Law Office of Michael Kitzman

08/24/2020

Today I am going to cover the requirement in D.C. for reporting a work injury. The extended period of time that many have been out of work in the last few weeks and months has raised questions for many injured workers about how and when they can report on the job injuries. These may have occurred either right before a shutdown or simply be conditions that didn’t show up until weeks later.
If you remember nothing else, or don’t read any further, remember this: When you report a work injury to your employer make sure you talk with a supervisor or manager and tell them what is injured, when you got hurt, where you got hurt and how you got hurt. Doing that will help protect your rights in the future.
D.C. law requires that an injury be reported to your employer writing within 30 days of the date of the accident, or within 30 days after you became aware that a condition was caused by a work accident. The law also lays out that the written report is to be completed using a Form 7 and Form 7A from the D.C Office of Workers’ Compensation.
But there are a lot of exceptions to this requirement. The first is the requirement that the reporting to your employer be in writing. The courts have stated that if your employer has actual notice of the injury within the 30 days, then that is the same as providing written notice. This means that if you were taken to the hospital by an ambulance from the job, your employer has some idea that there might be a work injury. It also means that if you tell your supervisor that you hurt your back, or your knee, or your arm; or if they saw you do it, then they have sufficient notice that an injury occurred and you have met the requirement.
There are problems with verbally reporting the injury to your employer though. The first is that there is no record of when the conversation took place. All too often managers, supervisors, and HR directors will come to court and testify that an injured worker never told them anything or that the injured worker only told them they had a medical problem, not that it happened on the job. This leads to the second problem. Often when a work injury is reported verbally, an injured employee with tell a supervisor that they are hurt. There is no specific mention of where, how, or when it happened. To the injured worker it seems obvious. I just hurt my shoulder and now I am telling you that my shoulder hurts. But insurance companies are masters at using the lack of detail against injured workers. They will argue that the supervisor had no way of knowing that it was a work injury, or how it happened or when it happened, so they just assumed it must have happened at home.
This is why it is important that whenever you report a work injury you include 4 things: What you hurt, when you hurt it, where it happened, and how you hurt it. If it can be done in writing with a copy made, even better. If you can email or text your boss, that also will create the written record that will protect you later.
Remember, that even if you had an injury that occurred days, or even weeks ago, it is not too late to report the injury at work. If you contact a supervisor or manager and report the same information: What is hurt, where and when it happened, and how it happened; you still have a claim under D.C. law.
If you have any questions about a work injury, either new or older, please contact the Law Office of Michael Kitzman for a free consultation.

08/17/2020

A question that often come up through my whole practice is the difference between Medicare and Medicaid. In the news and even in doctor’s offices, we often hear both of these programs being used almost interchangeably. But these programs are different. They have different requirements to apply, different copays, and different doctors that you may be able to use. Today I would like to give just a brief description of each program.
Medicare is an insurance program run by the federal government. You can get Medicare if you fall into one of three categories: are over 65 years old; are disabled under Social Security’s definition; or have End Stage Renal Disease. This basically means that you are eligible for Medicare if you are able to receive Social Security either due to your age (Social Security Retirement), or because you are disabled (SSDI).
Medicare has a number of different coverage parts, but the most common are Part A, Part B, Part D and Medicare Advantage. Medicare Part A covers hospital stays, hospice care, and some nursing facilities. Medicare Part B is medical insurance. It covers doctors visits, medical supplies and outpatient services, among other things. Part D is prescription coverage. Medicare Advantage, also known as Part C, is an alternative program that bundles the coverage of the other parts and is offered by a private insurance company.
While Medicare covers a number of items and treatments, it is not free. Medicare requires a copay for most treatment and medications. This is generally 20% of the total cost. This means that in workers’ compensation cases or auto accidents, that the bills for treatment often will still add up quickly.
Medicaid is a program that is funded by both the federal government and the state you live in. Each state runs its own Medicaid program, which must meet certain federal requirements to keep getting federal funds. Medicaid covers low-income adults, children, pregnant women, and elderly and disabled individuals subject to income requirement. The specifics of who does or does not qualify under these groups depends on the state you live in and the specific requirements that the state has set. In order to see if you qualify, you would need to contact your state’s health department.
Unlike Medicare, Medicaid does not have copays or out of pocket expenses. This means that medical care that you receive under Medicaid comes at no cost to you.. But there is a catch. Most physicians will only accept Medicaid from the state that the doctor is located in. This means that if you have Maryland Medicaid, but want to go to a doctor in D.C., they may not accept your program, or the program may not pay for the treatment you received. This is a requirement that is especially important in the D.C Metro area, where people may live, work, and go to the doctor in one of three different states/districts that each have a separate Medicaid program. Making sure that you are covered means making sure that you have a lawyer familiar with the programs when treating for your accident and injury.
For workers’ compensation and auto accident programs, both Medicare and Medicaid will require repayment of any treatment that they provided that was as a result of the injury. For workers’ compensation cases, these requests for repayment are sent directly to the workers’ compensation insurance company, who makes the payment to Medicare or Medicaid. For an auto accident, the injured person is responsible for making sure that Medicare or Medicaid is reimbursed for the treatment that they provided out of any settlement or verdict.

08/13/2020

Today I am going to cover the requirement in Maryland for reporting a work injury. The extended period of time that many have been out of work in the last few weeks and months has raised questions for many injured workers about how and when they can report on the job injuries. These may have occurred either right before a shutdown or simply be conditions that didn’t show up until weeks later.
If you remember nothing else, or don’t read any further, remember this: When you report a work injury to your employer make sure you talk with a supervisor or manager and tell them what is injured, when you got hurt, where you got hurt and how you got hurt. Doing that will help protect your rights in the future.
Maryland law requires that you provide notice of an injury to your employer within 10 days of the date of the accidental injury. IF the accident results in death or the condition is the result of an occupational disease, the reporting requirements are different. Maryland law requires that this initial notice be in writing and include specific information, including when where and how the accident happened and what was injured It also requires that it be signed.
This requirement is not absolute. If written notice has not been provided in 10 days, the claim can still be accepted if the Workers’ Compensation Commission finds that there was a sufficient reason for doing so, or if there was no prejudice to either the employer or the insurance company because of the delay. In practice this means two things.
First, if you report the injury longer than 10 days after it happened, there is a good chance that the case will go to a hearing rather than just be accepted by the insurance company. Second, if you have reported the injury even verbally and everyone agrees this happened, you still have a chance to get your claim accepted.
There are problems with verbally reporting the injury to your employer though. The first is that there is no record of when the conversation took place. All too often managers, supervisors, and HR directors will come to court and testify that an injured worker never told them anything or that the injured worker only told them they had a medical problem, not that it happened on the job. This leads to the second problem. Often when a work injury is reported verbally, an injured employee with tell a supervisor that they are hurt. There is no specific mention of where, how, or when it happened. To the injured worker it seems obvious. I just hurt my shoulder and now I am telling you that my shoulder hurts. But insurance companies are masters at using the lack of detail against injured workers. They will argue that the supervisor had no way of knowing that it was a work injury, or how it happened or when it happened, so they just assumed it must have happened at home.
This is why it is important that whenever you report a work injury you include 4 things: What you hurt, when you hurt it, where it happened, and how you hurt it. If it can be done in writing with a copy made, even better. If you can email or text your boss, that also will create the written record that will protect you later.
Remember, that even if you had an injury that occurred days, or even weeks ago, it is not too late to report the injury at work. If you contact a supervisor or manager and report the same information: What is hurt, where and when it happened, and how it happened; contact a lawyer to make sure your rights are protected..

02/26/2018

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2018/02/how-tipped-wages-effect-you-when-you.html

Workers' Compensation payments in both DC and Maryland are based on how much money you are making at the time you are injured. This means t...

11/16/2016

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2016/11/what-is-mmi.html

People that have been involved in the workers' compensation system, especially those that have been to a hearing, often find themselves drow...

08/04/2016

We have officially reached our One Year Anniversary. Thank you to all my family, friends, and especially my clients for helping to make our first year a success.

08/03/2016

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2016/05/why-proving-you-had-accident-isnt-enough.html

08/01/2016

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2016/01/why-its-important-to-keep-appointments.html

07/30/2016

This is the forgotten side of those who take care of us when we are sick or hurt. CNAs and hospital support staff suffer injuries at rates closer to firefighters than to office workers. http://www.npr.org/2015/03/24/394823592/despite-high-rates-of-nursing-injuries-government-regulators-take-little-action

While industry and government officials agree something needs to be done to prevent the tens of thousands of debilitating injuries among nursing staff, nobody can agree how to enforce it.

01/26/2016

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2016/01/can-i-receive-social-security-while-on.html

12/30/2015

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-employer-said-to-give-them-medical.html

12/21/2015

http://kitzmanlaw.blogspot.com/2015/12/do-i-pay-taxes-on-this.html