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Opioids! The other side of the coin.

I have posted about some of the addictive dangers of opioids. Here is the other side of the coin.  I have many clients with significant chronic pain who need these meds on a regular basis.  They worry about addiction, but they follow the doctor’s orders and do not seek meds early or elsewhere.  Opioids
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Suspicion about workers who are in pain!

[fusion_dropcap boxed="no" boxed_radius="" class="" id="" color=""]I[/fusion_dropcap]n the Workers compensation system generally, and certainly, in Oregon’s workers compensation system, there is frequently a suspicion about workers who are in pain. The sad fact is that many workers suffer an injury and can develop significant, chronic, ongoing pain that is very difficult for them to deal
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Oregon’s Workers Compensation System Is Too Complex!

[fusion_dropcap boxed="no" boxed_radius="" class="" id="" color=""]O[/fusion_dropcap]regon’s workers compensation system is in many respects far too complex. If you are familiar, at all, with Rube Goldberg’s creations (and one of those would be the mouse trap game that many of us played while growing up), then you will understand when I say that this workers
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How you can deal with the Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis.

[fusion_dropcap boxed="no" boxed_radius="" class="" id="" color=""]I[/fusion_dropcap] recently posted (twice) about the Supreme Court’s decision in Epic Systems v. Lewis.  Here are some suggestions about how to deal with it.  I am pretty sure that Congress (at least as constituted) is not going to legislatively overrule this. Even if they did I have no doubt that
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Physical Therapy First For Low Back Pain May Curb Use Of Opioids!

[fusion_dropcap boxed="no" boxed_radius="" class="" id="" color=""]I[/fusion_dropcap]have posted about opioids before. There is an opioid crisis in this country, and we see it in our Workers Compensation system. Here is a study that shows that physical therapy reduces the probability that the injured person will use opioids and will not go to the emergency room.
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An Epic Supreme Court Decision on Employment

The 5-4 ruling in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis could weaken workplace protections—and the justices on both sides knew it.False dichotomy, meretricious piety, and pay-no-attention-to-that-man-behind-the-curtain misdirection are vital arrows in the quiver of any lawyer or judge, no matter of what persuasion. These tricks were on particularly egregious display in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, a 5-4
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The Supreme Court Just Made It A Lot Harder To Sue Your Employer!

The Supreme Court issued a very anti-worker decision. Many large companies require employees to sign an arbitration clause that requires the employee to arbitrate violations of Federal labor laws rather than seek relief from a jury. The Supreme Court has ruled that they cannot form classes or groups to litigate these issues. The effect is
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Navigating the Gig Economy, Independent or Employer?

Workers’ compensation applies to workers. [fusion_dropcap boxed="no" boxed_radius="" class="" id="" color=""]I[/fusion_dropcap]t does not apply to independent contractors. Sometimes people don’t understand what they give up when they go to work in a job where they are classified as an independent contractor. In Oregon, it usually is pretty complicated to be declared an independent contractor.
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