Need help with a workers compensation calculator?
Need help with a workers' compensation calculator?

I put out the call for help testing my Ogilvie DFEC rebuttal calculator and got a bite!  ((Photo courtesy of Joy of the Mundane.)) I wrote it two days ago and refined it a little bit last night. ((Because I’m a total workers’ compensation nerd.))

If anyone else is interested in helping test this Ogilvie DFEC rebuttal calculator, please drop me a line and let me know.

The ideal tester is someone who:

  1. Has read Ogilvie and understands how to do the Ogilvie DFEC rebuttal calculations
  2. Is willing to use the Ogilvie DFEC rebuttal calculator this weekend
  3. Is willing to e-mail me with feedback this weekend so I can launch it on Monday to the public

If you’re not a registered user for this website, its free to sign up and free to use all the workers’ compensation calculators.

You heard me, free as in free.

Calculator Performance Issue: It has come to my attention that some users are having problems with the “Body Part” code finder.  This problem apparently occurs when you click on the “Body Part” button and just see a spinning blue “waiting” disc instead of a list of body parts.

Temporary Fix: Even though the Body Part code search function does not work for some users, the rating functions still appears to work just fine.  If you know the Body Part code, you should be able to enter it manually in the box provided.  If you are performing a 2005 schedule rating, please use the full 8 digit body part code.

Permanent Solution: I am working on a fix for this problem and will update this website as soon as I am able.  I cannot be sure, but I suspect that the problem is being caused, in part, by the recent increase in the popularity of this website. ((Yay, popularity!  Boo, problems!))

To all paid-subscription users:

I value your business and appreciate your patience.  If this problem persists, I will create a second website exclusively for your use.

In the meantime, if you’re having problems with the calculators, however small, please e-mail through the Contact Us link at the top.  The more information I have about the problem, the better able I will be to diagnose and fix it.

Thank you again for your patience.

Sincerely,

Jay Shergill

Not a new calculator
Not a new calculator

Last week, at the request of a paid subscriber, I added a new permanent disability rating calculator feature. ((Old calculator photo courtesy of ansik.))  ((New calculator photo courtesy of dan taylor.)) Prior users had asked about incorporating an automatic dollar value of permanent disability or “money chart”  For the reasons I described in that prior post, I just couldn’t think of a good way to incorporate an automatic calculation of the monetary value of permenant disability.

New Paid Subscriber Feature

New Calculator
New Calculator

Once I added this feature, I realized there were at least two more instances when an automatic calculation of dollar value of permanent disability might come in very handy: when calculating the Multiple Disabilities Table ((1997 Permanent Disability Rating Schedule)) or Combined Value Chart ((2005 Permanent Disability Rating Schedule)) values from combining one or more permanent disability ratings.

Now, when a paid subscriber calculates the CVC or MDT of multiple ratings, the calculated combined rating is fed to the dollar value of permanent disability calculator and the dollar value calculated.

Running Puppy
This puppy has nothing to do with this post whatsoever.

Last Friday I announced some “website tweaks.”  Since then a paid subscriber ((As opposed to a free subscriber)) reiterated a feature request. ((Thanks Marc!)) As a paid subscriber, he is able to calculate an unlimited number of ratings so that they all show up on a single page.  Basically, he wanted to be able to see the dollar value for a particular permanent partial disability percentage at the same time as a rating.

This isn’t the first time I’ve wrestled with the problems in creating such a feature.  There are several problems with incorporating this feature into the calculator’s page.

  1. The rating calculator and the dollar value of permanent disability calculators cannot be open at the same time.
  2. The rating calculator does not require the date of injury, just the age of the injured worker.  Without the date of injury, the website cannot properly display the dollar value of a permanent partial disability percentage.
  3. When a paid subscriber has performed more than one rating calculation on a page, the website cannot decide which rating string to convert into the equivalent number of dollars.

This exact feature had been suggested by other users in the past. ((And even some competitors!!!))  My original thinking was that trying to accommodate this feature request would involve too many unknown variables.  After giving the matter some more thought, here’s what I’ve come up with:

  • Paid subscribers benefit from improved print formatting. Basically, I’ve created a special file that changes the way the calculator page looks when a paid subscriber is printing.  ((The special file is actually just some CSS to optimize page for printing.))  Paid subscribers benefit from having the calculator page streamlined specifically for printing.
  • Paid subscribers can have more than one calculator open at a time. This one feature probably addresses 90% of this user’s concerns.  If you’re able to keep both calculators open at the same time, it should be easy to perform a rating and then turn the percentage into a dollar value.
  • Paid subscribers receive automatic calculations of dollar value of ratings. When a paid subscriber performs a rating calculation, the “Dollar Value of Permanent Disability” calculator automatically opens and the dollar value of the rating is automatically calculated.  The user will still have to adjust calculation to account for the year of the injury.  However, this is probably the most elegant solution to this issue.

Mr. Road Warrior, Esq.
Road Warrior, Esq.

Appearances, whether for a hearing or deposition, require additional equipment, preparation, and forethought.  Here’s what I carry with me when I’m scheduled to appear.

  • Cell phone
    • Phone numbers for the office, destination, and client programmed in the day before.
    • Photocopier code programmed into the phone.
    • Includes calculator. ((Since workers’ compensation is really just math.))
    • Alarm.  When parking at a meter, set the phone’s alarm for 5 minutes before time expires.
  • GPS
    • Address and phone number of destination programmed in the day before.
  • Money
    • $5 is the bare minimum, in case I need to be across a bridge on short notice.
    • Quarters for parking.
    • Bills for photocopies.
    • Copy cards.
      • Every time I use a copy card, I write the date and amount remaining on it in permanent ink.
  • BART tickets
    • I consider $5 a minimum, in case I need to be in S.F. on short notice.
  • Dictaphone
    • Extra batteries.
  • Leather bound folder
    • Legal pad
    • PD chart
    • Mini-rating manual for 1997 and 2005 ((I’ve created my own “mini-rating” manual.  Its basically comprised of excerpts from the 1997 and 2005 manuals.  Carrying this obviates the need for the 100+ page manuals.))
  • Settlement documents.
    • You never know when a case might unexpectedly settle.
  • Record release forms.
    • You never know when a settlement might fall through.
  • Backpack

Previous “Road Warrior Checklists”: