| Act of God and the Concept of "Arising Out of the Employment" |
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| An act of God includes natural occurrences over which man generally has no control such as tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, and lightening. Though an employee is injured due to an act of God, he may still recover workers' compensation benefits if he can show that the nature of his employment placed him at a greater risk for injury due to such an act of God. For example, consider the repairman who is required to work on downed power lines during a storm. He performs his work while a thunderstorm rages by standing in a bucket raised high into the air from the back of his repair truck. This situation would appear to elevate the employee's chances of being struck by lightening over the average individual. As such, it is likely that the employee would be compensated for an injury by lightening. More... |
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| "Past Relevant Work" in Social Security Disability Evaluation |
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| In determining an individual's entitlement to social security disability benefits, his ability to perform past relevant work will be examined. As part of the evaluation process, the individual's residual functional capacity (RFC) is determined. If the RFC assessment shows that the individual can either perform the actual duties of his past jobs or that he can perform the duties of his past occupations as generally required by employers throughout the United States, he will not be considered disabled. More... |
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| Knowledge of Injury Imputed to Employer |
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| When an employer has actual knowledge of an employee's injury and its possible connection to the employee's work, most courts will excuse the employee's failure to timely give notice of the injury. Sometimes, however, such knowledge will be imputed to the employer. If a person associated with the employer in a managerial or representative role received knowledge of the injury, that knowledge will be charged to the employer. For example, consider the supervisor who witnessed the accident that caused the employee's injury. The employer itself will then be deemed to be aware of the employee's injury. More... |
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| Waiver of Limitations Period for Notice of Injury and Claim |
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| As a general rule, if an injured employee fails to either provide timely notice of his injury or file a timely claim for workers' compensation, he will be denied benefits. However, in some instances, the employer or its insurance carrier may waive the limitations periods. For example, if an employer has actual knowledge of the employee's accident and resulting injury, the employer may be said to have waived formal notice of the injury. Likewise, if the employer voluntarily makes compensation payments to the employer, he may be deemed to have waived the requirement that the employee file a claim. More... |
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| Consultative Examinations, Generally |
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| Consultative examinations (CE) of a social security claimant are used by the Social Security Administration (SSA) when the claimant's medical evidence is insufficient to determine the claimant's disability, or lack thereof. Although the claimant's treating physician is the preferred source of medical evidence, there are instances where a medical examination from an independent source is necessary. These include situations where the treating physician is unwilling to perform the examination, there are inconsistencies in the claimant's file that cannot be resolved by consulting with the treating physician, the claimant himself prefers an examination by a source other than his treating physician with good reason, or prior experience in dealing with the treating physician indicates that he may be unable to effectively provide the necessary service. More... |
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