Florida Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

Since the Florida Legislature "reformed" workers' compensation in 2003, the number of claims, the settlement value of claims and the amount of attorney fees paid, have plummeted dramatically. Although there are variations from County to County, some estimates hold that the number of claims are approximately 50% less today, than in 2003. Of course, there are many reasons for the decrease, including a high unemployment rate and a fear of some injured workers to "rock the boat" and jeopardize a job, by filing and pursuing workers' compensation benefits.

Notwithstanding the dramatic decrease in claims and the precipitous decline of the dollar value of benefits paid by workers' compensation insurers, these same carriers are now seeking an 8.9% increase in premiums, as recommended by the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). Given the very high rate of unemployment in Florida, an increase in workers' compensation premiums can only diminish the chance of an economic recovery and further hiring of employees, according to workers' compensation attorney and lawyer, Randy Zeldin, Esq. Randy Zeldin, Esq., is a workers' compensation attorney and lawyer in Boca Raton, serving injured workers in Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.

The Great Recession and the aging of baby boomers, has placed a double whammy on the Social Security Disability trust fund. Compared to just a decade ago, the number of Social Security Disability applications are up approximately 50%. As people with disabilities lose their jobs due to the recession, they often are forced to look to Social Security Disability in order to survive.

The impact of the stampede of applications has had 2 impacts: 1. The backlog of cases has led to waits of processing times as much as 2 years. Individuals waiting that long sometimes becomes homeless and there have been reported cases of suicide. 2. The growing number of Social Security recipients, according to some congressional reports, may cause the system to become insolvent, as early as 2017.

Continue reading " Social Security Disability Trust Fund Faces Insolvency " »

South Florida has a stunning number of illegal immigrants, many of whom are employed by unscrupulous employers in the most dangerous trades. These jobs include roofers, general laborers and landscapers. Not surprisingly, many South Florida illegal immigrants are hurt or even killed, while working for cheap wages in dangerous occupations.

The same employers who hire illegals, want it both ways and don't want responsibility for workers' compensation coverage in the event of an on the job accident. The First District Court of Appeals from Tallahassee has unequivocally ruled that the these illegals are certainly entitled to workers' compensation. In the case of HDV Construction v. Aragon, the Court made clear that illegal workers in Florida are a fact of life and that it would be unfair if the bill was borne by the general public, rather than the employer which benefited from the illegal labor.

Workers' compensation attorney and lawyer Randy Zeldin, Esq., applauds the decision of the First District Court of Appeals in the Aragon case. Illegal workers are human beings with the same needs as legal U.S. citizens, said Randy Zeldin, Esq., who represents injured workers in Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.

The talk in Washington, D.C. these days is all about budget cuts and the need to trim Social Security expenditures. There is one area in which the U.S. Congress hopes that by increasing spending, it can actually cut expenditures from the Social Security Administration: "continuing disability reviews." What does that mean? "Continuing Disability Review" refers to the process whereby the Social Security Administration reviews individuals who have been receiving Social Security Disability, but may no longer require the benefits, because of improvements in health or simply because the individual is working (openly or secretly). Some of the cases could lead to civil and criminal fraud prosecution. The current backlog of cases awaiting review is 1.4 million!

In recent years, because of budget cuts, the number of cases reviewed by the Social Security Administration has fallen sharply. But Congress has recently increased funding to SSA in the specific hopes, that it can ramp up significantly the continuing disability review process and thereby, cut many individuals from the Social Security Disability rolls, who are no longer eligible or deserving of the benefits.

Attorney and lawyer Randy Zeldin, practices Social Security Disability in Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.