Florida Workers' Compensation Lawyer Blog

The workers' compensation and Social Security Disability law office of Randy Zeldin, is pleased to announce that Sangitha Palaniappa has joined the staff. "Sangi" as she is nicknamed, is pursuing studies in political science with the intent to earn a law degree. She brings her expertise to all facets of Randy Zeldin's law practice, which services all of Palm Beach and Broward Counties.

Ms. Palaniappa, is fluent in the Tamil and Spanish languages. She is an expert in Baharatnatyam dance.

Florida has one of the worst records of workers' compensation injuries in the U.S. Thousands of workers in Broward and Palm Beach, including Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach will be injured in 2009! For this reason, it is important that your employer institute a workplace safety plan. The American Heart Association recommends that there be a plan, in which all employees practice.

Attorney Randy Zeldin of Boca Raton, can provide you with more detailed information about workers' compensation laws and remedies.

Across the U.S., more than 2,000 eye injuries occur everyday and 10% of these result in vision loss, sometimes permanently! Common workers' compensation eye injuries take place at South Florida construction sites, among welders, machinists and users of power tools.

Under Federal and Florida law, employers must provide suitable eye and face protection, such as safety glasses or goggles. There are "mandatory eye protection zones" in places such as welding, hazardous chemicals and machine shops. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 60% of all eye injuries happened without safety gear.

Randy Zeldin, Esq. has represented workers in Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach who have sustained eye injuries. These injuries have ranged from construction workers to professional golfers.

Workplace safety in Florida is near the bottom of all 50 States. Construction injuries in South Florida rank among the highest in the country. Florida Chief Financial Officer, Alex Sink, recognizes the problem and has begun classes to assist employers with safety improvements. The classes will provide information on the Florida workers' compensation law, when exemptions apply, what resources are available to help employers and contractors and training on workplace safety.

The State of Florida has certainly improved its record on enforcing compliance with workers' compensation laws. Last year, 2,518 businesses were shut down by the State of Florida, because of failure to obtain workers' compensation coverage.

According to attorney Randy Zeldin, Esq. of Boca Raton, South Floridian workers will be subjected to dangerous workplaces into the future. The penalties and enforcement mechanisms must be made "very severe" according to attorney Zeldin, before things will change in a meaningful way. Further, OSHA has been gutted of a budget and its absence continues to contribute to workplace injuries.

There is ongoing talk that the Florida Legislature will meet in Special Session in January 2009, to consider changes to the existing workers' compensation laws. The Workers' Compensation Section of the Florida Bar, has met with Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink to urge that her office conduct a thorough examination of how the workers' compensation law has worked and what modifications should be considered.

In the 2008 Legislative Session, a sweeping bill was introduced by Sen. Alex Villalobos,
(Senate Bill No. 2548), which had some promising reforms. Unfortunately, the bill died in committee and was never considered by the Florida Legislature. One of the most important changes in the Villalobos bill, was regarding choice of physician. Currently, choice and control over the physician, except in managed care cases, is largely with the insurance carrier. The Villalobos bill would have guaranteed that an injured worker would have at least one doctor of his or her choice, as long as the physician was properly licensed and regulated. Randy Zeldin, Esq., with offices in Boca Raton and Pompano Beach, is optimistic that Gov. Christ will be supportive of workers' compensation reform.

There is no doubt that South Florida workers are feeling the grips of recession. Florida's unemployment rate is 5.5%, compared to only 4.2% one year ago. That is a loss of 78,100 jobs. Palm Beach County has been the most impacted, with an unemployment rate of 6%, compared with 4.5% last year. Broward County's unemployment rate is similar.

What is the impact of recession and unemployment on workers' compensation claims? According to the National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. ("NCCI"), based on 50 years of data, Florida workers' compensation claims decline during recession. The reasons for this phenomenon are unclear, but it is believed to be due to a slower rate of new hiring and lower claims filing by workers who were not laid off.

In other words, during a recession, injured workers don't want to "rock the boat" and file a claim and hire a workers' compensation attorney. A poll of business executives called the Wausau Multiline Productivity Poll, recently concluded that 60% of respondents believed that they would save money on workers' compensation claims during the current recession!

Continue reading "Florida law prohibits punishing or terminating workers for seeking workers' compensation benefits" »

If you ask any Florida Workers' Compensation attorney, they will tell you that back, also known as lumbar injuries, are the most common. That has certainly been the case in my practice. Many Florida workers, from a secretary to a construction laborer, are prone to back injuries. In fact, back injuries and pain are the most common reason for absences from work, second only to the common cold.

According to NIOSH (the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health), it is not recommended that any worker lift more than 50 pounds, without assistance. The law offices of Randy Zeldin recommends that Florida workers ask the employer for help and assistance, if ever asked to lift greater than 50 pounds. Although this might antagonize some employers, it is your back!

NIOSH also recommends the following to prevent on the job back injuries:

1. Lifting should be done by bending the knees. Keeping one's elbows as close as feasible to the side of your body helps keep the object near the center of gravity and forces use of one's knees.

2. Strengthening of the muscles that support the spine is very important. Florida workers are encouraged to do back, abdominal and buttocks exercises.

The great majority of lumbar injuries will heal after a few months. If symptoms worsen or include leg pain, weakness or numbness, this could be a serious injury requiring a specialist. In my practice, I have seen too many family and general practitioners handle back injuries, long after it would have been appropriate to have a neurologist or orthopedist on the case. The law offices of Randy Zeldin has had to litigate many cases to bring a lumbar or back specialist into the case.

The law office of Randy Zeldin recently represented an electrical worker who suffered severe injuries as the result of an electrocution. This worker came to Florida from the Midwest, to help with rebuilding the electrical grid caused by devastating hurricanes in 2005. Unfortunately, the workers was reinstalling an electrical wire and suffered burns and orthopedic injuries.

I decided to do some research and came across some surprising facts. According to the National Institute for Safety and Health ("NIOSH"), contact with electricity is the fourth leading cause of death at construction sites. Further research revealed that electrocution death are highest among electrical power installers and earth drillers, as reported by the Center for Construction Research and Training ("CCRT"). CCRT also reports that the highest numbers of deaths among construction workers are found with electricians, construction laborers, supervisors/managers and electrical power repair persons.

Continue reading "Electrocution injuries pose threat to Florida workers" »