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Workers Compensation Benefits continue Declining

Workers Compensation Benefits continue Declining

The attached story has some good news-but more bad news. Yes, benefits paid out to injured workers have been steadily falling over the past few years. Some of the decline in benefits is due to safer work conditions-which is great news for injured workers, but as the article goes on to state, a LOT is related to the fact “that many injured workers are not receiving the cash benefits and/or medical care they need, and that some states are achieving lower benefits by shifting costs rather than improving safety.”

When costs are “shifted,” that means that State Legislators are cutting back on the obligations of insurance carriers and passing it onto the taxpayer-who takes over the obligation of ensuring the injured worker is taken care of through Medicare, Medicaid and disability benefits.

These State Legislatures have conveniently forgotten how workers’ comp laws came into being; how State Legislatures entered into what has been called a Grand Compromise in creating systems of workers compensation benefits. The compromise asked ALL parties to give and take for the betterment of all involved. With Workers Compensation laws, the injured worker would be entitled to prompt medical treatment paid for by their employer’s workers compensation insurance carrier; they were also provided compensation while they were out of work recovering from their job injury and a capped amount of compensation should they suffer a permanent physical impairment. In return, the employers were protected from being sued under general tort law- which allowed for much higher damage awards against them, and the insurance companies made more money by selling more and more policies.

In the last decade State Legislatures have been consistently chipping away at the benefits injured workers can receive, sacrificing those injured at work on the altar of MORE. Their logic is that by lessening workers compensation benefits injured workers can receive, they can lure more businesses into their State and create more jobs. This rationale is called The Race to the Bottom, and as States fight to entice more businesses to their States; the problem is it doesn’t work (the last decade’s economic growth in American has been horrible, so one would logically state this line of thinking has not worked).

The War Against Injured Workers is still being waged, and at Powell and Denny, we are fighting for injured workers.

If you were hurt at work and you have any questions about an Alabama Workers Compensation claim, don’t hesitate to contact and speak with one of the experienced Alabama Work Injury Lawyers at Powell and Denny today.

Powell and Denny: We Work When You Can’t

Offices in Huntsville, AL and Hoover, AL

Powell and Denny have been selected as one of the Best Law Firms by U.S. News and World Report for each of the last 6 years, have been selected as one of Birmingham’s Top Lawyers by B-Metro Magazine for the last 3 years, have been selected by The National Advocates as one of the Top 20 Workers’ Compensation Firms (plaintiffs) and Powell and Denny, P.C.-has been selected as one of the “Best of the Best” law firms by The American Registry.

Mr. Denny AV rated by Martindale Hubbard (the highest rating possible) and Mr. Powell has been rated as Superior by The National Registry
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Workers Compensation Benefits continue Declining

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