Mark Kabins, M.D. spoke to a small group of claimants' attorneys last week to  talk about treatment of work-related spinal injuries.  Dr. Kabins, a long-time resident of Las Vegas, was a very animated and passionate speaker about  treating injuries  under workers' compensation  claims. He is a Diplomat of both the American Board of   Orthopedic Surgery and the American Board of Spine Surgery.   I told  Dr. Kabins that many of my clients want to k now whether they should be asking for a transfer of care to a neurosurgeon,  or instead,  to an orthopedic surgeon,  when it appears that they...

 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 with an accepted Nevada claim moves out of Nevada while still needing medical care, he or she must do the following: 1. Before the move, find the name of  a reputable doctor you want to treat you.  Do some homework and ask people in your new hometown....

Temporary partial disability benefits  (TPD) are benefits that may be payable under the following circumstances: 1. You are working a temporary light duty job at a lesser wage because your duties are different, or you are making the same wage but your employer has reduced your hours each week; 2. You have a permanent job that is within your restrictions, but you are not making your compensation rate, but hope to within the next two years ; 3. You have concurrent employers at the time of your injury, and can only return to work for one of those employers while recuperating from your...

 If you are injured while in the course and scope of your employment while driving, and the accident wasn't your fault, your case is more complicated than the usual work injury case.  I urge you to consult with a knowledgeable attorney so that you do not lose important rights and sources of recovery available to you.   Not all personal injury attorneys are knowledgeable about Nevada's workers' compensation law. If the driver who caused the accident has only a minimal liability policy of $15,000,  your workers' compensation benefits may be even more important to you...

 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 employer must take you back and find you work that takes into account that you have these permanent work restrictions.  Under Nevada workers' compensation law, the answer to that question is:  No your employer is not required to modify your...

 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 was a monopolistic state agency.  No private insurers were allowed to provide policies to employers, and there were no self-insured employers.   In 1973, the legislature directed the NIC to...

Recently, I wrote a blog post about PTSD in which I discussed the Nevada Supreme Court's decision in the McGrath case, involving a police officer whose stress claim was denied because she claimed that a series of events over 18 months in her work as a traffic  police officer, as opposed to one specific dangerous incident, caused her PTSD.  The Court gave a very narrow interpretation to Nevada's stress claim statute, NRS 616C.180, and stated that it was a requirement of the law as written that there be a specific event exposing the claimant to stress in time of danger that causes...