St. Paul Workers' Compensation Blog

If you're injured on the job, you may decide to file a claim for workers' compensation benefits. While you hope to receive an approval letter in the near future, you may get the exact opposite: a denial.

Here are the steps you can take to appeal a workers' compensation denial:

• Contact your insurance company: This gives you the opportunity to ask questions, learn more about the denial and determine if there is anything you can do to have the decision reversed. For example, they may be missing a document that you can quickly supply.
• File the necessary paperwork: You can't simply contact your insurance company and ask for the decision to be overturned. You need to file the necessary paperwork, such as an application to formalize the process.
• Collect evidence: Supply your insurance company with whatever you can find to back up your claim. For example, medical records often come in handy if your employer is arguing that you didn't suffer a serious injury. It's always better to collect more evidence than not enough.

If you have suffered from lower back pain in the past, you know that it has a way of slowing you down. Depending on the cause, it may even keep you in bed for quite a bit of time.

Stretching can help prevent and treat lower back pain, so this is something you may want to work into your life as soon as possible. Here are some tips to keep in mind when you start:

• Spread it out: Rather than cram all your stretching into one long session, tackle your stretches two to three times per day in small spurts.
• Don't make it worse: As you perform stretches, you may feel that some are making your pain worse. For example, this may happen if you stretch while standing or sitting. Make note of this. Then, avoid these stretches in the future.
• Don't tough it out: There's nothing wrong with stopping dead in your tracks if you experience pain. Toughing out the pain won't do you any good, so don't take this approach.
• Combine stretching and exercise: For example, a simple walk after stretching can help strengthen your back muscles and restore you to normal faster.

If you work in the construction industry, regardless of your profession or daily responsibilities, there are a variety of risks to protect against. If you don't, the chance of being part of an accident is much greater.

Here are several of the most common causes of construction site accidents:

• Slip and fall: This can happen to anyone at any time. For example, if the construction site is full of debris, you could catch your foot on something when walking, thus knocking you to the ground.
• Falling objects: When people are working at height, the risk of an object falling to the ground below is very real.
• Equipment accidents: There are many examples of this, such as using a power tool in a manner not consistent with directions.
• Vehicle-related accidents: Construction sites are full of all types of vehicles, any of which can cause a serious accident. For example, a construction vehicle could back over or crush a worker.
• Building collapse: It doesn't happen often, but it's always a risk in the construction industry. If a building collapses with workers inside, the chance of injury or death is very high.

Opioids are powerful painkillers often prescribed after serious injuries and surgeries. If your spouse gets injured at work, for instance, part of the treatment plan could include taking opioids to handle the pain.

These drugs are heavily regulated because, despite how useful they are when used correctly, they are highly addictive. Many people develop substance abuse and addiction issues that could last far longer than the initial injury itself. This addiction can be incredibly harmful and even, in some cases, fatal.