Iraq Injury Claims Grow Daily
Millions and millions of dollars in workers compensation claims have been filed over the past few years from Iraq. Government and hired civilian contractors have been killed, injured, and damaged while working for the United States. All of these claims have been building into a massive pile of debt and financial promises that the U.S. must make right. Many of the civilian contractors gave their lives helping free thousands of people from a horrible dictatorship, restructure, and regain their country.
A reported 800+ injury claims have been filed this year from Iraq. The majority of these are directly related to on-site ‘civilian contractor’ injuries and deaths that have occurred during our occupation in Iraq.
“The security situation is virtually unprecedented,” said Bob Hartwig, chief economist with the Insurance Information Institute, an industry group. “You’ve got the potential to be kidnapped, to be killed, to be tortured, shot at, blown up.”
Labor Department officials said they had no expense estimate for reimbursements of Iraq-related claims, but given the maximum payment of $1,030.78 per week and the number of injuries and deaths, it could well climb into the multimillions. In past years, annual reimbursement costs under the War Hazards Act have ranged from $1 million to $2 million. The Employees Compensation Fund, which pays war hazard claims as well as workers’ compensation claims for government workers, is directed at about $2.3 billion annually, says the Labor Department. Financial protection for workers of United States contractors, whether or not they have citizenship, is required under the 1941 Defense Base Act, just as workers in the U.S. must have workers’ compensation insurance. Military personnel are not eligible and have a separate program.
The defense act will require the United States to pay at least two-thirds of the wages of any government hired or contracted civilians. This will be a great assistance to many of the individuals and families that have been affected by war. Iraq was not easy for any of us, but let us always respect and thank those who have served to protect our freedom and liberty.
Whiplash Symptoms
Whiplash can happen to anyone in an infinite number of different accidents and incidents, not always car accidents. However, the majority of whiplash injuries in the United States are caused by rear-end collisions with multiple automobiles. Due to these statistics, please always remember to buckle your seat belt and also own insurance for yourself, vehicle, and passengers. This can mean the difference between minor whiplash injuries or severe injury and even death, whiplash you can come back from, some other injuries you cannot..
How is whiplash caused?
Violent Snapping of your Neck and Head
- by the whipping or snapping motion of the human body, neck, and head that is caused by a violent change in acceleration or deceleration
- hyper-extension of vertebrae, joints, and discs
- hyper-flex of the human body, neck and head
Whiplash is usually not a life threatening injury but it can have some long term affects on your physical health. Both back and neck pain are the major complaints from most whiplash victims, these symptoms can persist for many years or even the rest of your life. Due to the violent jolting of your joints, discs and nervous system, they can all be affected permanently depending on how severe and what level of health the victim was in at the time of the personal injury.
Some of the most common symptoms are:
- neck and back pain
- loss of movement range
- tingling or numbness
- soreness while moving or flexing
- headache
- ear damage: ringing or balance issues
Treatment?
You’ve got to speak with a medical professional as soon as possible. They will help you determine what personal injuries have been caused by the whiplash accident, often times you may find that the injuries are not permanent and medication + physical therapy is all that will be needed to heal your injuries. Of course rest will be important for any injury, but make sure to not isolate the injury completely, you need to keep using the human body and doing extensions to keep your range of movement and future flexibility. You can seriously inhibit the future range of motion by completely isolating and ceasing movement to any part of the body.
If your injuries are more severe, this could be vertebrae, disc, nervous, and other various parts of the body, you may need to get serious medical attention. Often times this can come to surgery to restore the use and safety of a lot of these body parts. Especially in older patients surgery can represent a chance for restored stability and strength in these body parts when no surgery the areas may not fully heal or recover. Either route, make sure to speak with your medical professional immediately after any personal injury accident and also speak with your health insurance companies to file the necessary injury claims.
Various Types of Injury Claims at Work
The workplace should be a safe environment for all employees, but accidents do happen. And, when you are not at fault, you need to make sure that you are correctly compensated, both financially and medically. Do not settle for anything less, take down all documentation and use truth to find results. Be careful not to be scared off or be ill-advised by your employer or insurance groups, speak to a legal consultant asap and make sure to provide all evidence and information possible regarding the incident and your past work records and history. This greatly helps establish trust and authority for yourself and the fact that this incident has put you in harms way, physically, mentally, and financially. The large majority of companies in the United States will absolutely back up their employees, there is a reason they have insurance..
Injury claims come in all different forms, shapes, and accidents, you’ll never be 100% sure unless you speak to an injury lawyer or personal claims advocate. Please do this as soon as you are healthy enough to consult with an attorney, if your too injured or hospital ridden for sometime, than try and work with a relative or friend to get in touch with legal help as soon as you can. Most states will not hold you accountable for taking a period of time to recover or treat injuries before filing for legal compensation, but the sooner the better. These things can take months, if not years, to resolve sometimes. Especially if the accident is not completely no-fault to you, that being said, always keep any records of medical bills, legal transactions, and any communications from your employers and co-workers to build your case. If your not capable of keeping these files do to your current health condition, than find someone trusted you can work with you and make sure your case is well defined and the incident is well documented. This will be a huge help when it comes time to speak with lawyers, attorneys, and insurance companies that may be involved.
Workers Compensation Claims:
- Driving based – vehicular accidents, often very easy to establish fault, make sure to check with fleet vehicle insurance providers for immediate information and assistance
- Factory based – depending on work environments, make sure you adhered to all employee codes and safety mandates
- Heavy Machinery/Equipment based – you must have all licensing/certifications for machinery and make sure you adhered to all employee codes and safety mandates
- Office based – develop co-worker relations, witnesses help establish trust
- Retail based – 3rd party or no-fault situations, speak with insurance groups to identify requirements and employee codes
You’ll need to provide all background information and prove certifications for utilizing equipment and other actions in the workplace. If you were not certified but have clear instruction from supervisors to use or do certain work, than make sure you have the documentation proving this communication happened.