Find Lawyers in Ohio, United States for Workers' Compensation Law - Employers
Practice Area Overview
Begun in England with the recognition that normal lawsuits took too long and were too uncertain for industrial injuries, the trend reached the United States, and individual states started amending their constitutions and passing statutes, first voluntary, then mandatory, to provide no-fault systems with statutorily prescribed amounts of payments to injured workers or to the families of deceased workers whose injuries occurred on the job. In return for the “no-fault” system, employers received what has turned out to be limited immunity from lawsuits by injured workers.
Today, most states’ systems include private insurers who can write coverage nationally, with the exception of Ohio, North Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming, which do not allow private primary insurance coverage, and instead have systems in which employers pay into a State Fund, or are allowed to self-insure. Employers’ lawyers, together with your insurance broker, can advise you on the advantages and disadvantages of self-insurance in the various states.
Although the workers’ compensation systems are “no-fault,” lawyers become involved in individual claims when there are disputes over whether the claimant was actually employed by the employer, whether injuries actually occurred on the job, whether conditions were pre-existing or arose from another cause, as well as issues regarding the extent of the alleged disability or impairment, the duration of weekly benefits, the relationship of medical bills to the original injury, and other issues. At that time, an Employers’ Lawyer can conduct an investigation for factual and surveillance evidence, collect medical records, have the claimant examined in an independent medical examination, and then defend and argue the employer’s case at administrative hearings and/or in court, depending upon that particular state’s system.
Some states have safety rules that are enforced through the workers’ compensation system by enhanced weekly payments or other benefits, and are apart from the federal OSHA system. Some states allow lawsuits outside of the workers’ compensation system by injured workers, in the case of perceived willful, intentional, or deliberate intent by employers, depending on the state.
Some states allow workers’ compensation attorneys to be designated as specialists. Generally, an employer should have a regular workers’ compensation defense attorney advising the employer, in addition to any third party administrator or other claims adjuster the employer might have, since the attorney’s perspective is that of one who must uphold the employer’s position at hearing or in trial. In some states, the defense attorney is not only paid by the insurance company, but the insurance company is the actual party in the case. In those instances, the employer might wish to consider having counsel to make sure that the insurance counsel is representing the employer’s interests adequately as they are obliged to do.
Elizabeth Crosby specializes in Labor & Employment Law and in Workers’ Compensation Law . As the challenges of labor and employment matters increase, employers benefit from Liz’s deep level of expertise with dual certifications in labor & employment law. She counsels employers and management in every aspect of employment law, including termination, handbook preparation, discrimination and wrongful discharge claims, wage and hour compliance, intentional tort, restrictive co...
“I counsel my clients on virtually every facet of their businesses because employment matters directly impact every aspect of an organization. Whether recruiting, hiring, compensating, training, evaluating, promoting, disciplining or terminating, each employee interaction poses compliance obligations and financial risks. It is my privilege to assist with the creation of an optimal human resource infrastructure and thereby minimize these risks.” In addition to representing private ...
Thomas J. Gibney concentrates his practice in the areas of human resources management in the private and public sectors, employment litigation, private and public sector labor negotiations and contract application, workers' compensation, and federal and state safety regulation litigation. He is a member of Eastman & Smith. Mr. Gibney is a frequent lecturer on the Affordable Care Act, National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), Occupational Safety and Health Act, Family and Medical Leave Act (FML...
Dan O'Brien is partner in the firm's Cleveland office. His practice focuses on Risk and Claims Management. His five major areas of concentration are in Workers' Compensation, Unemployment Compensation, Alternative Risk Transfer Methods, Establishment of Best Practices Claims Management Programs and the impact of workers' and unemployment costs in a Merger or Acquisition. He has over 30 years of experience representing employers before the Industrial Commission of Ohio and the Ohio Bureau of W...
Marietta M. Pavlidis is a litigation attorney specializing in family law and workers’ compensation law. She represents business owners, physicians, other licensed professionals and individuals and their spouses dealing with family law issues. Ms. Pavlidis also provides legal counsel and representation to employers from a wide variety of industries in Ohio workers’ compensation matters.Over the years, Ms. Pavlidis has successfully handled complex high-profile family law and workers...
Bob Robenalt is a partner in the firm's Columbus office. He represents management in a variety of labor and employment issues, including workers' compensation, employment litigation and traditional labor matters. Bob has defended numerous wrongful discharge, Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA), workers' compensation and employment discrimination actions in state and federal courts, and has argued in defense of employment actions before the 4th and 6th Circuit Federal Courts. He ha...
Mark A. Shaw represents employers in workers' compensation, litigation and employment matters. He has represented both private and public sector employers before state courts and at all administrative levels before the Industrial Commission. He is a frequent speaker and guest lecturer at seminars regarding workers' compensation and employment law topics. Mr. Shaw is a member of Eastman & Smith, practicing in the Firm's Columbus, Ohio, office, and is listed in Best Lawyers in America®....
Michael T. Short represents management clients in a wide range of labor and employment matters. He also actively represents employers in workers’ compensation cases before the Industrial Commission of Ohio, the Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation, and all levels of Ohio courts. He has extensive experience representing public sector clients in collective bargaining negotiations, arbitrations, and before the Ohio State Employment Relations Board. He regularly counsels employers on: Labor...
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