Do You Experience Pain Doing Your Job? By: Liza E. Lima, Esq. Covered overseas employees, working pursuant to a U.S. government contract, are entitled to benefits when injured at work. These benefits commonly include medical care and wage loss compensation for their employment related disability. Various misconceptions often preclude overseas employees from seeking or pursuing benefits to which they are …

En reclamos bajo la Ley de la Defensa, tanto a nivel nacional como internacional, solo vemos a nuestros clientes cuando tenemos un depósito, mediación o en el juicio. Mientras que nuestra oficina está bien equipado para manejar tanto las demandas nacionales e internacionales a través de contacto telefónico, correo electrónico y Skype debido a la naturaleza de la práctica, el …

The standard is not extremely burdensome, as stress, no matter how slight, is sufficient to give rise to a psychiatric injury.  However, it is important to note that to establish a psychiatric injury, the events which give rise to the psychiatric problems must actually have occurred. It is important to document an injury and also to make sure that the …

Cuando una compañía de seguro niega una reclamación, el trabajador lesionado se coloca en la posición de tener que pagar por su tratamiento médico, mientras que el caso está pendiente y antes de que un juez. Si el reclamo se determina que sea indemnizables bajo la Ley de Defensa de la Base, el individuo tiene derecho al reembolso de los …

Recently there has been a lot of media attention regarding the financial problems and the scheduling of trials. Please remember that Barnett, Lerner & Karsen have an office in Ft. Lauderdale as well as Washington, D.C. There is an Office of Administrative Law Judges in Washington, D.C. and we can certainly request trials at that location. That will provide a …

In a prior newsletter, our firm authored an article comparing traumatic brain injuries (TBI) to psychological injuries. As discussed in the article, many of the complaints made by an individual with TBI may appear to be psychological in nature. As a result, individuals can be misdiagnosed as having a psychological injury while the actual physical damage to their brain is …

En algún momento en el proceso de litigio – desde el momento en que presentemos una solicitud de juicio a la fecha del juicio en sí, una oportunidad puede surgir para mediación. La mediación es una reunión informal entre ambos partidos, moderado por un abogado neutral llamado un mediador (el mediador no tiene interés en el resultado del caso, y …

When an insurance carrier denies a claim, the injured worker is placed in the position of having to pay for his or her medical treatment while the case is pending and before a judge has ruled on the merits of the claim.  If the claim is determined to be compensable under the Defense Base Act, then the individual is entitled …

Dealing with nurse case managers in Defense Base Act claims sometimes can be beneficial, but at other times may not be in your best interests. If the nurse case manager is assisting you in scheduling of appointments, that is fine. However, you must watch to make sure that the nurse case manager is not working as an “investigator” for the …

At some point in the litigation process – from the time we file a request for trial to the trial date itself – an opportunity may arise for the Parties to attend mediation.  Mediation is an informal meeting between the Parties, moderated by a neutral attorney called a mediator (the mediator has no interest in the outcome of the case, …

Recently we have seen a rash of denials of Defense Base Act claims on the assertion that the injured worker did not notify the Employer of his accident or injuries. In order to ensure that your Employer is notified, please make sure to keep a copy of any and all documents reporting the injury. If you must, we would recommend …

I read an article today in The Washington Post concerning the seven Americans killed in Afghanistan on April 29, 2013 when their cargo plane crashed in Afghanistan.  This incident got me thinking about the death benefits for survivors available under the Defense Base Act. As we’ve already discussed, injuries or deaths that occur while working overseas pursuant to a U.S. …