SECOND INJURY FUND INSOLVENCY

The Second Injury Fund provides much needed benefits to injured workers. The Fund provides benefits to workers that have a permanent disability or injury prior to their work related injury. For example, if an employee has an amputated right hand at the time he is hired, and later he suffers a work related injury that causes him to lose the use of his left hand, the worker would likely be permanently and totally disabled because he has lost the use of both hands. The employer is only responsible to pay benefits for loss of the left hand (a permanent partial disability). The Second Injury Fund is responsible for paying additional benefits to reflect the fact that the employee is actually permanently and totally disabled as a result of the pre-existing injury to the right hand.

The Fund is also responsible for paying medical bills of an injured employee when the employer fails to insure its workers’ compensation liability. Second Injury Fund also provides benefits to an injured employee with multiple jobs. If an employee is unable to work at a job as a result of an injury that occurred while working at another job, benefits may be claimed from the Second Injury Fund in connection with the job at which the employee was not injured.

The Second Injury Fund is funded by a surcharge applied to workers’ compensation insurance premiums paid by employers. The Missouri legislature has capped the amount of the surcharge paid by employers, which has caused the Second Injury Fund to be underfunded. Unless the Missouri legislature acts, in the near future, the Fund will become insolvent and unable to pay claims.

Fund insolvency is near. In 2009, the Missouri Attorney General's Office issued a memo to attorneys, saying "effective immediately, unless an offer has been previously accepted, all Second Injury Fund offers are withdrawn.” Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said the decision was made because the solvency of the fund is "in question." According to Koster, current fund revenues will cover settlements it has already made, but that "new obligations upon the fund could potentially push the fund past solvency."

"Therefore, given information currently available, our office has determined it is in the best interests of existing claimants and the state that no new settlements be entered into until a greater understanding of the fund's solvency is reached and until further consultations with executive and legislative leaders are completed," he said in the statement.

As a result of its looming insolvency, the Fund is paying only amounts it is ordered to pay through the litigation process. Even these payments will soon be in jeopardy if the legislature does not act. Contact your local state legislator and encourage him or her to remove the cap on the premium surcharge so that the Second Injury Fund can continue to pay worthy claims.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND YOUR INJURY CLAIM

Your profiles on Facebook, MySpace, and other social media websites can have a negative impact on your injury claim. Photos, status updates, and comments can defeat or devalue your injury claim if you do not use discretion when posting.

After an injury, the best advice is to avoid social media sites altogether. If you do not use your social media profile, it is less likely that you will provide any information to insurance adjusters that will be used against you. An insurance adjuster's job is to pay you as little as possible for your injury claim. You do not want to help the insurance adjuster and damage your claim through your own comments and postings on social media sites.

Consider the following example. If you injure your neck in a car accident, and, shortly afterwards, you post pictures on Facebook that show you riding a jet ski with the status update, "Great weekend spent on the jet ski," the insurance adjuster may find these postings and use them against you. The adjuster may argue that no injured person would be out riding a jet ski.

If you insist on using social media sites after your injury, here are a few rules to follow:

Check your Privacy Settings. Some social media sites, such as Facebook, will allow you to make your personal information and posts private. In Facebook this would mean that only community member on your friend lists will be able to view your status updates (You can go even further by creating friend lists with specific privacy policies applied to them). Be aware, however, that even the highest level of privacy settings may not prevent the insurance adjuster from obtaining posted photos and comments. The adjuster may seek information from your social media profiles during the discovery phase of the lawsuit. While this is still an open issue, some courts have allowed discovery of this information.

When uploading photos, be selective on which photos are appropriate. If possible, set up filters that only allow friends to see your photo albums. For Facebook users, make sure you set your options for tagged photos. You should select "Only Me" for people who can view your tagged photos.

Accept only friend requests from people you know. An insurance adjuster may send you a friend request in hopes of gaining access to your personal information.

Do not join groups with provocative names and/or discussions.

Keep your case private. Do not post any photos of your accident or give any information regarding your injury or your case.

Remember, an insurance adjuster will be searching for incriminating details about your personal life and your injury claim. Ideally, you should not use social media sites during your case. This will ensure that you do not post anything that will harm your case.