According to South Florida workers' compensation attorney Randy Zeldin, with offices in Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, high unemployment historically dampens the willingness of injured workers to fight for workers' compensation benefits. In a bad economy, injured workers are afraid to "rock the boat" with their employers, fearing retaliation or termination from the job. According to Randy Zeldin, this results in many injured workers in Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale foregoing workers' compensation benefits or accepting less medical care or benefits than the law allows.

Randy Zeldin, Esq., a workers' compensation attorney with offices in Ft. Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, has seen many injured workers unable to collect workers' compensation benefits. If an employer has no coverage, it often means that they are not "solvent" and without assets. "You can't get blood from a stone" observes Randy Zeldin-no workers' compensation coverage often means no funds to pay injured workers.

Social Security Disability attorney Randy Zeldin, applauds Commissioner of Social Security, Michael Astrue, for instituting the program. According to Randy Zeldin, these claims deserve expedited consideration. "Unfortunately, there are many other deserving Social Security Disability applicants from Ft. Lauderdale to West Palm Beach, who also deserve expedited hearings, said Attorney Randy Zeldin

Until the Supreme Court's decision, Florida attorneys such as Randy Zeldin of Palm Beach, had to rely on a "formula" percentage fee, which usually resulted in an unreasonable hourly rate. This has led some workers' compensation attorneys to abandon their clients or to give them substandard representation.

Randy Zeldin, with offices in Boca Raton, Ft. Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, applauds the decision of the Florida Supreme Court. Randy Zeldin is optimistic that Gov. Charlie Crist, will not allow the Florida Legislature to disturb this vital decision

What happens if an injured worker is injured on your property, without workers' compensation? The homeowner could possibly be liable for the injuries and may well be sued by the injured worker! Therefore, it is vital that all homeowners validate that a contractor hold a valid license and has current and active workers' compensation coverage.

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.

This unrealistic burden has led to many cases of chemical exposure being denied by the Courts. In one recent case, Matrix Employee Leasing v. Pierce, a worker suffered from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The Judge of Compensation Claim denied all benefits, because the poor worker couldn't prove with medical evidence the exact chemical exposure or level of exposure. As a result, the Court shut down his medical care.

The law office of Randy Zeldin has represented many workers who were injured by chemical exposures, in Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Gov. Christ and the Florida Legislature must re-examine the current state of the law, so that benefits are obtainable by workers who need the medical care.

According to Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach Social Security Attorney, Randy Zeldin, the terrible backlog is not because of fraud or lack of entitlement for benefits. Instead, it is mostly due to the failure of the U.S. Congress to properly fund the Social Security Administration. Administrative Law Judges and their staff are overwhelmed with cases. Waiting times for hearings in Palm Beach and Broward Counties can be as much as 2 years.

Recently, the Social Security Administration has hired 189 administrative law judges and support staff. The House Ways and Means Committee will be conducting hearings shortly on this important problem.

Gov. Charlie Christ will have the opportunity to appoint two new workers' compensation judges in Gainesville and Jacksonville. Randy Zeldin, workers' compensation attorney of Boca Raton and Deerfield Beach, is confident that Gov. Christ will make quality appointments from the many distinguished candidates nominated by the Judicial Nominating Committee

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.

Fortunately, the appellate courts have stepped in to give some relief to seriously injured workers. Two cases, Walmart v. Thompson and Ferrell Gas v. Childusers, have eased the burden. The judges reasoned that in addition to physical restrictions, the Judge of Compensation Claims can consider vocational testimony. That is, the Court can look at the aptitude, education, job experience and other measurements of an injured workers' ability to find and keep employment. Even if a worker could theoretically perform sedentary work, that doesn't mean that the injured could find, perform or keep such a job.

The South Palm Beach County Bar Association is a group of attorneys which has been in existence since 1960. As Chair of the Workers' Compensation Section, Palm Beach and Broward attorney Randy Zeldin will organize educational and other opportunities for attorneys.

Attendees heard the Hon. Robert S. Cohen, Director and Chief Judge of Administrative Hearing for the State of Florida, was one of many distinguished panelists.

Other panels discussed serious workers' compensation injuries, including exposure to mold and the safety of clean-up workers after hurricanes. Steve Morris, III, M.D., Project Director of Bioterrorism and Disaster Training at the University of South Florida, was a panelist discussing hurricane safety issues. The law office of Randy Zeldin, has represented workers from Pompano Beach to Boynton Beach, who were injured and required a workers' compensation attorney

According to Rep. Kathy Castor, the waiting time for Social Security Disability applicants is the worst in the State of Florida. Rep. Castor is hoping to speed things up for deserving Social Security applicants. She is introducing a bill in the U.S. Congress that would require that a hearing be held between 60 and 75 days after a request. The law would require a decision from a Social Security Judge no more than 15 days after the hearing.

There are many reasons for the backlog. Social Security Judges and staff are simply overwhelmed with cases. Social Security Disability attorney Randy Zeldin believes that the U.S. Congress must approve Rep. Castor's bill and appropriate more money for administrative staff.

The card will be called the Direct Express credit card. Instead of mailing or direct depositing monthly payments, the U.S. Treasury will automatically load benefits onto a card account designated by the recipient. This will allow Social Security Disability recipients in South Florida to use the card for retail purchases, bank and ATM transactions. Social Security Disability recipients will be allowed one free ATM withdrawal each month, with a low charge of 90 cents for additional withdrawals. The Direct Express card is free to obtain and there is no monthly or annual fee.

The law offices of Randy Zeldin welcomes this introduction by the U.S. Treasury, which will benefit many of my Social Security Disability clients in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Deerfield Beach and Pompano Beach. It will be a huge help to South Florida Social Security Disability recipients who have no bank accounts. To sign up, call the Social Security Administration at 1-877-212-999. Information can also be obtained on the Social Security website.