A shrewd Texas corporate lawyer by the name of Bill Minick proudly proclaims “We’re talking about re-engineering one of the pillars of social justice…”(i.e.,Workers’ Compensation). Mess with the “pillars of social justice”?! Really Bill? You may be the son of an evangelist, but you are not God!
Continue ReadingThe “Demolition of Workers’ Comp” and accompanying info on the NPR website is well-researched and traces the origins of workers’ compensation law and the “grand bargain” between workers and employers: injured workers gave up their right to sue negligent employers in return for prompt lost wage and medical benefits. Employer and business interests are now trying to renege on that century old bargain by gutting state workers’ compensation laws.
Continue Readingthe disability law firm of Turley Redmond & Rosasco, L.L.P., we would like to wish all our clients, friends and fellow travelers in the disability community a very Merry Christmas
Continue ReadingAs reported in the Wall Street Journal today, the nation-wide Social Security Disability firm of Binder and Binder formally filed for bankruptcy last night in New York. The bankruptcy petition filed with the Court is 62 pages long (we will post on Monday) and lists current total employees as of October 2014 at 966. The bankruptcy petition indicates that the staff at Binder & Binder will shrink, presumably by closing offices and layoffs, to 355 employees as of December 2016. In addition, employee benefits will shrink by approximately one third. According to the petition filed in Court, there will be no more […]
Continue ReadingGov. Andrew Cuomo has announced that employer costs for New York workers’ compensation in New York State will be reduced by a whopping $45 million in 2015. This was done by lowering the cost to run the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board. The reduction in New York workers’ compensation costs to business was accomplished without cutting benefits to seriously injured workers. This is a win-win for employers and workers! “Reducing the cost of doing business in New York has been a top priority for this administration and I’m proud to announce that our reforms to the workers’ compensation system have lowered rates [to employers] for the second straight […]
Continue ReadingTurley Redmond & Rosasco, L.L.P. would like to urge you to preserve your right to New York worker’s compensation benefits if you participated in the rescue, recovery and clean-up of the World Trade Center from 9/11/2001 through 9/12/ 2002. File a WTC-12 form (www.wcb.ny.gov/WTC12) with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board by 9/11/14. This preserves your right to future medical and lost wage benefits, should you ever need them, if you get sick in the future. For example, if you are diagnosed with a 9/11 related cancer any time after 9/12/2014, you will NOT be able to claim valuable […]
Continue ReadingThe long debate over whether or not the Scaffold Law should be reformed or repealed continues. In short, contractors, property owners and insurers want it repealed because they feel it is antiquated and biased against them. Labor advocates want it to remain and continue to protect the safety of New York construction workers. The Scaffold Law was enacted in New York back in 1885 to hold employers accountable in upholding safety measures for workers that were laboring at dangerous heights during the skyscraper boom. Over the years, there has been some lobbying in an attempt to repeal the law, but in […]
Continue ReadingIt is also a sad day for the overwhelming majority of New York Disability lawyers with integrity. The lawyer who allegedly orchestrated the decade’s long scam, Raymond LaVallee, was a person I never met despite being a Social Security disability lawyer myself for over 22 years. I never saw him at local or national Social Security Bar Association events or seminars. Like many such alleged fraudsters, he appears to have slithered in the isolated murky waters that often accompany those who live to scam – rather than live to serve.
Continue Readingthe settlement in Padro v. Astrue (Colvin) grants over 4000 disability claimants who were unfairly denied benefits by five rogue judges in Queens, NY the right to new hearings before different and independent judges. It also forces the five errant ALJ’s to undergo remedial re-training on Social Security law and proper procedures for conducting fair hearings. Finally, all future decisions by these five judges will be monitored by a special unit within the Social Security Administration for 30 months into the future. So there Mr. “Disability is easy to get” Kroft – stick this decision in your pipe and smoke it!
Continue ReadingBack in October, the Workers’ Compensation Board announced that they would be introducing New York State eClaims Requirement Tables and Implementation Guide in the Spring. This entails the introduction of the new Form C-2F which will allow employers to easily report an on-the-job injury or illness. The implementation of eClaims has been set to happen in phases. But once all claims administrators have transitioned to eClaims, Forms C-2, VAW-2 and VF-2 will be obsolete. For more information on eClaims you can go the the Workers’ Compensation Boards website or direct any questions to eClaims@wcb.ny.gov.
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