Richmond Legal Issues Blog

Most Kentucky workers are familiar with the safety guidelines and procedures affiliated with employment -- at least, to some degree. When an accident occurs, however, few know the ins and outs of the workers' compensation process. Before diving into a case, employees may want to consider current changes in the state's system, as well as some of the common hiccups of this procedure.

Just yesterday, Insurance Journal reported that Kentucky would be proceeding with changes to its workers' compensation system. A side of state law that has not seen change in over 20 years, the state's workers' compensation program aims to contain costs and improve the process for workers altogether. Lawmakers hope that House Bill 2 will not only make improvements in medical expenses and benefits for workers, but also that these modifications will address the ongoing opioid crisis that continues to claim the lives of countless Americans.

The trucking industry has long been known for its vital role in the American economy. It has also been known to involve long and grueling hours. With Kentucky's truck drivers putting in impressive work hours each week, many may wonder when, exactly, employees get to rest. Although exhaustion is evident in countless lines of work, the trucking industry is currently grappling with burnout among its drivers, as well as issues involving employee health. 

Forbes spent time last August considering the challenges of the trucking industry, mentioning that many of the country's workers have turned to trucking as a second job. Whether a primary or secondary form of employment, the question remains: do truckers get adequate rest and food while on the job? According to Forbes, not only do truck drivers deal with a lonely environment; they also face limited meal options on the road and long hours of sitting down. Over time, these factors of the job can become exhausting and even harmful. However, the demand for workers in this industry, as Forbes shares, remains high, with an estimated expected need of 890,000 new drivers by 2025. 

Growing up, most people learn in school, from their parents or in other ways that drugs can negatively affect them. At a young age, you may have believed that you would never have reason to even be around such substances, let alone use them. Of course, as time goes by, life and expectations change, and your younger self may not have correctly predicted your future.

You may have first come in contact with heroin in one of numerous ways. No matter how it happened, you may have found yourself addicted from the start. Suddenly, you no longer had control of your life, and this substance began dictating your every decision. Not only did you find yourself carrying out questionable actions, you likely also began experiencing negative health impacts after prolonged use.

It is generally known that courts in Kentucky and throughout the U.S. are overcrowded. In fact, it has led jurisdictions all over the country to institute night courts to handle preliminary legal proceedings and lesser charges, such as arraignments and traffic citations, to ensure time during the week for other business. Another result of having crowded dockets is the wide use of plea bargaining to resolve cases.

According to The Atlantic, plea bargains account for the way 97 percent of all federal cases are concluded, which mirrors the rates for individual states’ plea bargains in criminal cases. The practice took root following the Civil War, as displaced citizens and immigrants poured into cities and crime rates began to rise. It continued to be a common practice, one that was cemented with the federal government’s enactment of prohibition and the resulting number of cases that flooded the court system. The use of plea bargains in resolving cases in New York and Chicago rose to 88 percent and 85 percent, respectively.