Month: December 2020

Dec 28, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Do Employers Face Additional Liability for COVID-19 Vaccination Side Effects?

Several weeks ago, an attorney friend called for some advice. One of his clients had asked if the client’s business might face additional liability if–once the COVID-19 vaccines are generally...

Opinion Mondays: Do Employers Face Additional Liability for COVID-19 Vaccination Side Effects? Opinion Mondays: Do Employers Face Additional Liability for COVID-19 Vaccination Side Effects?
Dec 23, 2020

Deceased Employee’s Heirs May Not Maintain Tort Action Against Mississippi Employer Following Training Exercise Shooting

Evidence that a highly trained firearms instructor failed to observe known safety rules, resulting in the fatal shooting of a co-employee in a training exercise, while tragic, was not enough...

Deceased Employee’s Heirs May Not Maintain Tort Action Against Mississippi Employer Following Training Exercise Shooting Deceased Employee’s Heirs May Not Maintain Tort Action Against Mississippi Employer Following Training Exercise Shooting
Dec 21, 2020

Opinion Mondays: States Shouldn’t Treat PTD Awards as Estate Planning Tools

Iowa Commutation Order Allows for Substantial Inheritable Estate Illustrating just how far some states have moved away from the original workers’ compensation principle that indemnity benefits are not an inheritable...

Opinion Mondays: States Shouldn’t Treat PTD Awards as Estate Planning Tools Opinion Mondays: States Shouldn’t Treat PTD Awards as Estate Planning Tools
Dec 18, 2020

NY Claimant Should Be Awarded Scheduled Injury to Leg for Serious Hamstring Tear

Reversing a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board, a New York appellate court held that, contrary to the Board’s interpretation, in the absence of specific instructions regarding hamstring tears...

NY Claimant Should Be Awarded Scheduled Injury to Leg for Serious Hamstring Tear NY Claimant Should Be Awarded Scheduled Injury to Leg for Serious Hamstring Tear
Dec 17, 2020

Florida First Responder’s PTSD Claim is Untimely Filed

A Florida appellate court held the 52-week filing requirement found in § 112.1815(5)(d), Fla. Stat., operated as a statute of repose, and not as a statute of limitations. Under the...

Florida First Responder’s PTSD Claim is Untimely Filed Florida First Responder’s PTSD Claim is Untimely Filed
Dec 14, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Those Hiring Undocumented Workers Should Not be Allowed to Game the System

In a deeply divided (3-2) decision, a New York appellate court reversed a decision by the state's Workers' Compensation Compensation Board that had found an injured, undocumented construction worker had...

Opinion Mondays: Those Hiring Undocumented Workers Should Not be Allowed to Game the System Opinion Mondays: Those Hiring Undocumented Workers Should Not be Allowed to Game the System
Dec 11, 2020

NY Pharmacist May Proceed in Tort Against Entity Affiliated With His Employer

Finding that a NY corporation had failed to establish either that it and Plaintiff’s employer–a related entity–were part of a single integrated entity or that one of the corporations controlled...

NY Pharmacist May Proceed in Tort Against Entity Affiliated With His Employer NY Pharmacist May Proceed in Tort Against Entity Affiliated With His Employer
Dec 10, 2020

MS Court Reverses Commission Order Granting Sanctions Against Employer

A Mississippi appellate court held the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission erred when it entered an order that required an employer/carrier to pay attorney’s fees of $4,000 as a sanction for...

MS Court Reverses Commission Order Granting Sanctions Against Employer MS Court Reverses Commission Order Granting Sanctions Against Employer
Dec 8, 2020

Texas Employee’s Suit Against Co-Worker for Dog Bite is Barred by Exclusivity

A defendant/co-worker’s act of bringing her dog to the employer’s residential facility for pregnant women to serve as a comfort animal was an activity that had to do with and...

Texas Employee’s Suit Against Co-Worker for Dog Bite is Barred by Exclusivity Texas Employee’s Suit Against Co-Worker for Dog Bite is Barred by Exclusivity
Dec 7, 2020

Opinion Mondays: DC’s Hearings Division Has New Job—Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor

The D.C. Court of Appeals reversed a decision by the District's Compensation Review Board (CRB) that had held the District of Columbia's Adjudication and Hearings Department had no statutory authority...

Opinion Mondays: DC’s Hearings Division Has New Job—Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor Opinion Mondays: DC’s Hearings Division Has New Job—Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor
Dec 3, 2020

Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employers in Toxic Chemical Case

In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's decision granting summary judgment in favor of two former employers who, according to...

Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employers in Toxic Chemical Case Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employers in Toxic Chemical Case
Dec 2, 2020

Intervening IL Workers’ Comp Insurer is Not a “Party” to the Underlying Tort Suit

Circuit Court’s Contempt Order for Failure to Abide by Discovery Order is Erroneous An Illinois trial court committed error when it found an intervening workers’ compensation insurer in contempt for...

Intervening IL Workers’ Comp Insurer is Not a “Party” to the Underlying Tort Suit Intervening IL Workers’ Comp Insurer is Not a “Party” to the Underlying Tort Suit