Easy-to-make iPhone

A company once told me someone had offered to build permanent disability calculators for their website in three months for $7,500.  One said six months and $20,000.  Recently, another suggested it would take them a year and $40,000.  My response is usually some variation on “You’ve got to take that deal.  You’re wasting your time talking to me.”

It’s no big secret that building a great product takes a lot of work.  The important thing to remember is that just because something is easy-to-use, that doesn’t mean its easy-to-make. [1]

Difficult-to-make iPhone

Let’s take the iPhone for example.  Everyone will concede its an easy phone to use.  However, it was released more than two years ago on 6/29/2007. [2]  In that time the other players – BlackBerry, LG, Nokia, and Palm have all been trying to catch up.  If this easy-to-use phone were easy-to-build everyone would have their own version.

Look, there’s no special magic to building a website like this.  Really, anyone can do it.  All you have to do is learn the calculations inside-and-out, deconstruct the math involved in the various calculations, learn some client and server side programming languages, learn a content management system, make it all work together, keep current on changes in the law, start all over again each time the law changes, and earn the respect of the workers’ compensation community.  Once done, you’ll have your very own workers’ compensation calculator website!

To return to the lesson of the iPhone, building a touch screen phone that can play music and surf the web is totally doable.  Doing it right is another matter entirely.

1. Visit the link for a PDF of a cut-and-fold iPhone.  Thanks Gizmodo!
2. Wikipedia link.

Don't worry, its not your fault

Yesterday I received an e-mail from a beta tester, Jeff Duarte, who was having trouble with one of my calculators.  He said that he didn’t really understand how to use a particular calculator.  My response was:

The problem is not you, its me.  :)  If I designed my calculator better you wouldn’t have any questions.

Seriously – sorry Jeff, its my bad.  My goal is to make these calculators so easy and intuitive to use that no workers’ compensation professional would have any trouble figuring out how to use them.  If you don’t figure out how to use it just by looking at it, I designed it wrong. [1] Getting feedback is a very important and instructive process for me.  It lets me figure out what works for people and what doesn’t.

The good news is that Jeff”s suggestions have given me an idea on how to make two calculators easier to use and for two entirely new features!

So, send me an e-mail if you have an idea on how I can make a calculator more intuitive, easier to use, or just plain work better!

1. Photo courtesy of TreMichLan.  Terrible pun – all me!

Happy Birthday PDRater!

I’ve been so busy lately I completely forgot to mention PDRater’s second birthday![1]

This site was launched on July 23, 2007.  For both of you who were using it back then, you remember it was an ugly ugly baby.

I’ve really enjoyed working on this website for the last two years.  I use the word “work,” but I don’t really mean it.  Building calculators, creating charts, and unraveling the mysteries of Ogilvie are my hobbies too.  :)

What would you like to see from this website in the coming year?  Please let me know in the comments or send me an e-mail.  I already have several (more) new calculators in the pipeline, but I’m always open to ideas.

1. Photo courtesy of rmansoorian

This guinea pigs finds PDRater easy to use!

I have several new calculators in the works and could use a few guinea pigs to help test them.  A few days ago I sent an e-mail to a select few of this website’s users asking them to participate.  As a result of their testing and feedback, I’ve made a few changes to these new calculators.

However, I’d also appreciate the help of anyone interested in testing.  If you are willing to provide feedback and want to try out these new calculators, please send me an e-mail.

Privacy, please!

I recently launched a new social security verification tool.  One user raised some very important issues – privacy and security. [1] The commenter pointed out that the Verify!® social security number lookup tool did not appear to utilize a secure connection – and could permit the unintended dissemination of private information.

To this, I make the following statements/suggestions:

1. This website does not utilize secure connections.  There, I’ve said it.  If this is a concern for you, no one will blame you for not using this tool.
2. This SSN look up tool does not ask for any other information besides the social security number.  By itself, the social security number probably isn’t particularly useful to anyone.
3. The commenter’s concerns about keyloggers and viruses are valid.  However, such things would be able to access your information no matter how secure I make this website.
4. Its generally a good idea to be very careful about what information you send out onto the internet.  If you’re not sure something is safe, it probably is not.
5. By using this site you’re agreeing to the disclaimers, terms of use, and privacy policy.  If you still have additional questions, you can always try to e-mail me.

Thanks Zeke!

1. Photo courtesy of hyku

Hey everyone! More workers' compensation calculators!

I’m working on several more workers compensation calculators.  I’m really excited about one of them in particular. [1]

I’ve been working to develop calculators and search engines that are easier to use, easier to understand, and make them available to everyone for less than my competitors.  One benefit to doing it all myself is that I can innovate faster than anyone else.  For instance, my wildly popular Ogilvie calculator was available to beta testers just days after the Ogilvie case came out.

But, this new calculator is something entirely new.  Tantalized?  Titilated?  Tremulous?

Stay tuned!

1. Photo courtesy of Wal mink

Broken calculators? Nothing a little duct tape won't fix...

Yesterday from about noon to 4pm the server which hosts this website (and many others) was down.  This unfortunately lead to an interruption for which I apologize.[1]  During this time I was unable to send/receive emails and the website was unavailable.

The hosting company I use is very good.  When there’s been downtime it normally occurs during non-peak hours and is very short in duration.  This was an anomaly.

Anyhow, everything is back on line and open for business.

1. Photo courtesy of mhuang

WordPress Upgrade

Since updating this website to WordPress v2.8 in the middle of June they’ve released two additional security updates.  Unfortunately, the latest update also required a little extra tinkering and work on my part.  I look on constant security fixes for this fantastic (free!) open source software as a small price to pay for increased security.

Again, the calculators should all be completely impervious to changes in the WordPress program itself.  However, its theoretically possible you might notice a little weirdness in how the website looks/acts.  If so, please drop me a line and let me know so I can take a look.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled rating…

goodmorningohmanishouldreallywritesomenewstuffforthiswebsite!!!

Some days I’m inspired to develop new things for this website.  Here’s a few things I did this morning:[1]

• Added a guest article
• Wrote a new plugin to handle the disclaimers on guest articles
• Added several features to the plugin that displays the related posts
• Edited the theme for this website
• Added a little search engine optimization magic to the site
• Added to and edited the “About” page
• Put together a database of the various WCAB district offices so that I can continue my series of posts providing photos, contact information, and driving directions to each office

1. Photo courtesy of lepiaf.geo

PDRater workers' compensation calculators - so easy your cat can use them!

What’s that?  You haven’t memorized ALL of the FEC ranks to go with each of the 2005 Permanent Disability Rating Schedule body parts? [1]

Why didn’t you say so?   (Actually, someone did ask for an easy way to look up the FEC ranks back on April 1).

I’ve been working on an easy way to allow a user to look up and quickly insert the FEC rank for the affected body part.  I finally got around to building it a few days ago and launched it this morning.  Please give it a shot and let me know what you think.

Here’s all you need to do to perform your very own Ogilvie calculation:

1. Go to the permanent disability calculator page. (If you haven’t already signed up for free, this is a good time.)
2. Click “Ogilvie” Diminished Future Earning Capacity Calculator “
3. Type in the FEC rank OR click “FEC Rank (1-8)” and click on the injured body part.  It will look up the FEC rank and insert it for you.
4. Type in the “Whole Person Impairment”
5. Type in the “Post Injury Earnings of Applicant”
6. Type in the “Post Injury Earnings of Similarly Situated Employees” OR click the link to obtain some information from the EDD Labor Market Information Division (LMID) and US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

If you can think of a way for me to make this calculator even easier, please let me know. [2]

1. You’ve only had four years, right?
2. Photo courtesy of Vicki’s Pics

The WCAB: Throwing babies out with the bathwater since 1965

For context, its best to see the prior post about the WCAB’s Weiner v. Ralph’s (en banc) decision.  There’s even a link to the Weiner v. Ralphs (en banc) decision for download – just so you can play along at home.

The question in the title of the post is really a question about the WCAB’s rationale – not their end legal justification behind Weiner.  I believe the Weiner case hints that the WCAB is going to go the other way and uphold their rulings in Almaraz/Guzman and Ogilvie.

However, I think the WCAB’s rationale for ending vocational rehabilitation was because of the potential for enormous retroactive vocational rehabilitation maintenance allowance awards at the temporary total disability rate outside the cap (VRTD).[1][2]

1. Photo courtesy of Stephane Raymond
2. You see, I’m suggesting that the bathwater is VRTD and the baby itself is vocational rehabilitation.  Kinda kills the metaphor, eh?

Wordpress Upgrade

Last night I updated this website to use WordPress v2.8.  There’s a lot of new features under the hood.  One that I really like is the ability to browse new website themes.

The calculators should all be completely impervious to changes in WordPress.  However, its theoretically possible you might notice a little bit of weirdness in how the rest of the website looks/acts.  If so, please drop me a line and let me know so I can look into it.

Enjoy!

Weiner v. Ralphs spells the end of rehab

The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board recently solicited amicus briefs regarding the Weiner v. Ralphs case.  After review of the amicus briefs on the topic of the repeal of Labor Code Section 139.5 and vocational rehabilitation, the WCAB has just issued their en banc opinion.[1]

Download a copy of Weiner v. Ralphs (en banc) right here:

• Lawrence Weiner v. Ralph’s Company, Permissibly Self-Insured and Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. (Adjusting Agent) ADJ 347040, MON 0305426 (en banc) (6/11/2009)

Obviously, you’ll need to read and interpret Weiner v. Ralph’s for yourself.  Here’s the Board’s own summary:

1. The repeal of section 139.5 terminated any rights to vocational rehabilitation benefits or services pursuant to orders or awards that were not final before January 1, 2009
2. A saving clause was not adopted to protect vocational rehabilitation rights in cases still pending on or after January 1, 2009
3. The vocational rehabilitation statutes that were repealed in 2003 do not continue to function as “ghost statutes” on or after January 1, 2009
4. Effective January 1, 2009, the WCAB lost jurisdiction over non-vested and inchoate vocational rehabilitation claims, but the WCAB continues to have jurisdiction under sections 5502(b)(3) and 5803 to enforce or terminate vested rights; and
5. Subject matter jurisdiction over non-vested and inchoate vocational rehabilitation claims cannot be conferred by waiver, estoppel, stipulation, or consent.

What does Weiner v. Ralph’s mean to you?

1. Vocational rehabilitation is gone unless there is a “vested” right by way order that became final prior to 1/1/2009.
2. If you already have a final order for vocational rehabilitation, the WCAB can still hear a dispute.

1. Photo courtesy of larryfishkorn

Up, dates!

Unfortunately, one of the coolest features of my calculators is that some of them will give you the answer you’re looking for before you’ve even finished typing the search term.  This works with the:

• EAMS body part code finder
• EAMS document title finder
• EAMS document type finder
• EAMS registered offices search function
• DWC forms finder
• Dollar Value Calculator (“Money Chart”)
• Life Expectancy Calculator

While these are all very cool while you’re sitting at your computer, I found out (much to my dismay) that this system didn’t work at all when using these online calculators from my cell phone! [1] Well, I’ve updated the calculators to make them more compatible with more phones.[2]

Save yourself from your own workers’ compensation claim and just leave that heavy rating manual at home.

1. It has to do with cross-browser compatibility and inconsistent support for javascript events.  I doubt anyone is interested in this.
2. Photo courtesy of Hunda

Permanent disability calculators that will fit in any pocket!

I was at the San Jose WCAB on Friday.  Since recently discovering that I could run this website’s permanent disability rating calculators from my phone’s web browser, this was the first time I left my rating manual, money chart, and date wheel in the car.[1]

It was great.  That morning I used my phone to:

• Find the ADJ number associated with the legacy SJO number on my file
• Calculate an Ogilvie adjustment of a rating string
• Calculate the number days between two dates
• Perform old and new schedule ratings
• Perform a CVC (combined values chart) calculation[2]

The benefit for me is not so much that I don’t have to carry the rating manuals, dollar value charts, and date wheels.  Unlike these tools, my phone is not something I’m going to misplace or loan and never see again.

The best part is that if I want to refer back to the calculation I just performed, I can just e-mail it to myself!

1. Photo courtesy of .robbie
2. Oh, and I called my client at one point.  Ha!

This phone will not run PDRater calculators, but yours might!

I recently discovered that installing the Opera Mini web browser on my “smartphone” has allowed me to run this website’s workers’ compensation calculators from my phone.[1]

Since launching this website I’ve given a lot of thought to support for cell phones.  There just are not many phones that can run these calculators.[2] The glaring and notable exception is the iPhone.

Amusingly, one of this website’s users has asked for an “iPhone app” version of this site.  Seriously, you’ve got one of the few phones that can use this site and that’s not good enough for you?  (Thanks Chris!)

This is huge.  It means:

• I can blog from the Board[3]
• More importantly, no more bulky money charts or rating manuals at the Board!

1. Photo courtesy of storm gal
2. It would be more correct to say there are not many phones that support javascript and AJAX well enough to interact with this website in a meaningful fashion.
3. Probably a lot more interesting for me than it is for you…

PDRater: No Bills!

To this day, most of the e-mails I receive are from people asking me some variation of “No, really, how much does it cost to use these calculators? When am I going to be charged? What’s the catch?”

I intend to keep all the calculators free for anyone who cares to use them. I have built this website because I really do enjoy the hell out of blogging about tech stuff and workers’ comp law, dissecting complex workers’ compensation math formulas, and building something useful to myself and other professionals. This is quite literally how I spend my free time. I’m just that nerdy.

The WCAB is soliciting input on vocational rehabilitation

The WCAB has just issued an “Order Allowing Amicus Briefs” (en banc) in the Weiner v. Ralph’s Company case.[1] The Weiner case is about the effect of the legislature’s repeal of Labor Code Section 139.5 as of January 1, 2009.  The repeal of this statute may have the effect of terminating all rights to vocational rehabilitation.

For the curious, you can download a copy of the Order Allowing Amicus Briefs (en banc) here:

• Order Allowing Amicus Briefs Lawrence Weiner v. Ralph’s Company, Permissibly Self-Insured and Sedgwick Claims Management Services, Inc. (Adjusting Agent) ADJ 347040, MON 0305426 (en banc) (4/16/2009)

The Board is allowing until May 11, 2009 for any interested party to file their own amicus brief on these Weiner vocational rehabiltiation issues.

1. Photo courtesy of Mathoov

Thank you for the feedback!

I was recently sent feedback about the Ogilvie DFEC rebuttal calculator on this website. [1]  Here’s how I’ve incorporated that feedback:

1. Inputs. The calculator results repeats the inputs with the results.  This ensures that the answer provided gives you enough context when showing the calculation to the other side or when you go back to review your file.
2. Email. You can now e-mail your calculations to yourself.
3. Links. I’ve added a link to the various Employment Development Department and U.S. Dept of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics inside the calculator itself.  It doesn’t automatically obtain the information, but hopefully you will find this helpful.

There are two other issues I’m thinking about:

1. An easy way to pull up the FEC rank of a particular body part.  Its kind of a pain to look up the body part, find the FEC rank, and then enter that into the calculator.  I’m thinking ways to simplify this process.  This shouldn’t be too bad to write.
2. Rating using the Ogilvie DFEC adjusted whole person impairment.  This one will prove to be a difficult one to write in an intuitive fashion.

How would you change these calculators?  What else would you like to see?  What do you hate about them?  Shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment!

1. Photo courtesy of biketrouble

Re-ordering can be good!

You may have noticed a few cosmetic changes in the look of the workers’ compensation calculators. [1] It turns out that some of the calculators are getting a LOT more use than others.

1. In order to make them a easier to use, I’ve re-ordered all of the calculators in rough order of popularity. [2] Hopefully you’ll find this helpful.  Eventually I plan to separate out all of the EAMS related search functions from the actual benefits calculators.
2. I’ve found that when you click to expand a calculators it would cause the entire page to scroll to the top.  I’ve fixed this.

Send me an e-mail and let me know or leave a comment!

1. Photo courtesy of Sock Monkey Photography
2. This change only affects the order in which you see the calculators and has nothing to do with how they work.