For many injured workers who are unable to return to their old jobs due a permanent injury, a formal program of retraining with a vocational rehabilitation counselor may not be an option, or may not be the best option.  Hispanic employees who have difficulty reading and writing English, for example, will not be able to participate in retraining programs, because almost all programs are taught in English.  Many  injured workers will have to come up with a way to market other skills they have, or will have to start their own businesses. Nevada law prohibits an industrial...

The State of Nevada DIR announced that mileage reimbursements to injured workers traveling to and from medical care or for vocational rehabiliation purposes has been decreased from 55 cents a mile to 50 cents a mile, effective January 1, 2010.  The regulations for mileage reimbursement of travel expenses are found at NAC616C.150.  The request for reimbursement should be on the DIR form D-26, which has the rules for reimbursement on the back side.  Please be sure to send in your reimbursement request form to your adjuster within 60 days of the date of your first...

  Q: What is FMLA? A: FMLA is The Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, a federal law that requires employers of 50 employees or more to grant up to 12 weeks of unpaid protected job leave to eligible employees for certain family and medical reasons.   There is a 12-month eligibility requirement, and only serious health conditions are covered. 29 U.S.C.A. Sections 2601, et.seq. Q: Can my employer reduce my FMLA time while my treating physician takes me off work for my accepted  work-related injury or occupational illness? ...

After every visit to a treating doctor, the injured worker should make sure that he or she leaves with a copy of  a physician progress report (PPR).  Most doctors who are on insurers' provider lists use the DIR- approved physician progress report form.  However, some doctors have forms on their own stationery that  have the same information, but in a different lay-out.  If the nurse or assistant checking you out after the doctor's visit does not offer you a copy of the PPR, please insist that they give you a copy before you leave.  Then read the PPR before you...

Nevada law (NRS 616C.555), provides that the length of a retraining program that may be authorized is determined by the permanent partial disability impairment percentage (the PPD).   This law does not make a lot of sense in that a an injured worker may have a high PPD under the AMA Guides to Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, but may be capable of returning to work, particularly if the injured worker’s job was sedentary.   Similarly, an injured worker may rate a low PPD under the AMA Guides , but may not be capable of working unless he is retrained for a long...

Work-related traumatic injuries to knees and shoulders are common. These are two of the most complex joints in the body. If an injured worker is not getting better with physical therapy, reduced activity, and drugs to reduce inflammation, the initial treating physician may then order a MRI to better diagnose injury to the ligaments, tendons, and cartilage. The clinic physician may also refer the patient to an orthopedic physician. An injured worker may ask for a specific orthopedic physician on the insurer's provider list. Nevada workers in occupations that require extensive...

Not every injured worker needs to hire an attorney, but all injured workers should have access to reliable information on the claims process, what benefits are available, and what to do if the insurer is denying benefits.  Insurers are required to give some written information to injured workers, but those written notices are in fine print, are written so that only lawyers can understand them, and are usually not read.  There are many articles written for injured workers in the  Information Center at https://jhwlawoffice.com/job-injury-information-center.php, with links to...