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Courses >
Law & Legal Careers > Workers' Compensation
Syllabus:
All
courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two
lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course.
You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must
complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.
A new
section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each
month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure
to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.
| Week One |
| Wednesday - Lesson 01 |
In
our first lesson, we'll go over the basic concepts in workers'
compensation. You'll learn how your chances of being involved in a
workers' compensation case—either as employee, employer, paralegal, or
human resource coordinator—are much higher than you might expect. Every
year, hundreds of thousands of claims are filed. In this lesson, we'll
review how the system works, how claims are filed, and why it's so
vital for you to know and understand the basic workers' compensation
system.
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| Friday - Lesson 02 |
Would you like to know exactly what benefits an injured worker is entitled to receive? Not sure what terms like temporary total disability, permanent total disability, temporary partial,
and many of the other terms used to describe workers' compensation
benefits really mean? In this lesson, we'll take the mystery out of
them all. We'll go through each type of benefit, avoiding the legal
jargon to provide a down-to-earth explanation of the benefit system in
the workers' compensation system.
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| Week Two |
| Wednesday - Lesson 03 |
Today,
we'll examine the workers' compensation system that covers all federal
employees. This is a huge and multilayered bureaucracy, but we'll go
through it step by step to show you how the federal system, which
covers hundreds of thousands of federal workers, is both similar to and
different from the state systems. We'll also examine some of the new
initiatives created to track workers' compensation fraud and to prevent
government agencies from making double or triple payments for the same
injuries.
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| Friday - Lesson 04 |
How
do Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid interact with workers'
compensation benefits? We'll answer that question in this lesson. We'll
begin with an overview of these three systems. Then we'll proceed to a
discussion about how these agencies work with state and federal
workers' compensation agencies to provide different levels of payments
and benefits. If you've ever been injured on the job, are close to
retirement, are pregnant, or are in any way disabled, then you need to
know how all of these systems work together, as well as what types of
benefits you can receive from each.
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| Week Three |
| Wednesday - Lesson 05 |
So
far, we've focused on the workers' compensation system, from benefits
to the relationships between other government agencies. In this lesson,
we'll get specific about who is covered under workers' compensation
statutes. What, for instance, qualifies a person as an "employee?" Are
business owners covered by workers' compensation? How many employees
must you have before you're legally obligated to make payments to the
state workers' compensation fund? We'll answer these and many other
questions in this lesson.
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| Friday - Lesson 06 |
What
types of injuries are covered under workers' compensation? We all
assume that if you slip and hurt yourself on the job, your injury will
be covered. But is it? What about other types of injuries, such as
repetitive stress injuries or psychological trauma? Are they covered as
well? In today's lesson, you'll learn how injuries are classified under
workers' compensation systems and the rules that employees must follow
in determining which injuries are covered and which are not.
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| Week Four |
| Wednesday - Lesson 07 |
It's
time to get specific about medical benefits provided under workers'
compensation. How much is the injured employee obligated to pay out of
pocket? How many treatments may the employee receive? What about
physical therapy or chiropractic care? We'll address these questions in
today's lesson, and we'll also take a look at some less traditional
remedies. Just what types of treatment will the workers' compensation
system pay for and what types will they force the employee to pay for?
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| Friday - Lesson 08 |
In
this lesson, we'll talk about the amount of money an injured employee
will receive for different types of injuries. You'll learn the precise
details about the dollar amounts an injured employee can expect to
receive, and we'll break this down by the classification of benefits as
temporary or total temporary disability. We'll also go over how
injuries are reclassified as permanent and what that means for the
benefits paid out. Finally, we'll explore how benefits are actually
paid and the possibilities of lump-sum payments.
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| Week Five |
| Wednesday - Lesson 09 |
In
this lesson, we'll focus on what happens when an injured employee comes
into conflict with his or her employer about benefits. Suppose that the
employer wants to terminate benefits? What recourse does the employee
have? The employee can request a hearing for a judicial decision about
benefits. So today we'll examine how these hearings are scheduled, what
evidence can be brought up at a hearing, the function of administrative
law judges, and how attorneys get paid to represent people at workers'
compensation hearings.
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| Friday - Lesson 10 |
How
are workers' compensation awards paid out? Can an injured employee opt
for a lump sum instead of a regular monthly payment? How do workers'
compensation boards enforce their judgments against employers and
insurance companies? These are just a few of the questions we'll answer
as we examine the issues surrounding obtaining an award. Finally, we'll
also explore the power that workers' compensation boards have to
enforce their regulations, not only against employers, employees and
insurance companies, but also against doctors and other medical
professionals.
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| Week Six |
| Wednesday - Lesson 11 |
Most
employers don't pay workers' compensation benefits from their own
budgets. Instead, they obtain workers' compensation insurance. In this
lesson, we'll examine all of the issues surrounding how workers'
compensation insurance works, from issuing the policy to paying out
claims. Along the way, you'll learn how insurance companies make money
from issuing policies and specify certain types of injuries that
justify the insurance company from refusing to pay a claim. We'll also
examine the role of the insurance defense attorney, who is hired by the
insurance company to represent companies in workers' compensation
hearings.
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| Friday - Lesson 12 |
In
our final lesson, we'll follow a workers' compensation case through the
appellate process. What powers do appellate courts have in workers'
compensation cases? Can they modify the award of benefits or completely
terminate them? What is the procedure that an employee must follow to
bring an appeal when his or her benefits have been terminated? We'll
answer these questions and explore the role of higher courts in
workers' compensation cases.
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This
course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide
you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your
questions. The instructor for this course will be Neal Bevans.
 Neal
Bevans is a former Assistant District Attorney. A veteran of over 150
trials, Bevans has tried every major felony from rape, murder, and
narcotics to armed robbery. One of his cases was televised nationally
on Court TV. He has a Juris Doctor degree from the University of
Georgia (Order of the Barrister) and has been a college instructor for
over 10 years. He has also presented numerous seminars to medical
professionals about the legal field, including training seminars for
legal nurse consultants and sexual assault nurse examiners. In addition
to practicing real estate law, he also worked as a title examiner and
bought and sold real estate investment properties. An author of fiction
and nonfiction material, his textbook Criminal Law and Procedure for Paralegals, was published in 2002. His second textbook, Tort Law for Legal Assistants,
was published in 2003. He has also published numerous magazine articles
about many aspects of the legal and medical fields, including articles
focusing on developing a legal nurse consulting practice. He is also a
contributing columnist to Legal Assistant Today magazine.
Requirements:
Internet access, e-mail, the Microsoft Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox Web browser, and the Adobe Flash and PDF plug-ins
(two free and simple downloads you obtain at
http://www.adobe.com/downloads by clicking Get Adobe Flash Player and
Get Adobe Reader).
Student Reviews:
"Again, another great course by a great instructor."
"Even though aspects of the topics had to be general since
students were in different states, the assignments required us to
utilize the resources pertaining to our state. That was an excellent
approach, since as employees or employers we will be dealing with our
state's statutes. Excellent presentation of the material, and
constructive feedback that usually inspired me to further research and
knowledge! I learned a great deal even though I've worked in medicine
for 10 years."
"Excellent course!"
"I have taken other classes from this instructor and I enjoy
learning from him. He has a style that is very good for me. He is
challenging as well."
"I have taken several on-line courses and the interaction
between the instructior and participatents in this course is by far the
best I have seen. Neal did a super job and his follow up in the
discussion area was wonderful. Great class thanks to our instructor"
"I have taken several on-line courses and the interaction
between the instructior and participatents in this course is by far the
best I have seen. Neal did a super job and his follow up in the
discussion area was wonderful. Great class thanks to our instructor."
"I wish that every course was taught like this one. I am now
addicted to this kind of interaction and am going into more classes.
Thank you so much for all of the effort that you placed in this course."
"Mr. Bevans did a fine job in presenting what could have
been a very dry and boring subject. Out of all the on-line courses I’ve
taken this has been by far the most interesting. I appreciate the
opportunity to study on-line and will definitely watch for other
courses offered by this instructor."
"Thank you very much as I am in the middle of a workers
compensation case of my own right now. I can go to the hearings and not
feel so lost. Thank you again for this informative class."
"The course was very helpful, The instructor was very
helpful. Going through my own WC case, I now know what to expect.
Anybody going through it, or has a loved one going through the WC
system, would benefit greatly from this course."
"This course was exceptional. Material presented was relevant and I acquired a vast amount of knowledge. Thank you!!!"
To purchase this course, click the Enroll Now button below:
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Anyone
considering a career as a paralegal should have a firm understanding of
workers' compensation law. The reason is simple: You're far more likely
to be involved in workers' compensation cases than criminal law cases,
intellectual property cases, or even business disputes. The only types
of cases that are more common are personal injury or medical
malpractice, both of which have very strong ties to workers'
compensation law.