The Division of Industrial Relations (DIR) held an important training this week (11/13/19) to discuss the implementation of new workers’ compensation provider lists after the passing of SB 381. The DIR is part of the State of Nevada Department of Business and Industry. They are the regulatory agency that more or less oversees workers’ compensation insurance companies and doctors in Nevada. The provider lists that are being updated as a result of SB 381 are the lists of treating doctors who can see injured workers’. Insurance companies use doctors from the DIR’s list and compile a list of...

Nevada workers’ compensation doctors are typically picked from the workers’ compensation insurer’s provider list. What does that even mean? Workers’ compensation insurance companies have a list of doctors who are in their network and are willing to see injured workers. Recent changes in the law effective in January 2020 will require these insurance companies to expand their lists to have a reasonable number of doctors for each specialty. In my opinion injured workers have way too little control over which doctors they can see. In Nevada, the law allows for an injured worker to request a...

Occasionally, an injured worker’s injuries are so severe that even after medical treatment has concluded they cannot return to work doing what they used to do. Injured workers in this position may not be out of options for future employment… often they will be eligible for vocational rehabilitation. What is vocational rehabilitation? Vocational rehabilitation consists of job training at a vocational/trade school. These schools allow a person to learn a new trade or skill that will be useful in helping them gain future employment. For example, injured workers can go through vocational...

All too often I hear from client’s “I don’t want to sue my employer… I love where I work!” Occasionally, I will also hear, “I hate my employer… this is all their fault, can I sue them?” My response to both of these clients is the same. In Nevada, an injured worker can not sue their employer for injuries that occurred in the course and scope of their employment. The injured workers’ remedy is to file a claim for workers’ compensation through their employer’s workers’ compensation insurance policy. Workers’ Compensation is an Exclusive Remedy. In most states, including Nevada, a workers’...

Average Monthly Wage for Fiscal Year 2020 Increases. For Fiscal Year 2020, which begins on July 1, 2019, the maximum average monthly wage used to calculate workers’ compensation benefits has increased to $6,096.60. This is applicable to injuries on claims filed after July 1, 2019. If you have a claim established already, this increase will not affect your benefits. The maximum temporary total disability benefit in Nevada is 66 2/3 of the maximum average monthly wage. That means that if the injured worker is off work due to the injury for a month, or her employer does not have light duty...

Claimants love it and insurers don't... the famous/infamous NRS 616C.145. Prior to the 1990's Nevada workers' compensation claims used to be liberally construed in favor of the injured worker, claims would move much faster, and the whole process was much less burdensome than it is today. It was in the 1990's that the wind shifted and injured workers’ started to get the colder end of the deal. The language in the statute that mandated that claims be "liberally construed in favor of the claimant" was removed and so were the days of "no litigation claims." In 2017, the legislature passed...

The “PPR” serves several very important purposes. The PPR (Physician’s Progress Report) can be viewed as an injured worker’s report card from their treating physician. Insurance adjusters often get these reports directly from the treating doctor, however, injured workers can also get a copy after each appointment with their doctor. It is my recommendation that you do request one before you leave the doctor’s office! What does the PPR tell you? The PPR contains a lot of important information that dictates many aspects of an injured workers’ claim. For example, the PPR indicates: (1)...