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Notice anything odd flying overhead? It’s not your imagination. The Municipality of Anchorage is using drone surveillance to spy on employees who file workers compensation claims.

In the case of Manley v MOA, AWCB Decision No 15-0009, MOA used a drone to follow around an injured employee and claimed that the surveillance proved that he was in the business of buying and selling stuff (as opposed to selling stuff off because he needed the money). Because MOA said it had proof he was running a business, it wanted to access to all of his cell phones, computers, bank records and Pay Pal accounts.

The Alaska Workers Compensation Board said no.  It found that the MOA’s request was a “fishing expedition” (“an indiscriminate, far-reaching and speculative net with the hopes of ensnaring some relevant information”) and violated the employee’s constitutional right to privacy.

Meanwhile MOA gets to use the drones.  And so will any other employer. Be warned and beware.

Keenan Powell has practiced Workers Compensation law in the State of Alaska for over 30 years and has dedicated her practice to Workers Compensation representing injured Alaskans. www.keenanpowell.com.

All consultations are free.  To make an appointment, use the contact form on this website or call:  (907) 258-7663.

 

In Alaska Workers Compensation law, you are entitled to one change of physician. And you must notify the insurance company no later than 14 days after you changed physician. 

There are stiff penalties if you make excessive changes of physician. Subsequent physician opinions are inadmissible before the Board and the insurance company will never have to pay that doctor's bill or reimburse you or another insurance company for that treatment.

Seeking a "second opinion" is a change of physician. If you receive any treatment or advice or an opinion or any type of service from a physician, it counts.

Some changes of physician do not count against the Employee:  emergency room visits, referrals from one physician to another, referrals made by the employer, insurer or nurse case manager or changes to which the insurance company consents in writing.

Keenan Powell has practiced Workers Compensation law in the State of Alaska for over 30 years and has dedicated her practice to Workers Compensation representing injured Alaskans. www.keenanpowell.com.

All consultations are free.  To make an appointment, use the contact form on this website or call:  (907) 258-7663.

 

 

First, allow me to say that the term “lawyer up” makes me insane. It was dreamt up by some Hollywood Law and Order writers to give the good guy cop characters another opportunity to sneer at someone. The writers use the term to drive the conflict up, to increase the drama, because if there isn’t conflict, there isn’t drama and there aren’t ratings and they lose their job.

Now, this sinister term has worked its way into the American lexicon. And not in a nice way. The implication is that a bad guy is using a lawyer to hide behind or to abuse a good guy. Nothing is further from the truth.

Honest hard-working citizens need lawyers when they are involved in a legal situation which is over their heads and just about every legal situation will be over their heads. Why? Because American jurisprudence evolved out of British jurisprudence and that means about eight hundred years of developing law. Law is constantly changing. The United States Congress changes it. The Alaska state legislature changes it.  The Courts interpret it.  Are you keeping up on the changes to the law?

Do you know how to fix your automatic transmission, file your own taxes, do your own dental or medical work? Maybe one or two of those things but not all. So you go to a professional who knows what they’re doing.

Are you going to take legal advise from a nurse who is hired by the insurance company or some other person who has never seen the inside of a court room? Or do you want someone standing beside you who knows procedure, law, what your rights are and how to deal with whatever happens next.

One of the great things about this country is citizen’s access to the courts.  And when you’re over your head in a legal situation: a divorce, criminal charges, personal injury claim, workers compensation injury, property dispute, consumer issues, landlord-tenant etc, you are entitled to have legal representation of your choice.  Someone who is licensed by the Bar Association.  Someone who is knowledgeable and experienced. Sometimes you’ll have to pay for your attorney, sometimes the attorney will take your case on a contingency fee basis.

Up to you, of course.  And if you decide to handle your legal matter by yourself or with the help of an uneducated, inexperienced non-professional, good luck with that.

When you're injured at work, the insurance company is responsible for providing all reasonable and necessary medical treatment for treatment of the work-related injury.  If there are complications, the insurance company must pay for the treatment of that as well.This includes complications from the injury and/or complications from the treatment.

Some of the complications which have been litigated include infections, diverticulitis and nerve injuries caused by surgery.

The complications will be treated as the work-injury is treated. Not only must the insurance company pay for medical treatment of the complications, it must also pay for time loss as the result of the complications and for transportation to and from treatment.  If the complications contribute to an inability to return to the injured employee's job, then it may be grounds to seek reemployment benefits as well.

The Law Office of Keenan Powell provides free consultations regardless of whether or not you have been controverted.   To contact Keenan Powell, use the contact form on www.keenanpowell.com or call 258-7663.

 

Frequently I see medical records which clients have brought in that have notes scrawled all over them. DO NOT DO THAT!

In the first place, when you write all over the medical records it makes the records inadmissible and you'll need to go back to the doctor's office to get a clean copy.  The doctor may not have charged you for the first set but they will probably charge you for the second sent anywhere from $25 to $150 and up.  OPA currently charges $50 for records.  Alaska Spine Institute charges $75.

Second, I know what I'm looking for.  While I also want to know what is important to you, when you write all over the medical records it creates a distraction.

The injured workers' input is very important. The reason that I meet with clients when I review medical records is so they can explain to me what is important to them.   If you have comments about the medical records, write them out on a separate piece of paper noting the page and paragraph number to which you are responding and bring that paper with you to the consultation. That would be very helpful.

The Law Office of Keenan Powell provides free consultations regardless of whether or not you have been controverted.   To contact Keenan Powell, use the contact form on www.keenanpowell.com or call 258-7663.

 

The calculation of compensation rates for temporary total disability (TTD), temporary partial disability (TPD) or death benefits is different for seasonal employees than for year-round employees.  Year round employees are calculated based upon the best earnings they made in the preceding two calendar years.  But seasonal employees are calculated on the 12 months preceding their injuries. Further all income from all sources must be taken into consideration, so if the injured worker had more than one employer in that twelve months, that income must be considered as well.

If the injured worker's income was unstable in the preceding two years and circumstances changed just before he was injured (for instance, if he was going to school for a couple of years and then got a really good job), then he would be entitled to have his compensation rate determined based on how much other employees are making in the job in which he was injured.  But the insurance companies will pay only the minimum rate. The injured worker will need to file a claim to obtain the correct amount of money.

Keenan Powell has practiced  law in the State of Alaska for more than 30 years and has dedicated her practice to Workers Compensation representing injured Alaskans.

All consultations are free.  If you want to set up a meeting, use the contact form on www.keenanpowell.com or call:  907 258 7663.

 

 

Many times I've met with clients whose cases were damaged because they didn't take the right steps months before and their response is always, "I didn't know.  Nobody told me."

If that excuse makes you feel better, that's good but 9 times out of 10, it won't save your case.

So if you're injured at work, you need to meet with an experienced workers compensation attorney as soon as possible to find out what your rights are and what you need to be looking out for down the road.

Keenan Powell has practiced Workers Compensation law in the State of Alaska for more than 30 years and has dedicated her practice to Workers Compensation representing injured Alaskans.

All consultations are free.  If you want to set up a meeting, use the contact form on www.keenanpowell.com or call:  907 258 7663.

 

Superior Court, District Court, Court of Appeals and Supreme Court judges get picked by the Governor and then the run for retention in the general elections.

When a bench opens up, interested attorneys send their name into the Alaska Judicial Council. The Council sends out a questionnaire to the members of the bar and the attorneys grade the applicants and make comments.  The highest graded applicants are then interviewed by the Judicial Council and the Council then sends a list of names to the Governor.  There is an opportunity for public comment before the names are sent up. The Governor can pick a name from the list or reject the entire list but s/he cannot appoint someone is not on the list.

(Magistrates and Masters, however, are state employees.  They apply for the job and go through the same process any other employee would.)

Periodically, the judges run for retention.  In my 30 years, I've never heard of a judge who lost the election after the Judicial Council recommended retention.  However, from time to time, judges do lose the election and that's because, usually, that judge has made a lot of people mad.  Mad enough to make sure everyone knows to vote against the judge.  In addition, there are people who may be following the Council's recommendation.  Attached is this year's recommendation:

http://www.ajc.state.ak.us/retention/retent2014/pr1recommend.pdf

 

When you are referred for a PPI rating, the doctor will review your medical records, perhaps examine you, perhaps review a Physical Capacity Evaluation, and then refer to the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment (6th edition) which lists nearly every kind of injury that can occur to a person and instructs the doctor how to evaluate the injury.  The Alaska Workers Compensation Board mandates the use of the AMA Guidelines, there is no getting around it.  However the doctor does have some discretion in classifying your injury based upon many factors, one of which is the amount of pain created by the injury.  Therefor it is important for the doctor to have all of your medical records, including your MRIs and x-rays, as well as a full knowledge of how the injury has impacted your life.

If you disagree with the insurance doctor's PPI rating, you can ask your own physician to review it and to refer you to someone who will do a PPI rating on your behalf.

If it has been some time since your injury and you are no longer being treated, or your treatment is only for pain and isn't going to improve your underlying condition, and you haven't been referred for a PPI rating yet, ask your doctor to do so.

The Law Office of Keenan Powell provides one FREE CONSULTATION regardless of whether or not you have been controverted.   To contact Keenan Powell, use the contact form on this page or call 258-7663.

For more information about Workers Compensation, see: http://www.keenanpowell.com/faq‑wc.html.

www.keenanpowell.com/faq-wc.htl

 

 

Representative Stoltz (R-Chugiak) is introducing a resolution to elect the state's Attorney General and limit his (or her) terms.

The Attorney General is the highest office for the State's law department.  The person who occupies that office advises the Governor and supervises the law department making decisions on how to staff the law department. For instance when a former Lt. Governor refused to certify any voter petitions to change the law for election, the department of law created an elections section and staffed it.  It seems to have been absorbed since then.

Generally the Attorney General is appointed from a small list of the elected Governor's friends and supporters. The problem with this system is rather than have the Attorney General exercise independent legal judgment and advise the Governor regarding the constitutionality of what he (or she) wants to do, the Attorney General becomes part of the Governor's team and instead seeks ways to advance the Governor's platforms.

So electing an Attorney General would introduce the opportunity for independence between the Attorney General and the Governor.

On the other hand, the person who is elected will be another politician, someone who has the support and funds to campaign and someone who may have higher ambitions thereby introducing the opportunity for someone to use the Attorney General's office to advance his (or her) own career.

In the final analysis, if the Attorney General is elected we might get a good attorney in there.  The current system discourages that.  For more information: http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/resolution-could-make-attorney-general-elected-position/-/21043658/23916646/-/47xfqn/-/index.html.