Hawaii Injured Workers Group

[up2god]

is there anybody in hawaii that want to protest against department of labor

[BvIA]

Probably a lot of IW;s Solicitation on these boards is frowned upon. But if there are interested parties, they can send you a private message.a PM.

You need to attack your state elected represenatives though, the Dept of Labor only enforces the laws the legislature enacts... they dont control anything... so what would be the protest ?

[up2god]

thanks for the advise what i was intending was to hold signs up asking why does it take over two months to schedule a hearing and 4 to 5 months to get a hearing and not receiving any t.t.d payments no income and about to be homeless.

[BvIA]

thanks for the advise what i was intending was to hold signs up asking why does it take over two months to schedule a hearing and 4 to 5 months to get a hearing

Shouldn't take that long to get on the schedule/calendar. Hearings are also set based on need...If there is someone in front of you waiting on a hearing to determine a medical treatment denial, and your is AOE/COE and your eligibility for wage loss benefits... that other IW is going to be in front of you.

There are LOTS of disputed issues in comp claims. The backlog in the courts, nationwide are holding up the process for the IW and the ER/IC from ligitaging their disputes, and the providers who have been forced to file liens to get paid for the treatment provided. Even in cases where prior authorization has been provided by the carrier... they don't pay the bills.

4 to 5 months to get a hearing and not receiving any t.t.d payments no income and about to be homeless.

Benefits are not paid while the disputed issue/parties wait to go to hearing/court. That is why there is a dispute in most cases... the ER/IC is claimiing no TTD is due, you are saying "Oh yes there is''....go to court for a judge to decide.

[up2god]

about going to court for non payment of t.t.d. benefits the department of labor has jurisdiction i had a hearing on this issue and the insurance companys attorney was ordered by the director's decision and ordered t.t.d. payments to be paid , i went to work for another company doing light duty and when there was no light duty the i/c still refuses to pay t.t.d. benefits . they filed an appeal to the decision and then dropped the appeal 10 months later i am not receiving income, you have to file for a hearing on something that has been ordered by the director yet the attorneys play a delay game, there is no law for against the i/c for financial losses while you wait for a hearing my attorney is in with the system because they dont get paid until you settle so i am firing my attorney because nothing is being documented in writing after telling him and he continued to make phone calls regarding my case, my question would be who oversees the system as far as attorneys not complying with the laws implemented by department of labor, a decision was made and the i/c attorneys play this delay game , also after this hearing coming up they will appeal and the game continues who can i contact to stop the abuse of authority

[BvIA]

There are laws that govern the provision of benefits..true.
WC is a legal system, not a benefit. The ER is the insured party, not the EE/IW.

As WC is no fault, the ER is providing immediate treatment, the IW gives up the right to sue.( that is a very narrow interpretation of WC)

Furthermore, beccause it's legal, the ER/IC has the right to dispute benefits you claim you are entitled to. That mean going to court.
That also applies to your side...your Dr requests a specific treatment..IC denies, you dispute...go to court. And... either side has the ability to dispute thoes findings to a higher court.

i went to work for another company doing light duty and when there was no light duty the i/c still refuses to pay t.t.d. benefits

Right there is part of your problem. You returned to work. At a different ER no less. Now they have the ability to claim you have reinjured yourself and and next ER is now liable.
Had you remained with the ER liable for your injury, and there was no light duty, you possibly would have seen your TTD resuem, without difficulty.

my attorney is in with the system because they dont get paid until you settle so i am firing my attorney because nothing is being documented in writing after telling him and he continued to make phone calls regarding my case,

That statement is kinda contradictive ... if your atty was ''in with'' them, don't you think he's be pushing you to settle out on this claim so he could get paid?
What do you want your atty to 'document'... ?
What do you want to see your atty do here ?
There is little/nothing your atty can do until the process moves forward, or some direction, where he has the opportunity to ''represent you''.

you have to file for a hearing on something that has been ordered by the director yet the attorneys play a delay game,

As I said above the reason for hearing now is likely your RTW status.
Besides that... how do you think anyone is ''playing a delay game''?
The WC courts are fULL of claims such as yours...there simply are not enough judges to handle the backlog.

As there was no light duty work at your new job, and appearantly you have been released to RTW... have you applied for UI benefits, or looked for a job that will fit your restrictions. ? That would be a good way to see some wages in your bank account.

[up2god]

my attorney is moving quicker since i said he was being terminated the i/c attorneys agreed to pay late t.t.d. and my medical treatment is up for hearing i/c attorneys want to settle and pay fines and late t.t.d that still is owed because my new employer did not provide 40 hours a week light duty , i would miss 3 days one week 2 days sometimes a whole week after the first year over 60 days where missed they agreed to make a package deal, also i/c attorneys want another i.m.e. done allowing my attorney to chose i have been rated 10% by the i/c i.m.e. report and this is another reason why i am having with my w/c claim they keep using his opinions to terminate my medical treatment my doctor told me he could not treat me since feb 3 2009 and my attorney said nothing about my treatment but said go see your doctor under your new employer so in april i get called to the labor appeals board to settle , tried again in june twice said i wanted a hearing now its august and hearing been filed, no date set till this date. but after firing my attorney i told him a letter needs to be sent asking the i/c attorneys why are they refusing to pay t.t.d and travel reimburstment, they have agreed this has been going on since may 2008 now they want all this to go away and avoid a hearing, my question is should i have anothe i.m.e done by a doctor of my choice ?? and in hawaii the process is hearing d.c.d. gets appealed 1 year later then appeal to the supreme court. i went back to work to see if my back could get stronger physically i will probably only have light duty work but at least i am trying. is another i.m.e. going to benefit me thanks

[BvIA]

is another i.m.e. going to benefit me

That's a decision to be made between you and your attorney. We don't have all the facts of your claim, other than what you say here... you have discussed the issues concerning you with your atty, and things appear to be moving some.
It would not be right or ethical for another atty to step in front of your current atty and suggest changes to his plan.

There are not that many attys posting here...I'm not one, and can't tell you to go to your own IME or not.

BTW... could you try to break up those long posts into some paragraphs, or puncuation... run ons are difficult to read. You'll receive better responses that way. Lots of people stop reading when the letters blur.

[up2god]

thanks for the advise this is real helpful , my last question is if my attorney agreed to a stipulation remand because i was appealing other issues is it true that if my case comes up for hearing only the issues on the stipulation can be heard ??

[BvIA]

Stipulations are a type of agreement in most cases.. where the parties agree to the issues ie PD rating, indemnity due, continuing medical treatment and any other issues that may not have been addrressed..The claim basically stops there, and you are paid the PD indemnity over time.

I don't know what a 'stipulation remand' is in HI... you should talk to your atty about this. Thats legal advice.
YOU have to agree to any type of settlement in your claim.