Providing a casebook-like discussion of the issues related to a workers’ compensation insurer’s intervention in a third-party civil action, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri held...
Federal Court Allows Comp Insurer to Intervene in Injured Worker’s Third-Party Action Federal Court Allows Comp Insurer to Intervene in Injured Worker’s Third-Party ActionAn Illinois appellate court affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a university employee who sustained injuries when she tripped and fell as she stepped over a chain barrier...
Illinois Court Tacitly Says No Recovery Since Injury Was Claimant’s Fault Illinois Court Tacitly Says No Recovery Since Injury Was Claimant’s FaultIn a memorandum opinion, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges, which had been affirmed by the Board...
West Virginia High Court Says Unexplained Fall is Compensable West Virginia High Court Says Unexplained Fall is CompensableIn a case that has yo-yo’d between a federal district court (W.D. Tenn.) and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the latter affirmed, in relevant part, a decision by the...
Sixth Circuit Affirms $50K Punitive Damages Award for TN Employer’s Retaliation Against Undocumented Worker Sixth Circuit Affirms $50K Punitive Damages Award for TN Employer’s Retaliation Against Undocumented WorkerIn an unusual, “upside-down” case, in which the parents of a deceased employee argued that their son’s death was not compensable, because it was caused, in part they claimed, by...
In Missouri “Upside-Down” Case, Parents Fail to Prove Son’s Death was Caused by Obesity In Missouri “Upside-Down” Case, Parents Fail to Prove Son’s Death was Caused by ObesityNotwithstanding the doctrine of stare decisis, in this case a clear holding by the North Carolina Supreme Court that a person living in cohabitation with another, to whom he or...
Girlfriend’s Dependency Claim Filed in Face of NC Supreme Court Decision Does Not Warrant Sanctions Girlfriend’s Dependency Claim Filed in Face of NC Supreme Court Decision Does Not Warrant SanctionsAffirming a decision by an Iowa district court that found, under the circumstances of the case, that the employee had provided the employer with sufficient notice of injury pursuant to...
Iowa Court Says “Near Miss” Report Can Serve as Notice of Injury to Employer Iowa Court Says “Near Miss” Report Can Serve as Notice of Injury to EmployerObserving that in New York, the issue of voluntary retirement and/or withdrawal from the labor market were factual issues to be determined by the Board, and that the Board had...
NY Worker’s Failure to Stay in Touch With Employer Results in Finding that Worker Withdrew From Labor Market NY Worker’s Failure to Stay in Touch With Employer Results in Finding that Worker Withdrew From Labor MarketA New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that found a claimant had not violated N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 114-a, where various potential...
Job Application Inconsistencies Excused by NY Claimant’s Lack of Computer Skills Job Application Inconsistencies Excused by NY Claimant’s Lack of Computer SkillsA deeply divided Supreme Court of Colorado (three justices dissenting), reversing in relevant part a decision of a split division of the Court of Appeals, held that a settlement between...
Colorado Comp Carrier’s Settlement With Third-Party Defendant Partially Undermines Employee’s Tort Claim Colorado Comp Carrier’s Settlement With Third-Party Defendant Partially Undermines Employee’s Tort ClaimYesterday, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, in Hager v. M&K Construction, 2021 N.J. LEXIS 332 (April 13, 2021), affirmed a decision of the state’s Appellate Division that earlier had...
NJ Supreme Court Agrees Employer May Be Required to Reimburse for Medical Marijuana NJ Supreme Court Agrees Employer May Be Required to Reimburse for Medical MarijuanaFor some time now, in many states, when a worker has sustained a work-related injury requiring treatment at an emergency department or hospital, he or she typically has had two...
Opinion Mondays: NY Recreational Marijuana Law Could End Most Post-Injury Cannabis Testing Opinion Mondays: NY Recreational Marijuana Law Could End Most Post-Injury Cannabis Testing