Wolmed Blog » Texas workers comp http://wolmed.com/blog Just another WordPress site Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:34:32 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 THE TOP 5 WORK RELATED INJURIES http://wolmed.com/blog/uncategorized/the-top-5-work-related-injuries/ http://wolmed.com/blog/uncategorized/the-top-5-work-related-injuries/#comments Wed, 25 May 2011 19:04:26 +0000 mulrich http://wolmed.com/blog/?p=153 Can you relate to any of the following scenarios?  A construction worker carrying some lumber falls down holding his back.  A UPS worker delivering packages slips and falls on an icy sidewalk.  A painter climbing up a ladder falls and hurts himself.  A sales person stocking the shelves at his job drops a box of merchandise on another employee below.  A mailman delivering the mail twists his ankle while on the job.  What do these situations illustrate?  That anyone on any job can experience a worker related injury at any time.

Heavy objects, slippery pavement, unstable equipment and accidents are all things that can occur on the job.  While some injuries may be minor, others may result in chronic pain making one eligible to file for disability or workers compensation.  These incidents cause work related injuries that cost employers billions of dollars on physical therapy and lost wages every year.  Listed below are the 5 most common work injuries to be reported in 2008 according to the 2010 Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.

  1. Overexertion: This work related injury tops the list at 25.1% of all reported work related accidents causing $13.40 billion to be lost by businesses in 2008.  This injury is caused when a worker is injured when lifting, dragging, holding, carrying, pushing and tossing objects while on the job.
  2. Same level fall: This injury takes second place on this list at 15.7% of all work related injuries with $8.37 billion in lost revenue in 2008.  This injury is caused when a worker falls on a wet or slippery surface.
  3. Bodily reaction: At third place on this list body reaction causes 10.1% of work related incidents with $5.40 billion in lost money to companies in 2008.  This can be caused when a workers body reacts to a slip.  The person catches themselves before they fall but in the process they strain or sprain something.
  4. Struck by object: This injury takes the next spot on the top five at 10% of work related accidents accounting for $5.36 billion in lost revenue for companies in 2008.  This can be caused when a person is hit by an object that is dropped or falls from a shelf.
  5. Fall lower level: last on the top five, this injury causes 9.9% of all reported work related injuries producing $5.29 billion in lost revenue to businesses in 2008.  This injury is caused when a worker falls from an elevated place like a roof or ladder.

While there are numerous other work related injuries that can be mentioned in this list, the top five account for over 70% of all work injuries reported in 2008.  If any of these work related injuries describes your current condition you may be entitled to file for workers comp benefits.  If you are injured at work and are suffering from chronic pain, WOLMED’s pain management clinics in Texas can help!  We assist injured workers not only through pain rehabilitation but also by helping them properly fill out their workers comp claims.  For more information please visit www.wolmed.com.

]]> http://wolmed.com/blog/uncategorized/the-top-5-work-related-injuries/feed/ 0 Workers Comp Denton / Workers Comp Dallas / Texas Workers Comp Doctors http://wolmed.com/blog/workers-compensation/workers-comp-denton-workers-comp-dallas-texas-workers-comp-doctors/ http://wolmed.com/blog/workers-compensation/workers-comp-denton-workers-comp-dallas-texas-workers-comp-doctors/#comments Thu, 13 Jan 2011 16:18:25 +0000 chelms http://wolmed.com/blog/?p=112 The annual report on the total number of Texas work injuries was recently published and it showed another drop in the overall number of reported work injury claims for 2010.  This is the 4th consecutive year showing a reduction in Texas work injury claims.  Some would have us believe that this number is a good thing, and from the standpoint of fewer people getting injured I would certainly agree.  However, these numbers don’t necessarily tell the whole story.  Take the following points for example.

Point #1 – Unemployment.  When fewer people have jobs fewer people get hurt on the job.

Point #2 – Fear of Unemployment.  When so many people are already out of work, many others fear being out of work.  Lots of companies fire people after they are hurt on the job.  It’s not fair, but it’s a reality for many injured workers.

Point #3 – Reduction of Doctors who Treat Injured Workers.  Workers Compensation health care networks have drastically limited the number of qualified doctors who are allowed to treat many injured workers.  If employees have reduced access to qualified workers comp doctors, who will they report their injury to?  Not reporting an injury doesn’t mean that an injury never happened, but statistically, this will add to the supposed reduction in work injury claims.

Point #4 – Work Injuries that are Treated as Regular Health Insurance Claims.  Many people who are hurt at work will not only not report their injury, but they will see a doctor and say that they don’t know how the pain started.  They may get some treatment from their doctor, but it will be under their regular health insurance and not under Texas Workers Compensation.  Many health insurers are very good at allowing treatment for these kinds of injuries.  Blue Cross Blue Shield is one very good example of an insurance company that takes care of its customers.  The problem is that Texas Workers Comp provides injured workers with many rights that the injured worker must forgo by not filing a work injury claim, and by taking this route annual injury statistics appear lower than they really are.

Now clearly some of the reason for the reduced number of Texas work injury claims is due to things like better employer education on workplace safety, OSHA regulations, and other workplace safety initiatives.  Those points should not be overlooked.  The point I want to drive home is that these numbers are most certainly skewed and the reasons are very sad.  Unemployment, fear of unemployment, reduction of qualified Texas Workers Compensation doctors, filing on health insurance instead of workers comp insurance and anything else that might have an affect on the statistics.

WOLMED Texas workers compensation doctors want to help you when you’re hurt on the job.  We can’t stop unemployment, but we can help you with the fear of unemployment by helping you get the treatment you need and by taking steps to help protect your job.  And sure we accept Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance and most other insurances, but we don’t want you to waive your rights under Texas Workers Compensation.  Instead, we want to help protect your rights.  Finally, while there is a reduction of qualified doctors who treat workers compensation, we still treat injured workers and we have no plans whatsoever to stop helping injured workers.  We want to be your doctor!

If you or someone you know what hurt at work, but aren’t exactly sure what to do about it, give us a call.  The Medical Doctors and Chiropractors at WOLMED can help you.  We are workers comp experts.  We’re open 7am to 8pm on week days and 7am to 4pm on Saturdays and we welcome same-day appointments.  Call us today in Denton and Dallas, TX.

]]> http://wolmed.com/blog/workers-compensation/workers-comp-denton-workers-comp-dallas-texas-workers-comp-doctors/feed/ 0 Dr. Helsten on the Texas Star Network http://wolmed.com/blog/workers-comp/dr-helsten-on-the-texas-star-network/ http://wolmed.com/blog/workers-comp/dr-helsten-on-the-texas-star-network/#comments Thu, 11 Nov 2010 17:10:34 +0000 chelms http://wolmed.com/blog/?p=89 Great news everyone!  As of December 1, 2010, Robert Helsten, MD will be on Texas Mutual’s Texas Star Network for workers compensation.  In case you’re not aware, Texas Workers Compensation uses certified healthcare networks for workers comp injuries.  Roughly 35% of all injured employees in Texas are currently covered under these certified workers comp networks.  Texas Mutual’s Texas Star Network is by far the largest of all certified workers comp networks in Texas.  If you’re hurt at work, there’s a very good chance that if your company participates in a workers comp network, it’s with the Texas Star Network.  If so, this is very good news for you.  Here’s why.

Prior to this, if you live in the Denton area and you’re hurt on the job, your choices of treating doctor were very limited if you were in a workers compensation network.  But here comes December and Dr. Helsten wants to be your doctor.  He’s got emergency room experience, years and years of Texas  Workers Comp experience, and he’s an excellent Family Practitioner.

Dr. Helsten is looking forward to helping injured workers from the Texas Star Network.  If you live in the Denton area, including Sanger, Krum, Lake Dallas, Corinth, Lewisville, Justin, Gainesville, Little Elm, Flower Mound, and Valley View, give Dr. Helsten a chance if you’re hurt at work.

We give a special thanks to Texas Mutual and the Texas Star Network for allowing injured workers to have Dr. Helsten as their treating doctor.

]]> http://wolmed.com/blog/workers-comp/dr-helsten-on-the-texas-star-network/feed/ 0 WOL+MED Blood Drive Part 2 for 2010 http://wolmed.com/blog/giving-back-in-2010/wolmed-blood-drive-part-2-for-2010/ http://wolmed.com/blog/giving-back-in-2010/wolmed-blood-drive-part-2-for-2010/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:49:00 +0000 chelms http://wolmed.com/blog/?p=75 Since I’ve started writing these articles, the WOL+MED Blog has starting getting some really nice reviews from readers.  They appreciate the original content (as opposed to copying from other sites) as well as the usefulness of the information presented.  My favorite articles are those about how WOL+MED is giving back to our community.  In fact, our 2 offices recently held our 2nd blood drive of the year, in partnership with the American Red Cross.  We had over 40 volunteers this time and each person’s donation can help 3 people in need.  That means we were able to help another 120 people with our blood donations.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our public outreach efforts so far in 2010.  We still have plenty more to give, so watch out for more opportunities in the coming months.

As a note to our readers:  WOL+MED treats back pain, neck pain, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, hand and wrist injuries.  We treat injured workers in Texas Workers Comp and we treat people injured in car wrecks.  We work closely with personal injury lawyers and workers comp attorneys and we have a network of other specialists that we often refer to.  We are CARF Accredited in Pain Management, which is the gold standard of rehabilitation in Texas Workers Comp.  Our Medical Doctors, Chiropractors, Nurse Practitioners, Physicians Assistants, and large supporting staff are ready to help anyone who has been injured.  Please call us today and let us help if you are having any of these problems.

]]> http://wolmed.com/blog/giving-back-in-2010/wolmed-blood-drive-part-2-for-2010/feed/ 1 Denton County Injured Workers in Education http://wolmed.com/blog/education/denton-county-injured-workers-in-education/ http://wolmed.com/blog/education/denton-county-injured-workers-in-education/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 17:04:23 +0000 chelms http://wolmed.com/blog/?p=28 After doing some research to find out who was getting injured at work in Denton County, I was surprised to find the high number of people who work in education that get injured at work.  I’m sure these aren’t only teachers.  The education industry also is made up of cafeteria workers, office staff, maintenance workers, bus drivers, and others.  When researching further, I found that nearly 50% of the major Denton County employers are in Education, so it would make sense that so many injured workers come from that industry.  In Denton County, we have the University of North Texas, Texas Women’s University, Denton ISD, and Lewisville ISD.  These 4 alone represent almost 50% of the major Denton County Employers.  In fact, UNT has over 7,700 employees! 

WOL+MED treats all kinds of work injuries:  shoulder injuries, knee injuries, back injuries, neck injuries, hand injuries, ankle injuries and more.  We want to help when you are injured or when someone that you know is injured at work.  The majority of our new patients come from referrals from other patients.  If you know someone who was hurt while working at one of the Denton County schools, tell them to consider WOL+MED.

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