#MeToo
Workers' Compensation
Standing with women in the work place
ABOUT
#MeTooWorkersCompensation
#MeTooWorkersCompensation
Since the me too movement and the ongoing news of women and sexual harassment in the work environment, CMSW wants to help and educate women who have suffered from mental or physical injuries. By doing so, we want to bring the awareness with our #MeTooWorkersCompensation hashtag and provide informative seminars.
(Click here to learn more about the me too movement >>)
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Workers' Compensation Law
As a matter of law, a mental injury caused solely by psychic trauma is compensable when the circumstance constitutes an accident within the meaning of the Workers' Compensation Law. In order for a claim to be viable, the stress must be greater than that which occurs in the normal work environment. (Click here to learn more about Workers' Compensation >>)
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The Case
CMSW established and defended a work related PTSD claim that was brought to the Workers' Compensation Board for a full Board Review. The claimant was a female bus operator who filed an Employee Claim indicating that while at work, her male supervisor had made inappropriate remarks about her body. From this incident she became suicidal and had taken 24 pills of Advil. The doctor then diagnosed the claimant with causally related PTSD and found her totally disabled.
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The Decision
The Full Board found that the preponderance of the evidence in the record supports a finding that claimant's testimony was credible, that the claimant experienced stress greater than that which occurs in the normal work environment, and that based of the credible medical evidence presented by the claimant's treating providers, that the claimant sustained causally related PTSD. The WCLJ made awards to the claimant at the temporary total disability rate for a certain period of time.
(Click to read Full Board Memorandum of Decision >>)
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ABOUT
MeToo
MeToo
In 2006, Tarana Burke founded the me too. movement to help survivors of sexual violence, particularly young women of color from low wealth communities, find pathways to healing. Using the idea of “empowerment through empathy,” the me too. movement was ultimately created to ensure survivors know they're not alone in their journey.
The me too. movement has built a community of survivors from all walks of life. By bringing vital conversations about sexual violence into the mainstream, me too is helping to de-stigmatize survivors by highlighting the breadth and impact sexual violence has on thousands of women, and helping those who need it to find entry points to healing. Ultimately, with survivors at the forefront of this movement, me too is aiding the fight to end sexual violence. me too wants to uplift radical community healing as a social justice issue and are committed to disrupting all systems that allow sexual violence to flourish.
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Learn more about the me too movement https://metoomvmt.org/
NYS Workers' Compensation Law
NYS Workers' Compensation
Workers' compensation system guarantees workers injured on the job both medical care and weekly cash benefits, usually until they return to work. Returning injured workers to employment without risking their health or welfare is the main goal of the system.
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Employers agreed to assume all liability, regardless of fault, for all job-related injuries. The law was changed in 1922 to include job-related diseases. Workers gave up the right to sue the employer in exchange for medical care and payment for their injuries. Exceptions to the "exclusive remedy" include:
• Accidents caused solely due to the intoxication of the injured employee;
• Accidents caused by the willful intent of the injured employee;
• Accidents caused by the intentional actions of or at the direction of the employer; or
• In cases where the employer fails to provide the required insurance.
Employers are required to provide insurance coverage for workers in the event of an injury. About 20 percent of the state's largest employers are covered by company self-insurance programs. Another 35 percent are covered by their employers through the private insurance market. The remaining 45 percent - mainly the state's smallest and highest-risk businesses - are covered through the State Insurance Fund.
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Prima Facie Medical Evidence
PFME is the basic building block of a workers' compensation case. According to workers' compensation law, for a claimant's case to proceed, they need prima facie medical evidence. Prima Facie Medical evidence is a medical report signed by a licensed physician, certified by the workers’ compensation board that states:
1. That an accident occurred
2. At work
3. How the accident occurred
4. The sites of injury (like the right hand or upper back etc.)
5. An opinion as to whether the accident was the "competent causing factor of the claimant's injury" or in comp jargon causal relationship.
6. The medical evidence should also state the physician's opinion as to your degree of disability.
OUR
TEAM AT CMSW
What We Do
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CMSW’s primary focus is to partner with Unions/employers, Attorneys & Community (including but not limited to Elected Officials and Legislative Associations) to help identify and address specific occupational and health care needs.
We work to reduce employer costs through prevention, aggressive injury management and return to work, improved productivity and better employee health. After all, healthy employees are good for business.
Provide Free Informational Presentations on Workers’ Compensation to officers, staff, rank and file members.
Each of our locations is a full-service medical site providing:
â–ª Complete diagnosis and treatment of work-related injuries
â–ª Causation determination
(Causal determinism is, roughly speaking, the idea that every event is necessitated by preceding events and conditions together with the laws of nature). PFME – Prima Facie Medical Evidence
â–ª Focus on early return to work, reducing lost time and modified duty when possible
â–ª Effective communication and direct access to physicians
â–ª Goal-oriented physical therapy and alternative therapy only when medically necessary
â–ª E-mailed electronic practitioner's reports and accessibility to specialists and state-of-the-art diagnostics
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