Move Over for Police Officers on the Side of the Road!

When winter weather strikes, Minnesota’s State Troopers, police officers, and sheriff’s deputies are out in full force to assist motorists involved in crashes or in need of assistance due to bad road conditions. Move over and slow down when you see an officer on the side of the road. Watch this powerful video from the Minnesota State Patrol's Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/MnStatePatrol/videos/10155267944773144/

Unfortunately, while they are helping motorists in need of assistance, our State’s law enforcement officers are placed in harm’s way. Every winter, dozens of Minnesota police officers suffer injuries as a result of a car accident. All too often, these crashes occur while an officer is assisting a motorist and another motorist loses control or is not paying attention and hits the officer who is stopped on the side of the road. An officer is far more likely to be killed or seriously injured as a result of a car crash than being killed or seriously injured by gunfire.

State Troopers, police officers and sheriff’s deputies who suffer injuries as the result of a car crash –whether it is on the side of the road during a stop, while helping motorists involved in a crash, during a pursuit, while responding to a call with lights and sirens, or while on patrol – may be eligible for a number of different types of benefits. Securing these benefits on behalf of the injured officer will ensure access to medical care and cover any lost wages that may occur:

Public Employees Retirement Association (PERA) Police and Fire Plan Duty Disability Benefits or Minnesota State Retirement Association (MSRS) State Patrol Plan Duty Disability Benefits

A State Trooper or police officer who suffers serious injuries resulting in limitations on their ability to perform full duty for a period of at least a year may be eligible for PERA/MSRS Duty Disability benefits. This monthly benefit provides a base rate of 60% of the injured officer’s high five salary. These benefits are non-taxable though age 55 or for 5 years, whichever is longer. Usually, injuries that are the result of an on-duty car crash will qualify for this benefit.

Minnesota Statute 299A.465 Continuation of Health Insurance Benefits

Minnesota troopers and police officers who are determined to be eligible for Duty Disability benefits through PERA or MSRS are also eligible for Continuation of Health Insurance Benefits in accordance with Minn. Stat. § 299A.465. This statute requires the State Trooper or police officer’s employer to continue to pay insurance premiums for health insurance coverage for the officer, and the officer’s family if the officer had family coverage at the time of the injury. This benefit continues through age 65.

Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Benefits

Troopers and other law enforcement officers are also eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for injuries suffered in the line of duty, including injuries that occur as a result of a car crash. Minnesota workers’ compensation includes medical expense benefits, wage loss benefits, permanent partial disability benefits, and rehabilitation benefits. In many cases, the officer may also be eligible for a lump sum settlement.

Personal Injury Civil Liability Claims

In addition to disability pension benefits and workers’ compensation benefits, a police officer who suffers injuries as the result of a motor vehicle crash may also be able to assert a liability claim against the at-fault driver. These claims allow an officer to make claims for past and future medical expenses, past and future wage loss, and past and future pain and suffering – which is not covered by workers’ compensation.

Choosing the right lawyer matters. For Minnesota police officers and State Troopers involved in car crashes, choosing the right lawyer is important. There are several large personal injury firms that do a fantastic job on personal injury claims. BUT, what they don’t do is just as important for Troopers and police officers – those large firms do not handle workers’ compensation or PERA/MSRSA disability claims.  That means that if you hire one of these firms to handle your personal injury claim, you will need to have a second lawyer to handle your workers’ compensation claim, and you are on your own or might even need to hire a third lawyer to help you with your pension claim.

We have heard it time and again – a police officer has hired a lawyer to assist them with their car accident claim, but they are getting no help or guidance on their workers’ compensation or pension claims. They don’t know what steps to take, how to deal with disputes that pop up on their workers’ compensation claims, how to deal with their employer, what to do about their work restrictions and light duty, and what to expect as far as whether they will be able to continue in their job.

At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we handle ALL claims arising out of an in the line of duty car crash for Minnesota police officers. Meuser Law Office, P.A. is the pre-eminent law firm in the State of Minnesota for police officers and firefighters. Coordinating the various claims is complex and a misstep, such as missing a deadline, not filling out paperwork properly, or simply not providing appropriate guidance can cost a officer hundreds, if not thousands of dollars in benefits.

As we get into the homestretch of winter, we can expect several more snowfalls and more bad road conditions. Don’t be the one that is responsible for injuring one of our State’s law enforcement officers. Slow down and move over if you see an officer on the side of the road!

If you are an officer who has suffered injuries due to a car crash, call us first! The experienced attorneys of Meuser Law Office, P.A. will coordinate all of your potential claims to ensure you and your family have access to the full benefits you are entitled to. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Jen Yackley
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Do I Need Work Restrictions to Make a Workers' Compensation Claim?

The simple answer is yes.

Following a work injury, it is of utmost importance that you seek medical treatment. In a typical Minnesota workers' compensation case, an employee will go to the emergency room or urgent care for an evaluation and will be given work restrictions at that time. Work restrictions can be as restrictive as "no work at all" until an employee can be evaluated by a specialist or have an MRI completed. Work restrictions may also be as simple as "no lifting more than 50 pounds." Once you receive work restrictions, you must provide documentation of these restrictions to your human resources department or supervisor immediately.

When you see your doctor following a work injury, it is very important that you inform your doctor that you sustained an injury at work and how the injury occurred. Tell the truth and be consistent with what you tell your doctors. If you are inconsistent in your narrative of how the injury occurred, the workers' compensation insurer may try to deny the claim on this basis.

At some point, your treating physicians may determine that you can return back to full-duty work and release you back to work without formal physical restrictions. Your doctor may think that he's doing you a favor in allowing you to return to work; however, unless your injury was mild or temporary in nature, your treating physician releasing you to return to work without restrictions can be problematic for your workers' compensation claim, in addition to your overall physical well-being.

What are my employer's responsibilities?

When you have restrictions relating to your work injury, your doctor will document the work injury and provide you with restrictions. An employer cannot fire you for having work restrictions and they cannot force you to work outside the scope of your physical restrictions. You may feel pressured by the employer to ask your doctor to lift your physical restrictions, but this could make the injury worse or cause re-injury. In addition, as a practical matter, returning to work without restrictions (even though you remain injured) puts you in a vulnerable position because if you are fired for being unable to perform your job, you will not be entitled to ongoing wage loss benefits. You need physical restrictions to receive wage loss benefits under the Minnesota Worker's Compensation Act.

If you've sustained a work-related injury and have work restrictions, an employer must either accommodate your restrictions in your current position, find a light duty position within your physical restrictions, or provide vocational rehabilitation and training if you are unable to work in your previous position.

Do I have to accept a light duty job?

When you have been injured at work and are unable to perform all the duties of your position, employers will often offer you light duty work. To be acceptable, this work must be within the physical restrictions issued to you by your doctor. If the light duty position pays less, or provides you with fewer hours, you will be entitled to a wage loss benefit known as temporary partial disability (TPD). The purpose of temporary partial disability is to return you to the economic status that you enjoyed before sustaining an injury on the job, and as such, it pays you the difference between what you were making at the time of the injury and what you are making in the light duty position.

Every light duty job is different. It is very important that you do not turn down or refuse a light duty job offer until you speak with an attorney. An experienced attorney will be able to analyze the job offer and determine whether it is physically and economically suitable. If it is, your safest course of action would be to accept the light duty position. If you do not, you run the risk of the workers' compensation insurer terminating your ongoing wage loss benefits.

Don't wait to get an attorney involved if you have a Minnesota workers' compensation claim. The process can be complex and you want to be sure you receive the full benefits to which you are entitled. Contact Meuser Law Office, P.A. for a free no-obligation consultation and claim evaluation. At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we keep our clients informed of the process as well as what to expect each step of the way. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Ashley Biermann
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Is My PTSD Still Compensable if Caused by Numerous Traumatic Events?

Under the Minnesota Worker's Compensation Act, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may be characterized as a personal injury or as an occupational disease. Minn. Stat. §176.011, subd. 15(a). PTSD may develop as a result of exposure to a traumatic event or multiple traumatic events, which cause a person's capacity to cope with stress to be overwhelmed and clinically disabling. Particularly in cases involving law enforcement or firefighters, a claimant's PTSD diagnosis cannot be tied to one particular event; rather, each new traumatic event compound stress until the stress becomes psychologically and physiologically disabling.

The Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act defines PTSD as "the condition as described in the most recently published edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by the American Psychiatric Association." Minn. Stat. 176,011, subd. 15(d). All the parties agree that the DSM-V is the most recently published edition of the DSM by the American Psychological Association. The statute requires psychiatrists, psychologists, and the court to use the DSM-V in determining whether an employee suffers from compensable PTSD.

The DSM-V explicitly states that PTSD may develop from an event or multiple events, noting that a person may witness "event(s)" as it occurs to others and "experiencing repeated" exposures, specifically citing police officers performing job duties involving witnessing repeated trauma to others. (DSM p. 271). Based upon the plain language of the DSM-V, examinees are not required to tie their symptoms to a single traumatic event. If this were the intention of the American Psychiatric Association, the authors would have written "traumatic event" and not "traumatic event(s)." (DSM-V at 271-72). Prong 4 under Criteria A of the DSM-V also demonstrates that medical professionals must examine multiple traumatic events. If an examinee qualifies only under the aversive details prong then they, by definition, would be referring to many or several incidents with regard to his or her symptoms listed in Criteria B-E because the fourth prong refers to repeated exposure. 

Unfortunately, insurers use "independent psychological examiners" or "IPEs," who are paid experts hired to find that you do not suffer from PTSD and if you do suffer from a psychological condition, the condition is not PTSD and is caused by non-work-related activities.

Typically, IPEs exclude employees from a PTSD diagnoses by attempting to circumvent the explicit text of the DSM-V by imposing additional requirements. An IPE's personal interpretation of how physicians should diagnose PTSD is above and beyond what the Minnesota legislature requires in the statute as well as the actual authors of the DSM-V.

IPEs may use the CAP-5, a structure interview that mirrors the symptoms described in the DSM-5. Physicians use the CAPS-5 to track fluctuations in PTSD symptoms, for research and to determine if treatment is working. IPEs may limit the CAPS-5 interview is limited to several of an employee's "worst" traumatic events and only inquire of symptoms within the past 30 days. The CAPS-5 has a few different versions, the lifetime and the "current" version, which examines reported symptoms within the past 30 days. The DSM-V does not limit reported symptoms to a set time frame, unlike the CAPS-5. (DSM-V at 271-280).

IPEs may also then creatively interpret psychometric testing to exclude claimants from a PTSD diagnosis. The MMPI-2 and the MMPI-2-RF are not diagnostic tools are not required by the DSM-V. As much as both the legal and scientific community would desire a brain scan or a blood test to check for PTSD or any other mental health disorder, that's simply not possible. Additionally, the MMPI-2 is the only test that contains a scale specially tailored to examine the likelihood of PTSD; yet, IPEs may use the MMPI-2 RF that does not contain that scale.

If you believe you or someone you love suffers from work-related PTSD, contact the experienced attorneys at Meuser Law Office, P.A. for a free, no-obligation intensive case consultation. You may be entitled to thousands of dollars in benefits from PERA/MSRS, or under the Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Mary Beth
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What Can I Expect to Receive in a Workers' Compensation Settlement?

A question often asked by clients when meeting for the first time is "how much is my claim worth?" While there is no hard and fast rule when it comes to estimating the value of a Minnesota workers' compensation claim, there are a variety of factors in every claim that help determine a fair settlement value or range.

1. How long have you been receiving wage loss benefits?

Most wage loss benefits in the workers' compensation system have temporal caps. For example, you can only receive 130 weeks of temporary total disability benefits (TTD) for injuries occurring on or after October 1, 2013. In addition, you can only receive 225 weeks of temporary partial wage loss benefits (TPD) or approximately four and a half years. Because these wage loss benefits are capped, the number of weeks you have received benefits will affect the value of a Minnesota workers' compensation claim.

2. Average weekly wage, i.e., how much were you earning on your date of injury?

If the injured person is a high wage earner, the value of the claim will be greater than someone earning a lower wage. The average weekly wage for a claim is calculated based upon average earnings for the six months preceding the date of injury. As such, it is important to have an accurate average weekly wage calculation and to be using the most recent date of injury to ensure the greatest possible settlement from workers' compensation is received.

3. Did the insurer accept or deny your workers' compensation claim?

When a workers' compensation claim is accepted by the insurer, you generally have a stronger position going into a settlement conference or mediation. This is true because many times the insurer is paying the employee ongoing benefits. If your claim is accepted, there will still be a dispute with the insurer with regard to the "nature and extent" of the injury and the amount of the benefits owed but the insurer has admitted responsibility for the injury when a claim is accepted.

On the other hand, if a claim is denied and litigation is pending, the insurance company knows that there is a chance that they will not have to pay anything for the claim. If you go to court, there is a chance the insurance company will win, and this is factored into the insurance company's exposure analysis for your claim. For example, let's say you have a 50% chance of winning your claim. The insurance company will typically look at the overall exposure for your claim, calculate how much you would receive if your case went to hearing and we won on each of the claims then reduce that amount by 50%, (i.e., the estimated chance of success for the claim).

4. Did you sustain a permanent or temporary injury? 

This concept is relatively straightforward. If you sustained a serious injury and are issued permanent restrictions, the insurance company will understand that you will likely collect most, if not all, of your wage loss benefits. In addition, you will likely be entitled to a benefit known as permanent partial disability (PPD) for the loss of use or functioning of the affected body part. This benefit is not available to employees that have sustained minor injuries. Conversely, if you sustained a relatively minor injury, the claim will likely have a limited settlement value because the injured person is expected to make a full recovery and return to the date of injury employer at full wage earnings.

5. How strong is your medical support?

If there is medical support from a treating physician, linking the injured individual's current condition to a work-injury, the claim tends to be stronger. This is especially true if the treating physician is an experienced, well-respected specialist, such as an orthopedic surgeon, in the relevant area. Remember, the burden of proof in a workers' compensation claim is on the employee. This means that the injured employee is responsible for providing medical evidence to support the claims if the matter goes before a judge. As such, if a claims adjuster or a defense attorney gets a persuasive narrative report from a treating physician that supports your claims, they will understand that you will be much more likely to be successful at hearing, which adds value to your claim.

6. Who is representing you?

If you choose to represent yourself, you will be at a serious disadvantage when it comes to settling your claims. Minnesota workers' compensation is a complex, confusing area of the law and you will not know whether you are getting all the benefits to which you are entitled unless you have an experienced workers' compensation attorney. In addition, your employer will be represented by a claims adjuster or attorney that has significant experience in the area and they will not be looking out for your best interests.

If you are thinking about settling your Minnesota workers' compensation claim, it is of utmost importance that you check with a workers' compensation attorney before you do. This is especially true if you are a police officer or firefighter and also entitled to PERA or MSRS benefits because there are certain, applicable offset provisions that will apply to any workers' compensation settlement. A wrong decision could cost you thousands of dollars. Contact Meuser Law Office, P.A. for a free no-obligation consultation and claim evaluation. At Meuser Law Office, P.A. we keep our clients informed of the process as well as what to expect each step of the way. Call us today at 1-877-746-5680.

by Ashley Biermann
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