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Alan Tysinger
San Antonio, Texas
Alan Tysinger represents injured parties in workers’ compensation and personal injury litigation throughout the state of Texas.
Recent Activity
Does a COVID-19 diagnosis count as a workers comp injury?
Does a COVID-19 diagnosis count as a workers comp injury? How about forced quarantine without positive test but forced to take time off....or positive test but asymptomatic and forced quarantine? With school starting back up, many school district employees are asking these questions. I am handling several such cases right... Continue reading
Posted Aug 13, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Appeal No. 190180—Finality Despite Favorable Extent of Injury
Appeal No. 190180—Finality Despite Favorable Extent of Injury Background facts in this case: The DD report placed the claimant at MMI 7/30/17 with a 0% IR as of 10/24/17 exam, including multiple other certifications based on extent of injury. Report was emailed to claimant 10/24/17. No DWC-45 on MMI/IR was... Continue reading
Posted Aug 2, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Appeal No. 180848-s: Dispute by DWC-45 in the Absence of Prior DD, Effect of Defective DWC-32, and Unexplored Avenues
Appeal No. 180848-s: Dispute by DWC-45 in the Absence of Prior DD, Effect of Defective DWC-32, and Unexplored Avenues In this case, the Appeals Panel reversed and rendered a decision that the first certification of MMI/IR did not become final, contrary to the ruling of the ALJ. The relevant dates... Continue reading
Posted Aug 1, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Texas Workers' Compensation Impairment Rating Finality: Impairment Rating and Extent of Injury
Appeal No. 191874-s—Implications of finality for extent of injury A decade and a half ago, the Appeals Panel issued a decision on the finality of an impairment rating at the end of the first quarter of supplemental income benefits. In that case, my client was an employee of the Alamo... Continue reading
Posted Jul 31, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: Exceptions to Finality
The legislature, in its enactment of a 90 day finality provision for certifications of MMI/IR, included both specific exceptions to finality and an open provision for the agency to add more. Sec. 408.123(f) An employee's first certification of maximum medical improvement or assignment of an impairment rating may be disputed... Continue reading
Posted Jul 31, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: Dispute Requirements
A random search for the most useless things ever brings up a few novelties: pre-peeled bananas in plastic wrappers, the pet rock, the ropeless skipping rope, the I Am Rich iphone app ($999.99), and the treadmill bicycle (https://www.indy100.com/article/the-12-most-pointless-things-ever-invented--Z1Sd9fYMbl). These are all items of thankful obscurity, but perhaps equaling these items... Continue reading
Posted Jul 30, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: What Isn't Required
As the esteemed jurist and upholder of compulsory sterilization laws, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, is once reputed to have chided a lawyer, “this is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice.” The Workers’ Compensation Act provides ample illustrations of this principle. Among them relevant here would... Continue reading
Posted Jul 29, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: Must Dispute within 90 days
The provision requires that the party wishing to dispute the certification of maximum medical improvement and impairment rating file the dispute with the Division prior to the 91st day following receipt of the certification. The statutory provision states that the 90 day period may not be extended. However, like any... Continue reading
Posted Jul 28, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: Verifiable Means
The certification must be “provided to the employee and the carrier by verifiable means.” Appeal No. 042163-s discusses this requirement in detail, and Appeals No. 041985-s and 052163-s cite the preamble to Rule 130.12: Written notice is verifiable when it is provided from any source in a manner that reasonably... Continue reading
Posted Jul 28, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: Valid Certification
The second element for a certification to become final is that it must be a valid certification. The validity concept itself is comprised of multiple elements. The certification must be on a form DWC-69. This is the form prescribed by the DWC for certifying impairment. The requirement that the form... Continue reading
Posted Jul 26, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality; First Certification
The initial element that must be met is that the certification is the first certification. This is construed as being the first in time. It is not the first certification in the sense of the earliest date of maximum medical improvement or a prior date of exam. For example, if... Continue reading
Posted Jul 26, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas: Statutory Basis
Statutory Basis for Finality of Certification of MMI and IR After the Court of Appeals tossed the 90 day administrative rule in Fulton, the legislature responded by “fixing” the statute by adding Sec. 408.123(e): (e) Except as otherwise provided by this section, an employee's first valid certification of maximum medical... Continue reading
Posted Jul 24, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Impairment Rating Finality in Texas Workers' Compensation: Brief Overview
Under the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act, compensation for temporary disability ends when a claimant is certified to have reached maximum medical improvement, and compensation for any permanent damage resulting from the injury commences. The certification of maximum medical improvement and impairment rating therefore often have significant financial consequences for claimants... Continue reading
Posted Jul 23, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Changing Treating Doctor in Texas Workers' Compensation: Appealing a Denial
A form DWC-53 must be filed with the Division of Workers' Compensation to obtain a new treating doctor unless the claim is a network claim or an informal network claim under a political subdivision. Often the Division will deny a DWC-53 request. If DWC-53 is denied, employee can file DWC-45... Continue reading
Posted Jul 22, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Changing Treating Doctor in Texas Workers' Compensation: Justifying the Reason for Change
Changing treating doctor with a form DWC-53 requires justification by valid reason. Examples of valid reasons for change could include, depending on the facts of the case, any or all of the following: I do not see the doctor, only the PA or FNP. Therefore I have no relationship with... Continue reading
Posted Jul 21, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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If my workers' compensation claim is under a Texas Workers' Compensation Certified Healthcare Network, does the adjuster choose my doctor instead of me?
If my workers' compensation claim is under a Texas Workers' Compensation Certified Healthcare Network, does the adjuster choose my doctor instead of me? Texas workers' compensation law allows an employer to choose whether or not to purchase an insurance policy requiring injured employees to receive medical care for injuries solely... Continue reading
Posted Jul 20, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Changing Treating Doctor in Texas Workers' Compensation: DWC-53 Best Practices
Changing primary treating doctor in Texas workers' compensation claims is a right held by the employee. When the claim is non-network or not subject to a political subdivision informal network, a form DWC-53 must ordinarily be filed. Some best practices for completing this form include: Do not use only the... Continue reading
Posted Jul 20, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Best Practices for Changing Treating Doctor in Texas Workers' Compensation: Networks and Alliances
In Texas Workers' Compensation Cases, a change of doctor request is required if an injured employee desires a new primary treating doctor. The treating doctor is responsible for referrals and administrative decisions such as determination of MMI, return to work, and articulating the extent of injury if the adjuster requests.... Continue reading
Posted Jul 18, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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What are the circumstances under which an impairment rating can become final in Texas workers' compensation?
In a Texas Workers' Compensation case, what are the impairment ratings that can become final if not disputed within 90 days? The Texas Workers' Compensation Act states: (a) The certifications and assignments that may become final are: (1) The first valid certification of MMI and/or IR assigned or determination of... Continue reading
Posted Jul 17, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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What remedies are available in a workers' compensation wrongful termination claim?
What remedies are available in a workers' compensation wrongful termination claim? If an employee is terminated in retaliation for filing a workers' compensation claiming good faith, hiring an attorney, or testifying in a workers' compensation proceeding, the employer is liable for damages under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act: Sec. 451.002.... Continue reading
Posted Jul 17, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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What if an employee is fired from a healthcare facility for being COVID positive after having been exposed at the workplace?
What if an employee is fired from a healthcare facility for being COVID positive after having been exposed at the workplace? You would have multiple issues. CARES Act provisions would make employee eligible for specific unemployment benefits. Exposure at workplace would make it a potential workers' compensation case. The termination... Continue reading
Posted Jul 16, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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COVID-19 Litigation and Summer Camps
What about COVID-19 cases arising out of summer camps, including church camps? For the clients, the major factor is damages. Pain and suffering is usually a minor component in injury cases. More critical are objective economic damages-- lost wages, past medical bills, future medical bills, loss of earning capacity. Most... Continue reading
Posted Jul 15, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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COVID-19 and Workers' Compensation: A "Miniscule" Chance?
Recently leaders in Arkansas were asked about workers compensation as it relates to coronavirus Worker’s Compensation claims. The governor of Arkansas indicated in a straightforward manner that he had clarified with the director of the workers compensation office in the state that an employee who catches COVID-19 at the workplace... Continue reading
Posted Jun 27, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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COVID-19 and the Workplace: Workers' Compensation to the Rescue?
The title containing this catchy phrase, Worker’s Compensation to the rescue? Is what headlines a recent article in Forbes magazine. Many employers have been justifiably concerned about re-opening their businesses in light of potential liability for employees who may sustain COVID-19 on the job. The article notes that workers compensation... Continue reading
Posted Jun 27, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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Medical Reviews in Workers' Compensation Cases: A California Study and Relevance for Texas
Much of the hassle in dealing with Worker’s Compensation claims comes from the impersonal peer review process that dominates medical determinations. A recent study in California indicated that the number of independent medical review determination letters in prescription drug disputes fail significantly from 2018 to 2019, continuing into 2020. What... Continue reading
Posted Jun 26, 2020 at Law Office of Alan Tysinger
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