In Public Agency Compensation Trust v. Blake, 127 Nev. Adv. Op. 77 (2011), the court invalidated a long-standing  DIR regulation that addressed how rating doctors are to account for a prior PPD award for a re … Continue reading Terrible New Decision for Injured Workers on PPD Ratings

Thinking of Starting Your Own Business After Your Work Injury?
By Jason Weinstock on October 10, 2011

The reality is that many injured workers are not offered permanent light duty jobs by their employers after their  treating doctors give them permanent work restrictions that prevent them from going back to their usual jobs.  Employers cannot be forced under Nevada workers’ compensation law to give permanent light duty jobs to injured employees.  Instead, … Continue reading Thinking of Starting Your Own Business After Your Work Injury?

Mileage Reimbursement Rates and Maximum Average Monthly Wage for Nevada Workers’ Comp Claims
By Jason Weinstock on September 2, 2011

 There’s good news and bad news.  The good news is that effective July 1, 2011, the mileage reimbursement rate for using your car to go to and from doctors and physical therapists visits increased from 51 cents per mile to 55.5 cents per mile.  Injured workers must have traveled more than 20 miles one way … Continue reading Mileage Reimbursement Rates and Maximum Average Monthly Wage for Nevada Workers’ Comp Claims


Surviving the Tough Times
By Jason Weinstock on April 21, 2009

 Some questions I receive from injured workers have nothing to do with workers’ compensation law, but are instead about how to make it through the difficult times following a work accident.   Few people can pay all necessary bills for very long on workers’ comp benefits of only two-thirds of their average monthly wage. Most injured … Continue reading Surviving the Tough Times