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June 2018 815-726-9999 | www.blocklaw.com THEBKMS BULLETIN
Shouldering the Burden Will Workers’ Comp Get in the Way of Parenthood?
I love Father’s Day — and not just because it means I’ll get a gift from my kids. Being a dad is one of the most challenging but rewarding experiences of my life. Father’s Day reminds me how lucky I am to be a dad to a couple of beautiful, energetic, courageous young girls. I’m also reminded of how fortunate I am to have the ability to provide my family with financial security. As a lawyer, I’ve met a lot of amazing fathers and mothers who, due to a work- related injury, no longer have that ability and are struggling through a workers’ comp case just to get by. It’s bad enough that an accident at work resulted in someone suffering a physical injury, but a workers’ comp case is often a source of endless stress and emotional turmoil. In our culture, we tend to put our identities into our careers and the work we do. When a person suffers a work-ending injury, their very identity comes into question. Additionally, they lose the ability
would have quick access to the benefits they are entitled to, but that’s rarely the case. Insurance companies work hard to discredit workers’ comp claims at any opportunity, and they have plenty of tricks up their sleeves. They might request vocational rehabilitation and fault someone for not meeting the requirements of finding a new job. Or they may request a utilization review, which is when a new physician is hired to check that you are following guidelines that have been written by insurance companies. Any discrepancy can be used as justification to refuse to pay for additional treatment. Maybe they’ll insist on an “independent” medical evaluation, sending a doctor paid by the insurance company to evaluate you. And when the insurance company is signing their checks, it’s safe to suggest that doctor is being encouraged to produce a specific outcome — one that makes you kiss your benefits goodbye.
personal experience, I have seen many marriages crumble into divorce after a workers’ comp case is added into the mix. Additionally, a work-related injury can erode a person’s relationship with their kids. When someone is too hurt to play catch, or surgery keeps them from being able to sit through the school musical, they start to miss out on the special moments in their children’s lives. And those are some of the most important, special parts of being a parent. One reason I’m so proud of the work I do is because it gives me the opportunity to help parents like myself when they are faced with an endless struggle. Workers’ compensation cases will always be a stressful, exhausting experience. But I have seen how much better things can be when someone has an attorney on their side. We know the tricks the insurance companies like to play and can shoulder some of the burden, making a client’s recovery just a little bit easier.
“LIVING WITH THE POSSIBILITY THAT YOUR WORKERS’ COMP BENEFITS CAN BE TURNED OFF AT ANY MOMENT IS EMOTIONALLY EXHAUSTING.”
to provide for their family, which can be a blow to a person’s sense of self-worth if they’ve traditionally acted as their family’s breadwinner.
Living with the possibility that your workers’ comp benefits can be turned off at any moment is emotionally exhausting. Thanks to all the added stress, a workers’ compensation case can threaten the stability of a family unit. I don’t know what the nationwide statistics are, but in my
In a perfect world, when a person is injured in a work-related accident, they
–Brya n Shell
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The Hazards of Blue Light How to Protect Your Eyes and Minimize Exposure
You may have been warned about blue light and its impending threat to your eyes. It comes from your computer screen, your phone, and even from the sun. Why is this form of light harmful, and how can you keep your eyes safe? IS BLUE LIGHT A NEW THING? filtered by the corneas and lenses, almost all of it reaches the more sensitive retinas.
There are also removable filters you can put on your computer screen. Brands like RetinaShield/Tech Armor and Eyesafe are designed to limit the amount of blue light your eyes are exposed to. To avoid eye strain, talk to your eye doctor about blue light glasses. These tinted glasses, which come in prescription and nonprescription versions, reduce the amount of blue light that reaches your eyes. Remember, blue light itself is just a natural form of light and isn’t inherently bad. During the day, it can even be beneficial to get some natural blue light from sunshine — while wearing sunglasses, of course. But it’s also a good idea to take precautions to protect your eyes from artificial blue light, especially if your work environment and hobbies expose you to it frequently.
Blue light occurs in nature and is nothing new. However, because many electronics emit blue light, it’s more of an issue now than it was just 10 years ago. Backlit LED screens emit strong blue light waves, so our use of devices like cellphones, tablets, and flat-screen TVs means we are exposed to more blue light than ever before. WHY ARE EYE DOCTORS WORRIED? Blue light isn’t inherently bad — it’s found in sunlight and lightbulbs — but our increased exposure to it might be. Our eyes are pretty good at blocking UV rays but not so good at blocking blue light. Blue light has a higher energy output than other forms of light, so instead of being
The high energy output of blue light and our eyes’ inability to protect the retinas from it appears to cause damage similar to macular degeneration, an eye disease mostly affecting people over 65 that can lead to blindness. These similarities to macular degeneration have scientists worried that our increased exposure to blue light could lead to more cases of it. HOW CAN YOU MINIMIZE EXPOSURE? Many computers and electronic devices have a “night shift” option built in. Enabling this feature will dim the screen and lower the amount of blue light that your device emits.
NOT LIKE IN THE MOVIES What Hollywood Gets Wrong About Being a Lawyer
You can’t believe everything you see on TV. Space travel doesn’t look anything like “Star Wars,” and getting bitten by a radioactive spider is more likely to make you sick than give you superpowers. Even movies or TV shows with realistic plots can be way off base. Just look at these myths about the law Hollywood writers want you to believe. MYTH: CASES HAPPEN REALLY FAST. Your average legal drama on TV only has about 60 minutes with commercial breaks to introduce, argue, and then wrap up an entire case. Movies tend to drag things out a little longer, but even the most nail-biting cases are implied to last only a few days. In reality, cases can stretch out for years! Workers’ comp cases last an average of 1 5 months , and sometimes it can take two years for a personal injury case to get to trial! This leaves lawyers with a lot of prep time, which brings us to our next myth … MYTH: LAWYERS SPEND A LOT OF TIME IN COURT. Audiences often see fictional attorneys spend most of their time in a courtroom. At some point, you start to wonder why they don’t rent out a spare closet and just live at the courthouse. While many real lawyers do argue cases in front of a judge, most of the time spent working on a case is done in the office. A typical day for a
lawyer is spent at their desk reviewing cases, drafting arguments, researching legal questions, preparing for depositions, and negotiating settlements. Almost no one yells, “You’re out of order!” MYTH: WINNING A CASE COMES DOWN TO ONE PERSON. In shows like “Law & Order” and “L.A. Law” and movies like “A Few Good Men” and “To Kill a Mockingbird,” winning each case falls solely on the lawyer’s shoulders. Since the lawyer is the main character, it makes narrative sense for them to be the most important character, but this isn’t how it works in a real case. In real life, your case would be handled by numerous associates, lawyers, and paralegals all working together to get their client justice. It really is a team effort! While the life of a lawyer isn’t as thrilling as prime-time dramas suggest, that isn’t to say each case isn’t important. If you find yourself involved in a case, it can
feel like the end of the world. Fortunately, the attorneys at Block, Klukas, Manzella & Shell are available to work together and provide the time and attention your case demands.
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What’s It Worth? How Workers’ Comp Settlements Are Determined Pt 2
Last month, we looked into how workers’ compensation settlements are determined when an injured person is entitled to permanent partial-disability payments. These benefits are granted to a person who has been hurt in a work-related incident that left them with some sort of physical impairment or disfigurement, but they are still able to work at some level. Depending on the nature and severity of their injury, benefits are determined based on wage differential, scheduled injury, loss of percentage of a person as a whole, or disfigurement. But what happens to a person who is so badly injured in a work-related incident that they are completely unable to work? In Illinois, a person is deemed to have a permanent total disability when a doctor has declared they are unable to work or when they have lost use of both feet, legs, hands, arms, eyes, or any combination of two or more body parts. In a workers’ comp case, a person who is permanently disabled has the right to a lifetime of weekly benefits totaling 2/3 of their average weekly wage before the injury, up to the state maximum of $1,435 a week. As you would expect, insurance companies don’t want to be forced to hand over weekly payments to someone for the rest of the worker’s life, so they will often try to argue that an injured person is partially disabled and insist they can still work in some fashion. If a doctor has not deemed you totally disabled, you and your attorney will have to prove there is no reasonable job market for you. To
do this, you must actively search for a job that can meet whatever physical restrictions your injury has left you with. This may require you to apply for dozens of jobs a day for several months and keep a record of all applications and interviews. If you are unable to find a job suited for someone in your condition after a credible job search, this may be evidence enough to convince a workers’ comp arbitrator to rule in your favor. Proving disability in a workers’ comp case can be physically and emotionally exhausting, but you don’t have to face this challenge without help. Call 815-726-9999 and learn how the workers’ comp attorneys at Block, Klukas, Manzella & Shell can help you claim the benefits you are entitled to.
SUDOKU
FATHER’S DAY CHILI LIME CHICKEN WINGS
INGREDIENTS
• 4 pounds chicken wings • 1 stick unsalted butter, softened • 1 1/4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste • 1/4 cup honey • 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 lime, halved • Extra-virgin olive oil • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper • Chopped cilantro for garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. Heat oven to 425 F. 2. Rinse wings under cold water and pat dry. Season liberally with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast on a baking sheet for 25 minutes or until skin becomes crisp and brown. 3. Blend butter, red curry paste, honey, and soy sauce in a large mixing bowl. 4. Toss wings in butter mixture. Squeeze lime juice on top, transfer to serving plate, and garnish with cilantro. (Inspired by foodnetwork.com)
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1. Being a Parent After an Injury 2. What’s All the Fuss About Blue Light? Don’t Take Career Advice From TV 3. What Happens When You Can’t Work After an Injury? Father’s Day Chili Lime Chicken Wings 4. 3 Fathers Who Risked It All for Their Kids 3 Awesome Dads INSIDE
Fathers Who Put Their Lives on the Line for Their Kids
This Father’s Day, thousands of dads will receive a “No. 1 Dad” mug to sip coffee out of at the office. But the following dads took that “No. 1” to a new level. BRIAN MUNN GAVE HIS SON A LIVER TRANSPLANT. When doctors discovered that baby Caleb Munn had a rare disease called biliary atresia, they told his parents that he was unlikely to survive past age 2 without a liver transplant. Luckily, his father was a perfect match, and he eagerly donated part of his liver in March 2015 to save his son’s life. GREG ALEXANDER BATTLED A BEAR FOR HIS SON’S LIFE. While camping in the backcountry of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Greg Alexander was startled awake at dawn by the screams of his 16-year-old son, Gabriel. He rushed out of his hammock to see a black bear dragging his son away by the head. Without hesitation, he kicked the beast in the side, and when that didn’t work, he leapt onto its back and started punching it in the face. When the bear finally released Gabriel, Greg threw rocks until it fled. His son was hurt but made a full recovery in the hospital over the coming weeks.
ARTURMAGOMEDOV SAVEDHIS DAUGHTERS FROM ISIS. Artur Magomedov was devastated to discover that his wife had taken his 3- and 10-year-old daughters from their home in Dagestan under the cover of night, flown to Turkey, and crossed into Syria to join ISIS. But he resolved to get his kids back. After a long, hazardous journey, he arrived in Tabqa to embrace his two daughters. To leave the caliphate — under penalty of death — they hitched a ride to the border one night and crawled along a railway line until they were within 70 meters of the border. Then they ran under fire from Turkish border guards until they could scramble into tall grasses. After some help from the Russian consulate in Istanbul, they made it back home, together again and safe.
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