Tag Archives: FCE

Is Nebraska workers’ compensation law clear on when an insurer/employer can make a plaintiff submit to a medical exam?

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What right does an employer/insurer have to make an injured worker submit to a medical examination? I think there is ambiguity between statute and court rules in Nebraska.

Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-134, an employee must submit to an examination from time to time during the continuance of their disability. Sounds like and open and shut case. But, consider the following:

Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-163 authorizes the court to enact procedural rules. Nebraska Workers Compensation Court Rule 4 enacted the Nebraska Court Rules of Discovery in Civil Cases.

Discovery Rule 6-335 authorizes medical examinations only upon motion for good cause shown. To me, that means an employer/insurer would need to make a motion for a defense examination show the court why the examination is necessary.

I realize this is a somewhat controversial proposition.  But even if you blanche at applying the idea in its entirety, a less controversial application of Rule 35 would be to require a motion and proof of good cause if an insurer/employer is ordering a functional capacity evaluation. (FCE) FCEs are done by physical therapist and physical therapists aren’t physicians under Nebraska Workers Compensation Court Rules 49(P) or 10.

I believe 6-335 allows examinations from a broader class of examiners, but it clearly imposes more procedural and evidentiary burdens on defendants. Requiring court orders for examinations would also encourage defendants to see if plaintiffs would agree to certain examiners in order to forgo a motion where they would have the burden of proof.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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Hurt by (and/or fired for) “violating” your work restrictions

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Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. That’s the dilemma for many injured workers under doctor-given work restrictions.

Injured workers are damned by being subject to discipline if they refuse to work above their restrictions, but they can also be disciplined for doing work “above” their restrictions.

Sometimes “violating” work restrictions can even lead to workers’ compensation benefits being denied.

I thought about this topic after I read a blog post by Thomas Robinson involving a Tennessee worker who hurt himself lifting 29 pounds when his permanent restrictions were 25 pounds. Fortunately, the Tennessee Supreme Court stated that in that case that was not sufficient grounds to deny benefits.

But it “violating” work restrictions can be grounds for denying workers compensation benefits in Nebraska in certain circumstances. Primarily, if an injured worker misrepresents their old injury to a new employer.

Misrepresentation as a defense to paying workers compensation benefits in Nebraska

In Nebraska, an employer can deny benefits if an employee misrepresents their work restrictions in an employment application and that misrepresentation leads to the work injury. I think this law has to be interpreted in combination with ADA and similar disability discrimination state laws. I think checking the box “yes” on employment application of whether you can do a job with or without reasonable accommodation shouldn’t be enough to sustain the misrepresentation defense. But not disclosing an old injury in a post-hire physical or health assessment is stronger evidence in my view.

Some of the more creative minds on the management side argue that concealing an old injury from an employer is willful negligence by an employee. Willful negligence is also grounds to deny workers’ compensation benefits. The Tennessee decision more or less rejected that argument and would be good persuasive authority on the issue.

Fired for violating work restrictions

Can an employer fire you “violating” work restrictions? It depends on the circumstances. If you’re on a 10 pound restriction and you get caught doing cross-fit, I would say yes. But a case where you lift 29 pounds with a 25 pound restriction is a closer call. It’s unlawful to fire some in Nebraska, and most other states, for filing a workers’ compensation claim. Firing someone for a petty and unintentional “violation” of work restrictions would seem suspect and could infer that the workers’ compensation claim was the reason they were fired.

Why I put quote marks around “violations” of work restrictions.

I’m not putting quote marks arounds “violating work restrictions” just to be funny. Maybe I need to explain the joke. Anyone who knows anything about workers’ compensation and is being honest, knows that work restrictions are just an estimate. Even restrictions from a valid Functional Capacity Evaluation are more or less estimates of work abilities.

But what if an employee is fired for exceeding work restrictions that weren’t disclosed?

Fired for concealing work restrictions?

I think these are close cases. As a plaintiff’s lawyer, I would argue that someone who was fired not disclosing a work injury still has a retaliation claim. After all, but for the employee filing a workers’ compensation case, the employer would not have discovered the concealment and fired the employee. Maybe that seems like an overly technical argument, but does the argument at least shift the burden on to the employer to argue an equitable defense like laches or unclean hands? I don’t know the answer to that question, but if there is other evidence of retaliatory motive then concealing an old work injury may not be a lawful reason to terminate an employee.

Don’t risk getting fired

However, as an employee you don’t want to take the risk. The ADA requires that employers attempt to work with you to accommodate a disability. If you are concerned about returning to work after an injury, don’t conceal old injuries if they could reasonably impact your ability to do your job. Often time there are simple fixes that allow you to complete your job duties. The Job Accommodation Network has suggestions about how to accommodate disabilities. Try to use those resources and/or work with your co-workers to try to accommodate your disability. Unions are also a great resource for accommodating an injury, use them when they are available.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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Why does your workers’ compensation insurer want a second opinion and what can you do about it?

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Injured workers are often sent for second opinions by insurance companies or claims administrators. The main questions that arise when this happens besides the obvious, “WTF is the b.s?,” are and 1) Why are they sending me to this random doctor or physical therapist? and 2 ) Do I need to go to the examination?

Why you are being sent for a second opinion or FCE by your employer? Cost savings

Your employer is likely sending you to a provider of their choice to minimize their workers’ compensation costs.

Usually employer or insurers ask for second opinions, often called independent medical examinations, or IMEs for short, at critical junctures in a claim. These inflection points include a need for a surgery and or having a doctor place you at maximum medical improvement (MMI) Sometimes employers and insurers have some computer program tell them when your case should be done and schedule medical appointments with that purpose. Functional Capacity Evaluations or, FCEs, are used to determine permanent work restrictions.

The one thing in common all of these situations have is that they involve fairly serious injuries that involve surgery, a long recovery, the need for future medical care and permanent restrictions. All of the above outcomes could lead to a lot of costs to your employer and or their workers compensation insurer.

But costs to your employer or their workers’ compensation insurer are necessary benefits for you. So what do you do when you are faced with an IME or employer-scheduled FCE?

You (probably) need to go. But you should also call a lawyer.

Why you probably need to go this “second opinion” appointment

Under Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-134, employers have the right to have you examined at their expense. In workers compensation vernacular this is called an independent medical examination or IME for short. (These examinations aren’t technically IMEs, but everyone in workers’ compensation in Nebraska uses the term for these examinations. )

Not going to the examination is grounds to have benefits ended. Informally, blowing off an IME is a good way to get off on a bad foot with the Judge deciding your case. However you, or more likely, a lawyer may have some luck trying an examination quashed if it is unreasonable. I think this is difficult burden. I filed a motion to quash a medical examination I thought was excessive about five years. The Judge disagreed pretty strenuously.

Why you probably need to go to an FCE scheduled by your employer

Personally, I think you need would need to go to a, functional capacity evaluation (FCE) set-up by the company. An FCE is a test done by a physical therapist to measure work restrictions. While an FCE isn’t technically covered under Nebraska’s medical examination statutes, the Nebraska Workers Compensation Court has adopted the Rules of Civil Discovery. The Rules of Civil Discovery allow for functional capacity evaluations.

But, like IMEs, an employee, can object to an FCE if they think it’s unreasonable. But again, you would want a lawyer to have a chance to successfully quash an FCE. However, getting an FCE quashed is often a difficult task even for an experienced and knowledgeable workers’ compensation lawyer.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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What is a Functional Capacity Evaluation and what does it mean for a workers’ compensation claim?

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A functional capacity evaluation, or FCE for short, is a test that is usually conducted by a physical therapist that tests your physical abilities. They are common in workers’ compensation claims that involve surgeries or extended courses of treatment. So why are injured workers asked to perform functional capacity evaluations:

Injured worker is done treating and medically stable: Usually a doctor will order a functional capacity when the injured worker is medically stable. Sometimes the term “maximum medical improvement” or MMI is used in conjunction with an order for an FCE. MMI is as much a legal determination as it a medical determination. But when an injured worker is at the point of an FCE, the insurer likely believes or would like to believe the claim is close to finished.

Determining restrictions for return to work, permanent disability and vocational rehabilitation. FCE results are given almost total deference by workers’ comp bureaucrats like adjusters and case managers. HR managers also rely on them to place injured workers back in employment. But the FCE is only an estimate. By law an employee can testify to the extent of their own restrictions and an employer has some reasonable obligation to work with those restrictions. A Judge can also rely on testimony from a worker about the extent of their own restrictions. The problems is that an employee may have to wait months before they can testify to their own restrictions and go without benefits and pay until then.

Restrictions from an FCE can also be used to determine permanent disability or vocational rehabilitation benefits. This should mean that at some point a vocational rehabilitation counselor should be involved in your case. Even if you have returned to work for the same employer, in many cases a counselor should be still he helping to determine your disability. Also even if you haven’t gone back to work and might have applied for or be receiving social security disability a counselor should be performing a loss of earning power evaluation in many cases. Often times an insurance company will attempt to close a case after an FCE.

Employers/Insurers may be trying to the validity of your work restrictions. FCEs are designed to see if an employee is giving full effort on the test. In many cases an FCE that is set up by employer/insurer harkens back to the old concept of “trial by ordeal” or “trial by battle” where success in a physical feat could prove guilt or innocence. In the case of a workers’ compensation claim success or failure in an FCE can go a long way towards determining the ultimate outcome of a workers’ compensation case.

Regardless of why an injured worker is being sent to an FCE, it is probably good idea for an injured worker to check-in with an experienced workers’ compensation attorney for a free consultation if they are scheduled for an FCE. The attorneys at our firm can help injured employees navigate the trial by battle that an employer-scheduled FCE can be. We can also let you know what to expect after an FCE and help you overcome the consequences of a bad FCE.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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