Offered $25,000 to Settle Workers Comp Case?
A friend lost her workers comp case in 2001 when she refused to accept a $25,000 settlement.
What do you do when you have a lawyer representing you in a workers comp case and when they go before the judge, and they see their case is going down hill, and the lawyer turns to his client and asks, what should we do now Sonya, what should we do now?
What should Sonya have done?
First of all, Sonya was very depressed and when she was called to testify before the judge, she wasn’t able to express herself. She was not able to put a full sentence together that made any sense. The judge wanted her to recall several incidents that happened on her job that caused the depression and/or aggravated the depression. Please take into consideration that this is why she is disabled, because her memory was so bad from the depression, she couldn’t remember anything. She was not able to function on a day to day basis. To describe something from memory was impossible for her at that time and even now. The judge stated that he didn’t understand anything that she was saying and couldn’t make any sense out of it. So, based on her testimony or no testimony, he denied her the workers comp. That is why she was on disability! She couldn’t recall anything from memory or give a description of what it is she was trying to convey because she could not make a complete sentence that made any sense due to the depression.
What did that judge expect?
How could it be that he ruled against her after seeing how the depression had handicapped her memory and other facets of her life?
How is it possible that he expected her to be able to recall incidents that happened on her job 10 or 20 years before? She couldn’t remember doing her work on her job. She had to write notes to herself as a reminder to do a specific task or remind herself that a task was completed or was incomplete.
Do you think that she was treated fairly in this case? She receives retirement disability and social security but not the workers comp. Why wasn’t she awarded the $25,000 and workers comp benefits?
Is there any way to have this case reviewed for a new decision?
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After the legal hearing, the Judge is required to issue a “Findings & Order” notice indicating his decision and the reasons that ultimately came to that conclusion (within 90 days or less). Most of the time though, the judge gives a verbal decision that same day.
I’m sorry to hear that the results of the trial didn’t go your friend Sonya’s way. It certainly would of helped if she could of expressed herself at the hearing. However, please note that the judges does not solely base their decision on testimony and statements by the plantiff. They also review evidence such as records, documents, past history, witnesses, medical reports, prior work injuries, etc.
It is rare that depression can cause memory loss and daily function to that extent. It happens, but it’s not often seen to that degree of impairment. Even if it was that serious, there should be DETAILED narrative medical documentations (numerous periodic reports from a physician) supporting such a disability for the judge to see. In addition, has Sonya been treating for the psyche condition for a prolonged period of time (years)? Has she been taking medication and going to therapy sessions consistently? If not, the judge may see this as a sign that the depression is not as bad as being indicated. Also, is the cause of the depression predominately caused by the work or injury? Or is there other things that stress her out (like financial situation, relationship, family history of depression, personal health, etc). I think that judge wanted to know the substantial cause of the symptoms and wanted more information of the incidents that happen at work.
I can’t say if Sonya was treated fairly or not, since i do not know all the factors and what happened at the trial. What I do know is that since your friend is receiving retirement and social security, a portion of any work comp settlement is withheld in trust ( to avoid double dipping ). A medicare set aside analysis needs to be done. http://www.cms.hhs.gov/workerscompagencyservices/04_wcsetaside.asp
May I ask why your friend refused to accept the $25K settlement? I can’t say if this amount is reasonable unless I know the level of permanent disability and the need for future medical care. What I can say is $25K (non taxable) is still a decent amount of money for this day and age. What amount was Sonya expecting, if I may ask?
Based on what you stated thus far on behalf of Sonya…. it doesn’t seem she has a strong case considering that even the lawyer didn’t know how to proceed after it was going bad. When things were going so poorly at the hearing, Sonya should of reconsidered and accepted the settlement at that point.
Sonya can appeal the decision by taking it to a higher court. However, to get another judge to reconsider the denial order is pretty difficult because if forces the new judge to say the prior one is wrong. (Yeah, Good luck making that happen unless you have VERY strong evidence to overturn it). To add to the challenge, what is the point of doing a new re-trial when Sonya still can’t testify anyways??? If sonya still wants to appeal, she needs to file it through the court within a certain time frame from the date the original Order was issued. (Time frames vary per state and jurisdiction).
What ever happens from here, I wish Sonya the best.
I have to agree with Panda here. I’m curious to one, What state are
you in ? That can have a huge bearing on the statutes that govern
the benefits that may be available. Two… why would there be a
trial/hearing on this claim unless there had been prior attempts at
settlement? WC is geared to informal agreements between the parties
to resolve thier issues. From what you have posted here….that
does not appear to be the case. If you are Sonia, I’m sorry for
your plight. If Sonia is your friend.. I’m sorry for her, but I
also don’t think you understand or are aware of the WC system, how
it works, or what benefits are available. There is no such thing as
“25K in WC benefits” she is out of.
After being a paying member for long time, I finally needed AAA’s
help. I locked my keys in the car. After few hours AAA sent in a
Guy with A tow truck He was obviously not a Professional. He unlock
…
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