New Jersey addresses delays in Workers Comp settlements
Posted by: Doug in Disability, Insurance Coverage, Job Accidents, Social Security, Workers CompensationInstead of taking longer, some states are trying to reduce the number of workers compensation claims waiting for settlement. Herndon trial lawyer Doug Landau received a copy of the Star Ledger article stating that, “The backlog of injured New Jerseyans whose workers compensation insurance settlements are hung up in a government review process has dropped by more than 1,000 since October, state Labor Department officials announced, crediting changes in state and federal procedures.” Since October, when 3,686 workers compensation case settlements were suspended pending a review by the federal agency that oversees Medicare, the number of suspended settlements has plunged to 2,677 this month, according to the director and chief judge of the state’s Division of Workers Compensation.
Thousands of injured workers, generally those over age 65, have been forced to wait a year or more for their workers compensation insurance settlements because the federal government has demanded the right to review the pending settlements. The federal government’s goal is to ensure that the recipients had not billed Medicare for medical treatment that should have been covered by their workers comp insurance. In other words, according to Doug Landau of ABRAMS LANDAU, Ltd., the “feds don’t want to be left holding the bag.”
According to the Star Ledger’s Dunstan McNichol’s 3/6/08 piece, “At its worst about two years ago, 5,000 New Jersey settlements had been suspended pending Medicare review, with some languishing so long that the intended recipient died before Medicare signed off on a settlement. Last year, after the federal government hired a new firm to manage its reviews, the backlog eased a bit. The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services separately said its own decision to stop reviewing settlement cases involving less than $25,000 had helped reduce delays.”
The workers compensation insurance program was set up a century ago to provide injured workers with quick medical treatment and wage replacement while protecting business owners from lawsuits. In New Jersey, insurers collect about $1.6 billion in premiums each year, and handle claims from about 120,000 injured workers annually. Multistate trial lawyer Doug Landau says, “Do the Math. Workers Comp Insurance is BIG BUSINESS.”
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