(PRWEB) January 28, 2013
The New York Workers? Compensation Alliance, a coalition of injured workers and those committed to protecting the rights of injured workers, has released its 2013 Legislative Agenda covering a host of issues ranging from Social Security Disability Presumption to Medical Treatment Guidelines.
?New York State has made significant strides in the past year to save money for responsible employers while continuing to deliver appropriate benefits to injured workers,? said NYWCA Chair Robert Grey. ?We are confident that our legislative agenda will further strengthen and streamline the workers? compensation system.?
The NYWCA legislative agenda identifies four areas in which the law can be strengthened and improved. NYWCA ?top priorities? would:
reduce litigation by requiring the Workers? Compensation Board to adopt findings made by the federal Social Security Administration;
reduce litigation by establishing a standard for labor market attachment by partially disabled workers;
strengthen the right to a hearing, preserving due process rights of workers and employers; and
restore workers? rights to appropriate medical treatment.
In the area of indemnity benefits, the NYWCA agenda would streamline delivery of compensation to injured workers by:
ensuring full payment of awards for permanent injury to limbs;
instituting a cost-of-living adjustment for permanently totally disabled workers and beneficiaries in death cases so that their weekly benefit amounts do not fall into irrelevance;
correct an error in the law by unifying the dates for rate raises and caps on permanent partial disability benefits;
indexing the minimum benefit rate to coincide with existing indexing of the maximum benefit rate;
increasing so-called ?no dependency? awards in death claims, which are unchanged since 1996;
eliminating discrimination against immigrant workers; and
expanding the Board?s discretion to use existing safety net provisions to keep permanently disabled workers from poverty and welfare.
In the area of administrative procedure, the NYWCA agenda would create efficiency by:
encouraging legal representation of injured workers in ?medical only? cases;
establishing rules for legal representation in connection with appeals;
extending deadlines for World Trade Center responders to register for benefits;
eliminating wasteful and abusive litigation tactics;
expanding availability of mental health services;
creating oversight for alternative dispute resolution programs;
providing a framework for use of impartial specialists; and
developing data regarding use of ?independent medical examinations.?
In the area of personal injury litigation, the NYWCA agenda would reduce complexity by:
unifying the definition of ?basic economic loss? for No-Fault and workers? compensation purposes;
preventing windfalls to workers? compensation carriers from personal injury recoveries by injured workers, while preventing double-recoveries by workers; and
clarifying the law regarding insurer liens and credits for personal injury recoveries
Grey said: ?These steps — supported by stronger oversight of the Compensation Insurance Rating Board, existing downward trends in workers? compensation costs, and the Governor?s recent proposals to increase the minimum benefit rate, close the Special Funds, streamline assessments and resolve the group self-insurance trust crisis — will continue to establish New York as a national leader in delivering benefits to injured workers while preserving efficiency for employers.?
For the full agenda, visit http://www.nyworkerscompensationalliance.org.
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