Following Your Work Injury Your Doctor Tells You That You Need A Knee Replacement. Now What?

Years after sustaining a ligament tear in your knee after a work injury, your doctor told you that you need a knee replacement.  What the heck is a knee replacement?  The term your doctor may use is "total knee arthroplasty"  This is a surgery that replaces the worn out and damaged surface of your knee joint with artificial hardware.  It is can be performed directly after you sustain your Minnesota workers compensation injury or even many years later.  Never assume that your old workers compensation case is closed when it comes time to any surgery!  Always consult an attorney.

There are two forms of knee replacement that your surgeon may offer.   The first is a total knee replacement and the worn surfaces of your entire knee are surgically removed and replaced with artificial joints. The second is a partial knee replacement.  This is performed where possible on injured workers with less widespread knee problems.  This surgery consists of repairing only parts of the damaged joint rather than the entire knee joint.

Though a knee replacement is a relatively common procedure, at Atkinson Law Office, P.A. we have found that many doctors perform a knee replacement surgery as a last resort.  Often your surgeon will try other methods to reduce pain and inflammation including medications, injections, and physical therapy.  If your pain and/or knee instability continues, this surgery often proves to be a successful solution. 

If you have sustained a knee injury of any kind, please contact Atkinson Law Office today.  Our attorneys have nearly 50 years of combined experience in work related and personal injuries involving knee injuries.  At any given time we have dozens of current clients like you who have similar knee injuries.  We know who are the best doctors in Minnesota and throughout the country to assist you.  Over the years our office has helped hundreds and thousands of injured workers like you.  There is NEVER a fee unless we recover benefits for you and you will NEVER personally write a check to our firm even in the unlikely chance that we can't assist you.  Contact us today at 651-333-3636.

Minnesota Workers Compnsation Secrets From An Expert.

You have sustained a Minnesota work related injury.  You may live in St. Paul, Minneapolis, Duluth, Worthington, International Falls or perhaps you don't even live in Minnesota.  Our lawyers have handled thousands of workers compensation cases over the past 20 years.  During this time we have gained valuable insight and secrets that insurance companies hope you don't find out.  How did we find out these secrets?  Our lawyers are former insurance company attorneys and many of our staff members are former insurance company employees, including work comp claims adjusters.  Some of our staff and lawyers have themselves sustained work related injuries for which they also had to fight insurance companies for their benefits.  With our insider information and first hand experience we have compiled a list of secrets very few if any law firms can share.  Below are some of the secrets we will share.

• You do NOT need to sign a blanket employment and medical release for insurance companies in all cases. 
• Insurance companies will often have their staff nurses and doctors call your physicians and try to convince them to limit your treatment and lift your restrictions.  You can refuse to allow this.
•  Nurse case managers are NOT neutral.  They work solely for the insurance company to limit your treatment and rush your return to work.  You can prohibit them from working on your file.
• You have the right to chose the QRC.  Some QRCs are actually employee's of the insurance company.  Can they really be neutral?  You can and MUST chose your own QRC.

These are just some of the Secrets From A Former Insurance Company Attorney we can share with you online.  Contact attorneys Tom Atkinson or Kerry Atkinson to schedule a free consultation to learn even more secrets.  There is never a fee unless we recover benefits for you.  Visit our website at www.mndisability.com or call 651-333-3636 today.

Have You Suffered A Work Related Car Accident? Then You Are Entitled To Minnesota Workers Compensation.

Between this past April when we had our last snowfall and today, a lot of people forgot how to drive in Minnesota winters.  With only a few inches of snow this evening, our roads were littered with banged up cars and injured drivers and passengers.  Unfortunately there were 3 car accident related fatalities today around the state of Minnesota related to the the weather.  Many of these accidents involved people performing duties on behalf of their employer and are therefore entitled to Minnesota workers compensation benefits.

Aside from urging everyone to slow down and be more attentive while driving, I also want to remind you that if you were in ANY WAY performing duties or activity on behalf of your employer, your auto accident may be work related.  Were you driving from your office to a meeting?  Were you running an errand for your company or boss?  Were you driving between job sites?  Were you working out of state on a temporary job assignment?  If your answer was "YES" to any of these questions, you may be entitled to unlimited medical coverage, wage replacement benefits, college retraining benefits, and monetary damages for your permanent injury from Minnesota workers compensation system.  Don't assume that your employer or supervisor will advise you of the same.  In a FREE, short conversation with the attorneys of Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability, we can advise you whether you have a work related injury.

We represent clients throughout Minnesota and across the United States who have sustained injuries while driving on Minnesota roads or while traveling outside of Minnesota for their Minnesota employer.  Call the attorneys and staff of Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability today to discuss your car accident.  We can advise you whether your accident is work related and provide you with legal advice pertaining to your workers compensation benefits.  We also work with expert personal injury attorneys who can assist you with the personal injury aspect of your claim.  Call us today at 651-333-3636.  There is NEVER a fee unless we recover benefits for you.  Attorneys Thomas and Kerry Atkinson are waiting to assist you today and represent clients throughout Minnesota.

Minnesota Workers Compensation Claims For PTSD / Post Traumatic Stress Disorders.

Post traumatic stress disorder is classified as an anxiety; the characteristic symptoms of which are not present before exposure to a violently traumatic event. Typically the individual with PTSD persistently avoids all thoughts, emotions and discussion of the stressor event and may experience amnesia for it.  However, the event is commonly relived by the individual through intrusive, recurrent recollections, flashbacks and nightmares.  The characteristic symptoms are considered acute if lasting less than three months, chronic if persisting three months or more, and with delayed onset if the symptoms first occur after six months or some years later. PTSD is distinct from the briefer than acute stress disorder and can cause clinical impairment in significant areas of functioning.

Causes

PTSD is believed to be caused by the experience of a wide range of traumatic events and, particularly if the trauma is extreme, can occur in persons with no predisposing conditions.  Persons considered at risk include combat military personnel, victims of natural disasters, and victims of violent crime.   PTSD can also be caused from those suffering work place injuries or being involved in traumatic work place incidents.  You do NOT necessarily need to sustain a physical injury in Minnesota to be found to have sustained an injury.  Individuals not infrequently experience "survivor's guilt" for remaining alive while others died. Causes of the symptoms of PTSD are the experiencing or witnessing of a stressor event involving death, serious injury or such threat to the self or others in a situation in which the individual felt intense fear, horror, or powerlessness.  Persons who are employed in occupations which expose them to violence firefighters, police officers, construction workers or disasters are also at risk.

The lawyers at Minnesota Disability and Atkinson Law Office have a combined experience of over 40 years working with injured and disabled individuals.  Both Tom and Kerry Atkinson have previously defended employers and insurers and now exclusively represent injured workers.  Our consultations are absolutely FREE.  Call today at 651-333-3636 for a free consultation.  Remember there is never a fee unless we recover benefits for you.  Also visit us at www.mndisability.com 

Minnesota Workers Compensation Indpendent Medical Examinations. Guess What? They Aren't Independent!

Every week at Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability we receive notices that our clients are scheduled for independent medical examinations, "IME".  We send notices out to our clients advising them that the IME is usually a precursor to every disputed Minnesota Workers Compensation claim.  Below are some suggestions that we provide our clients.

1.  Don't Be Intimidated By An IME
2.  Be Prepared To Answer The Doctors Questions TRUTHFULLY!
3.  Answer Every Question To The Best Of Your Ability
4.  Make Sure You Consult An Attorney Before You Attend

Don't Be Intimidated By An IME

Easy for me to say right?  Well I have attended two allegedly independent medical examinations and by following my rules, one of the doctors actually found my injury to be caused by my work activities.  A rareity but it does happen.  Be polite, don't be a jerk, and know that whatever happens, you have the right to contest the findings if they are unfavorable with the assistance of your attorney and own doctors.

Be Prepared To Answer The Doctors Questions Truthfully

Don't wing the IME.  Go prepared.  This isn't the time to guess how you may have been injured or the circumstances regarding your treatment, etc.  Review your medical records, discuss the facts pertaining to your injury with your attorney.  Be PREPARED!

Answer Every Question To The Best Of Your Ability

Most clients report that the independent medical examination takes no more than 10-15 minutes and the doctor has little interest in hearing about how the injury occurred. Don’t be discouraged simply try your best to answer any questions asked.  Don’t exaggerate or fake your symptoms. This can be discovered during the physical exam and will destroy your case.

Make Sure You Consult An Attorney Before You Attend

There is never a cost to consult an attorney AND if you retain an attorney we can NOT and do not charge you a fee unless there is a dispute.  And even then the fee is paid by the employer's insurance company.  A free consultation means just that...it's free.  Give one of our experienced attorneys a call today at 651-333-3636.   At Atkinson Law Office we have over 40 years of combined legal experience just waiting to assist you.

I Need A Minnesota Workers' Compensation Attorney. But How Do I Chose With So Many Choices?

You have a lot of choices out on the internet for a lawyer to assist you with your Minnesota workers' compensation injury.  I believe that you need an attorney who limits his/her practice to workers compensation.  Ask yourself whether the lawyer and law firm also practice personal injury, family law, criminal law, and wills.  Do you really want to a lawyer who practices workers compensation "part-time"?  Because if they advertise that they handle a wide range of legal matters, they have very little time to keep up on the ever changing laws that affect your case.

At Atkinson Law Office, P.A. and Minnesota Disability, we live, eat, and breath Minnesota workers' compensation.  Every year we recover millions of dollars in benefits for injured workers; including medical, wage loss, retraining assistance and monetary benefits for permanent injuries.  Though attorney Thomas Atkinson will litigate your matter on your behalf, we have a team approach in assuring we stay on top of your case day in and day out.

Nearly every one of our staff members has personal experience in the struggles of workers compensation injuries or has worked for work comp insurance companies before coming to work for our office.  They know the secret tips to obtaining benefits for you.  Whether you have had a back injury or such from chronic pain, we are ready to assist.

Contact Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability today at 651-333-3636 and visit our website for more information.  You can also submit your questions online by following this link.  Remember your consultation is FREE and there is never a fee until we recover benefits for you.

Why Is My MN Work Comp Adjuster Asking About My Facebook Account?

I have written and lectured about Facebook, Mylife and other forms of social media for years.  More and more often, whether my clients are aware of it or not, insurance adjusters, employers and insurance company lawyers are looking you up on Facebook.

I had a client in my office today and I asked her how her ski trip was this weekend and she looked at me wondering how in the world I knew her family went skiing.  I turned my computer around and showed her pictures from her Facebook, her husband's Facebook and her childrens' Facebook accounts.  Now the pictures didn't show my client skiing or failing to follow her restrictions, but I got my client's attention.  Facebook is often better than surveillance videos because you and your friends are posting the pictures and photographs rather than a creepy investigator.

Can a Minnesota workers compensation judge allow the admission of photographs from your Facebook account?  There are no appealate decisions to guide us at this point but let me share with you what a workers compensation judge in another state recently did.

An Arkansas workers compensation appeals court ruled that photos on Facebook and Myspace of a man “drinking and partying” could be used as evidence to deny him further workers compensation claims.  At the center of the suit is  Zackery Clement, who suffered a hernia on March 12, 2009 after a refrigerator fell on him while on the job at Johnson’s Warehouse Showroom in Pine Bluff,  Ark.  Keep in mind this was an admitted work injury.  Clement, who was compensated for medical expenses and received temporary total-disability benefits for more than a year, was seeking an extension of benefits following three surgeries as a result of the injury.

In an opinion, written by Judge David M. Glover, the Arkansas Court of Appeals states: “We find no abuse of discretion in the allowance of photographs. Clement contended that he was in excruciating pain, but these pictures show him drinking and partying.”

The lesson to be learned is NEVER EVER lie.  If your doctor tells you NOT to perform certain activites be sure to testify truthfully if you disobey your doctor.  We all want to live our lives and share activities with our loved ones and families.  Just don't exaggerate or lie about your symptoms or ability to perform non work activities.  When you have a serious work related injury doing so will often result in consequences such as slower recoveries or increased pain.  My suggestion is that you "lock down" you Facebook or turn it off.  You will be shocked by the extra time you have when you don't need to be updating your status, location or activities every few minutes.

If you have sustained a work related injury and have questions or concerns about your claim, Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability offer free consultations at suburban office locations with free parking, hot coffee, cold beverages and a staff with decades of experience handling Minnesota workers compensation cases. Call our office today at 651-333-3636 for a free consultation and feel free to visit our website for additional information regarding your Minnesota Workers Compensation injury.

The Workers Compensation Insurer Is Paying My Benefits. Do I Really Need An Attorney?

Some injured workers think that an insurance company that is paying them some forms of Minnesota work comp benefits is looking out for them.  Unfortunately this is generally a false presumption and they are not getting  ALL of the benefits they are entitled to receive.  I hate to burst new clients bubbles but almost with exception this notion is wrong.  Wrong I say?  But the adjuster is so nice and they hooked me up with another "nice" QRC who goes with me to the doctor and says nice things...almost like they are my new best friend.   Really?  Do you honestly believe that a for profit insurance company is looking out for you the injured worker?  I have been on the other side; I have been an injured worker; I have represented hundreds and hundreds of injured workers and I can tell you that insurance companies and most employers only care about returning you to work as fast as possible.  This means steering you to doctors who believe that "occupational medicine" requires a finding of returning to work without restrictions as fast as possible, damn the consequences.

I previously worked on the "dark side" of Minnesota's workers compensation system for over 15 years and I can assure you that you are paid only those benefits that are absolutely mandatory and nothing...and I mean nothing more.  Cutting costs, reducing "lost time" claims, steering you towards insurance friendly doctors is a daily activity driven by employers and claims managers.  Don't get me wrong, there are well meaning, kind and thoughtful adjusters who try to work within the limits of their insurance company managers.  But most are like the wonderful actors and actresses of Broadway and those that are truly thoughtful and kind, are overseen by taskmaster management that meet every week to discuss how to manage costs and move cases towards closure as fast and cheap as possible.  This is the real world and you would be shocked, very shocked to know the truth.  Very few of my fellow attorneys who limit their practices to representing injured workers like myself have seen this side of the Minnesota Workers Compensation system. Let me show you the secrets to ensure you get the benefits your are entitled to today.  Feel free to explore my background and learn tips to obtaining all the benefits you are entitled to.  Contact my office for an absolutely free no pressure visit.  651-333-3636

I Think I Have A Work Injury. How Long Can I Wait To Bring A Claim?

If you have been injured at work OR believe that your work activities have caused, aggravated or accelerated an injury (even a pre-existing non work injury), time is your enemy.  Recent Minnesota Workers Compensation court decisions state that when you believe you have been injured at work, the clock begins to tick even though a doctor may not necessarily support your belief.  You may have to file a claim before you have obtained a narrative medical report just to prevent the "statute of limitations" lapse on your claim.  We can provide you with the information on filing the claim while you obtain firm support for you claim.  Though the initial medical records may be vague or unclear, often times medical specialists are just as clueless about the rules on "causation" as you the injured worker.

Contacting an experienced workers' compensation attorney such as those at Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability for a free consultation is an excellent first step.  Thomas Atkinson has over 2 decades of experience in workers compensation matters having formerly represented insurance companies and now limiting his practice to representing injured workers.  Thomas has received numerous recognitions by his peers, spoken at many continuing legal educations seminars, counseled other lawyers in the area of workers compensation, and even been hired to provided expert testimony on the proper handling of workers compensation claims.  Let Thomas share with you the workers compensation secrets that the insurance companies want to hide from you. 

If you have been injured it's very, very important that you call for a FREE consultation.  Atkinson Law Office, P.A will help you determine whether you have a claim or even assist you in obtaining the medical support you need to prove your injury.  Contact our office today at 651-333-3636 or visit our website for more information.  www.mndisability.com

I Have A Minnesota Work Comp Injury And Now Have Pain That Won't Go Away. Is There Help?

Chronic pain and Minnesota workers compensation injuries; there is help!

Employers and insurance companies frequently disregard subjective complaints of pain and send people back to work without restriction. Unfortunately, this does not always tell the whole story.
Pain is a complicated issue in the context of a Minnesota Workers Compensation Injury. There is no magic test that can prove what a person is feeling. We see individuals who are told to go back to work even though they cannot tolerate the pain.

The best method to protect yourself with your work comp injury is to communicate openly with your doctor.  Our practice regularly sees new clients who needlessly suffer in pain because they do not know what options are available.  Frankly a lot of doctors simply pretend to be too busy to help injured workers suffering from chronic pain when the real reason is the subject of chronic pain is outside their expertise.

You are entitled to reasonable and necessary medical care for your work injury. This includes hiring a pain specialist if necessary. This is especially true if you have been diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) which is also referred to as complex regional pain syndrome.

If you cannot work, you may be entitled to temporary total disability wage loss benefits.  If you make less money than you did before your injury then you may be entitled to reimbursement for your wage loss through temporary partial disability.  The sooner you get appropriate medical care, the faster you can get back to work.

The attorneys at Atkinson Law Office and Minnesota Disability work their clients in obtaining proper treatment with chronic pain doctors throughout Minnesota every week.  We are familiar with the Minnesota Workers Compensation protocol and procedures for chronic pain benefits and can help you obtain the help you need.  Contact our office today at 651-333-3636 or visit our website for more information www.mndisability.com  You are NEVER charged a fee unless we recover benefits for you.  Call today!