Introduction In 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc., 340 U.S. 504, 71 S.Ct. 470, 95 L.Ed.483 (1951). The case involved a claim...
Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951) Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951)In a ruling that reaffirms Arkansas’ strict interpretation of its “employment services” requirement, the state’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision denying benefits to the family...
Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band Director Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band DirectorIn a decision that further defines the barriers to pursuing civil remedies in workplace injury cases within the Louisiana, a state appellant court recently affirmed summary a trial court judgment...
Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace Attack Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace AttackBackground On September 28, 1973, at approximately 2:30 a.m., James Hawk II, the president, sole stockholder, and chief operating officer of Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., died when his private airplane...
Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979) Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979)The Supreme Court of Oklahoma recently held that a chiropractor is not qualified as an expert in diagnosing psychological illnesses such as depression. Accordingly, the report of a chiropractor as...
Oklahoma: Chiropractors May Not Offer Expert Testimony as to Psychological Overlay Oklahoma: Chiropractors May Not Offer Expert Testimony as to Psychological OverlayA Colorado appellate court recently held that hotels and restaurants that a workers’ compensation claimant patronized during authorized travel to obtain treatment by a specialist were not “medical providers” as...
Colorado: Hotels and Restaurants Are Not “Medical Providers” Colorado: Hotels and Restaurants Are Not “Medical Providers”In a complex medical malpractice diversity action involving multiple issues, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a federal district court’s judgment on a $7 million verdict in favor...
10th Circuit: Under Collateral Source Rule, Evidence of Discounted Med Pay to Medical Providers By Workers’ Comp Payer May Not Be Considered By Jury 10th Circuit: Under Collateral Source Rule, Evidence of Discounted Med Pay to Medical Providers By Workers’ Comp Payer May Not Be Considered By JurySome years ago, my mentor, Arthur Larson, when commenting upon the issue of deviations within the workplace, wrote that courts generally recognize “that human beings do not run on tracks...
Pennsylvania: 5-Minute Deviation Defeated Workers’ Comp Claim Pennsylvania: 5-Minute Deviation Defeated Workers’ Comp ClaimThe Longshore Act provides that no compensation shall be payable if the injury “was occasioned solely by the intoxication of the employee” [33 U.S.C.S. § 903(c), emphasis added]. The Ninth...
Ninth Circuit Construes Longshore Act’s Intoxication Defense Provisions Ninth Circuit Construes Longshore Act’s Intoxication Defense ProvisionsIn an unpublished decision, Elster v. Fishman, 2013 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 5158 (July 22, 2013) [check Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 8.1115(a) regarding rules related to citation], a California...
California: Legal Secretary’s IIED Claim Against Attorney and Firm Related to Pornographic Emails May Proceed California: Legal Secretary’s IIED Claim Against Attorney and Firm Related to Pornographic Emails May ProceedEggshell Skulls There’s a rule most of us learned early on in the first semester of Torts in law school: that there is ordinarily no allowance for an already weakened...
Note to Employers and Carriers: Don’t Give Up Too Early in Cases Involving Preexisting Disease or Condition Note to Employers and Carriers: Don’t Give Up Too Early in Cases Involving Preexisting Disease or ConditionYesterday (July 2), Governor Jay Nixon vetoed legislation [Senate Bill 34] that would have permitted created a state-run database system that would have contained basic information about workers’ compensation claims...
Missouri Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Have Established State-Wide Database of Comp Claims (and Claimants) Missouri Governor Vetoes Bill That Would Have Established State-Wide Database of Comp Claims (and Claimants)The Supreme Court of Vermont, in a split decision, recently held that while the AMA Guides (5th Ed.) are determinative with respect to “any determination of the existence and degree...
Vermont: AMA Guides Are Mandatory for Impairment Rating Purposes–Not Diagnosis of Condition Itself Vermont: AMA Guides Are Mandatory for Impairment Rating Purposes–Not Diagnosis of Condition ItselfAn Ohio appellate court recently reversed an award by the state’s Industrial Commission that allowed a claimant $4,000 of additional compensation for facial disfigurement under Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.57(B),...
Ohio: Court Reverses Award For Facial Disfigurement Where Commission’s Findings Were Inadequate Under Statute Ohio: Court Reverses Award For Facial Disfigurement Where Commission’s Findings Were Inadequate Under StatuteThe basic “going and coming” rule, in effect in the vast majority of jurisdictions, is that for an employee having fixed hours and place of work, injuries sustained going to...
Connecticut: Special Statute Providing Benefits to Police Officers and Firefighters Injured During “Commute” Did Not Apply to Injury in Officer’s Driveway Connecticut: Special Statute Providing Benefits to Police Officers and Firefighters Injured During “Commute” Did Not Apply to Injury in Officer’s DrivewayIn a divided decision affirming a ruling last year by a state intermediate appellate court, the Supreme Court of Ohio has reiterated that in order for a mental condition (here...
Ohio: Supreme Court Reiterates that Mental Injury Must Be Caused By, and Not Merely Contemporaneous With, Physical Injury To Support Comp Claim Ohio: Supreme Court Reiterates that Mental Injury Must Be Caused By, and Not Merely Contemporaneous With, Physical Injury To Support Comp Claim
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