February 19, 2019
While exposure to asbestos in the workplace is less common than a few decades ago, there are still many older buildings and industries in South Carolina where developing an illness or injury as a result of asbestos exposure is possible, especially along coastal areas that have had heavy involvement in the shipbuilding industry.
January 24, 2019
There are a lot of reasons someone might slip and fall, whether they’re out shopping or running errands or find themselves slipping and falling in the workplace. Even a seemingly minor slip and fall can lead to serious injury that costs time and money in doctor’s visits, medical treatment, and potentially even time off work to allow the injury to fully heal. If someone is injured as a result of slipping and falling in a public place or the workplace, the owner of the property the injury occurred on, or the business owner, may be liable for those injuries. In the case of an on-the-job slip and fall injury, individuals filing a Workers’ Compensation claim may be able to recover costs associated with treatment for and recovery from their injury.
January 4, 2019
Everyone knows someone who has had a misdiagnosed illness or injury. Either symptoms weren’t taken seriously, the patient felt they just weren’t listened to at all, or an incorrect diagnosis led to treatment that at best did no good and at worst caused very real harm. If a physician fails to accurately diagnose a harmful medical condition in a timely manner, patients may in some cases be able to pursue a legal remedy by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, medical malpractice laws are complex, and ‘malpractice’ isn’t as simple as ‘the diagnosis was wrong’.
December 6, 2018
Radiation exposure has long been a potential risk associated with military service, primarily for individuals who performed what Veterans Affairs refers to as “radiation-risk activities” (as defined in 38 CFR 3.309(d)(3)), including nuclear weapons testing, but these specific tests are not the only potential risk for those serving in the military to be exposed to harmful radiation levels. In order to file a VA Disability claim for cancer related to radiation exposure, a veteran would need to be able to prove a connection between their cancer diagnosis and radiation exposure during military service. Proving service-connection for radiation-related cancers can be difficult and complex. The more information you have before moving forward, the better. Let’s take a closer look at what cancers are associated with radiation exposure during military service.
November 28, 2018
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Attorney Timothy Mercer has joined Bluestein Thompson Sullivan, LLC.He will practice exclusively in the area of Veterans Disability.
November 1, 2018
COLUMBIA, SC — Bluestein Attorneys is rated among the top law firms in Columbia, SC in the new edition of Best Law Firms in America. This is the ninth year the firm has been honored in the publication.
October 23, 2018
Most applications for Social Security Disability benefits are not immediately approved, and applicants may wait for two years for a final decision. Even after approval, the backlog of cases in nearly every local Social Security Administration office means that some recipients don’t receive their first payments until months or even a year after approval. The upside to this unfortunate reality is that Social Security Disability benefits include back pay for most or all of that time spent waiting, in the form of a single lump sum. This sum can be substantial, depending on the amount of benefits approved. Individuals who have received ‘lump sum payments’ in other situations have been dismayed to learn that their payments were taxed at a higher rate than they expected, or threw off their ‘Annual Income’ for the year and raised their tax bracket. This may make the prospect of receiving a similar lump […]
October 8, 2018
Although worker’s compensation is the exclusive remedy against an injured worker’s employer, there are some cases in which the injured worker can also pursue a claim against the at-fault. This means that the injured worker may be able to pursue a recovery from both workers’ compensation and the at-fault third party. There is some overlap in the benefits that an injured worker can collect from workers’ compensation and the at-fault, which means that the injured worker may recover twice for the same injury. To prevent this from happening, the South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Act provides that the workers’ compensation provider has a right of “subrogation” and get paid back for the benefits it paid from any liability recovery from the at-fault third party. What is subrogation in Workers’ Compensation? How does the right to recovery work in these situations? Let’s take a closer look.
August 28, 2018
Today’s blog comes to us from Frank D. Butler, a Personal Attorney who practices in the area of maritime law, including cruise ship injuries and other maritime concerns. You can reach Frank D. Butler to request a consultation at (888) 262-8529 or contact him online at any time. In 2018, it is projected that 28 million passengers will cruise on one of the numerous cruise ship options. For many residents of South Carolina who choose to cruise, it will be from Charleston—which now offers nine cruises through Carnival Cruise Lines. Other South Carolina residents will choose to go to Florida and leave on a cruise ship from Jacksonville, Port Canaveral, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. For the last ten years cruise ship passengers have increased from 18 million passengers in 2009 up to the 28 million passengers projected for 2018. Florida offers a range of cruise lines—like Disney, Royal […]