Month: January 2020

Jan 31, 2020

Washington Claimant May Not Recover for PTSD as an Occupational Disease

A Washington appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Department of Labor and Industries (”the Department”) that an employee could not prevail in her occupational disease claim for post-traumatic...

Washington Claimant May Not Recover for PTSD as an Occupational Disease Washington Claimant May Not Recover for PTSD as an Occupational Disease
Jan 30, 2020

No Apportionment of Fault Allowed against Arkansas Employer

Yesterday, an Arkansas appellate court affirmed a finding by a county circuit court that held the Uniform Contribution Among Tortfeasors Act, as amended and codified at Ark. Code Ann. §§...

No Apportionment of Fault Allowed against Arkansas Employer No Apportionment of Fault Allowed against Arkansas Employer
Jan 29, 2020

General Liability Insurer Must Defend In Spite of Fact That Injury Occurred at Workplace

In True North Me. v. Liberty Mutual Ins. Co., 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13941 (Jan. 28, 2020), a federal district court sitting in Maine applied the so-called “comparison test” —...

General Liability Insurer Must Defend In Spite of Fact That Injury Occurred at Workplace General Liability Insurer Must Defend In Spite of Fact That Injury Occurred at Workplace
Jan 28, 2020

Surreptitious Recording Reveals Firing Was Connected to Comp Claim and Not Immigration Status

Yesterday, a federal district court held that a Tennessee employer had violated state employment law regarding retaliatory discharge where the employee in question was fired within one hour of the...

Surreptitious Recording Reveals Firing Was Connected to Comp Claim and Not Immigration Status Surreptitious Recording Reveals Firing Was Connected to Comp Claim and Not Immigration Status
Jan 27, 2020

IL Supreme Court: Workers’ Compensation Settlement Proceeds Are Beyond Reach of Health Care Providers Who Treated the Worker

Last Friday, answering a question certified to it by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, the Supreme Court of Illinois held that under section 21 of the...

IL Supreme Court: Workers’ Compensation Settlement Proceeds Are Beyond Reach of Health Care Providers Who Treated the Worker IL Supreme Court: Workers’ Compensation Settlement Proceeds Are Beyond Reach of Health Care Providers Who Treated the Worker
Jan 24, 2020

Arkansas Worker Fails to Show Injury Was Not “Substantially Occasioned” by Marijuana Use

Stressing that an Arkansas appellate court must defer to the state Commission’s findings of credibility and its resolution of conflicting evidence, even though it is the administrative law judge —...

Arkansas Worker Fails to Show Injury Was Not “Substantially Occasioned” by Marijuana Use Arkansas Worker Fails to Show Injury Was Not “Substantially Occasioned” by Marijuana Use
Jan 23, 2020

Blowing Both Hot and Cold: When Can Florida Employer Deny Comp Claim and Later Say Tort Action is Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule?

Yesterday, a Florida appellate court held an employer and a co-employee were not estopped to raise the exclusive remedy defense in a civil action filed against them by a plaintiff...

Blowing Both Hot and Cold: When Can Florida Employer Deny Comp Claim and Later Say Tort Action is Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule? Blowing Both Hot and Cold: When Can Florida Employer Deny Comp Claim and Later Say Tort Action is Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule?
Jan 22, 2020

Firing Injured Florida Worker Before He Could File Claim Did Not Preclude Retaliatory Discharge Action

A Florida trial court erroneously granted a former employer summary judgment in a retaliatory discharge action filed by a former employee where the trial court based its decision on the...

Firing Injured Florida Worker Before He Could File Claim Did Not Preclude Retaliatory Discharge Action Firing Injured Florida Worker Before He Could File Claim Did Not Preclude Retaliatory Discharge Action
Jan 21, 2020

War Between the States: Federal Court Decides PA Law Precludes Third-Party Indemnity Action Against Employer

With a conflicting web of state versus state policies that would make any Conflict of Laws professor salivate, a federal district court in Pennsylvania found a choice of law provision...

War Between the States: Federal Court Decides PA Law Precludes Third-Party Indemnity Action Against Employer War Between the States: Federal Court Decides PA Law Precludes Third-Party Indemnity Action Against Employer
Jan 17, 2020

Divided Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed against TN employer

In a split decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an injured Tennessee worker’s intentional tort action against her employer based on the district court’s finding...

Divided Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed against TN employer Divided Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed against TN employer
Jan 16, 2020

Virginia Court Says Injuries Occurring Two Years Apart Can Actually Be From the “Same Accident”

Construing Va. Code Ann. § 65.2-503(C), which provides for PTD benefits, rather than PPD benefits, when an individual suffers the loss of use of two limbs in the same accident,...

Virginia Court Says Injuries Occurring Two Years Apart Can Actually Be From the “Same Accident” Virginia Court Says Injuries Occurring Two Years Apart Can Actually Be From the “Same Accident”
Jan 15, 2020

Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request

In a proverbial “battle of the statutes,” an Iowa appellate court held that, under the facts of the case, a workers’ compensation decision granting a claimant’s application for alternate medical...

Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request