Subway Cleaner Who Witnessed a Platform Injury A New York appellate court recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision disallowing a subway-station cleaner’s PTSD claim after he witnessed a woman’s...
NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress StandardAL Supreme Court: HR’s Role Was a Jury Question The Alabama Supreme Court, by a 5–4 vote, affirmed liability for retaliatory discharge where the evidence permitted a jury to find...
Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation FindingNY Bus Driver’s Crash and Arrhythmia A New York appellate court has affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board finding that a school bus driver’s injuries and death arose out of his...
Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s ClaimIL Applies Saunders Acquiescence Exception to Footwear Rule An Illinois appellate court, in a decision not designated for full publication, has affirmed an award of benefits to an ice cream...
Safety Rule Defense Fails Where Employer Tolerated Violation Safety Rule Defense Fails Where Employer Tolerated ViolationAs noted by Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 84.02 et seq., some of the most complex disability questions arise when the claimant returns to some kind of employment after the...
Virginia: Claimant Awarded Post-Termination PD Benefits; Her Poor Performance Was In Part Tied to Her Compensable Injuries Virginia: Claimant Awarded Post-Termination PD Benefits; Her Poor Performance Was In Part Tied to Her Compensable InjuriesA stable groom for a horse farm, who sustained multiple injuries in an automobile accident that occurred while he rode with a friend back to Kentucky from Saratoga, New York,...
Kentucky: Stable Groom, Injured In Auto Accident Returning to Kentucky From New York, Was “Traveling Employee” In Spite of Indefinite Nature of Travel Details Kentucky: Stable Groom, Injured In Auto Accident Returning to Kentucky From New York, Was “Traveling Employee” In Spite of Indefinite Nature of Travel DetailsAn integral and important part of the workers’ compensation “bargain” is the notion that once a workers’ compensation act has become applicable, either through compulsion or election, it affords the...
Illinois: Safety Inspectors Are Immune From Tort Liability For Negligent Inspection Illinois: Safety Inspectors Are Immune From Tort Liability For Negligent InspectionIt is axiomatic in workers’ compensation law that a subsequent injury, whether an aggravation of the original injury or a new and distinct injury, is compensable if it is the...
Texas Widow Prevails In Death Claim Case By Showing Husband’s Drug Overdose Could Have Been Caused By Side Effects of Prescription Pain Medication Texas Widow Prevails In Death Claim Case By Showing Husband’s Drug Overdose Could Have Been Caused By Side Effects of Prescription Pain MedicationBy Thomas A. Robinson Late last Wednesday evening (April 25th), supporters of a controversial bill that would have allowed some Oklahoma employers to “opt out” of the state’s traditional workers’...
Oklahoma Opt Out Legislation Fails: A Post Mortem Oklahoma Opt Out Legislation Fails: A Post MortemLate Wednesday evening, supporters of a controversial bill that would allow some Oklahoma employers to “opt out” of the state’s traditional workers’ compensation system [see Oklahoma House Bill 2155] fell...
Oklahoma’s Controversial “Opt Out” Legislation Fails (At Least Temporarily) Oklahoma’s Controversial “Opt Out” Legislation Fails (At Least Temporarily)In August 2007, the Supreme Court of Florida ordered the empanelment of a statewide grand jury to investigate various criminal offenses, including activities related to check cashers. In 2008, the...
The Fight Against Workers’ Compensation Fraud Takes Many Forms–Florida Goes After Unscrupulous Check Cashing Firms The Fight Against Workers’ Compensation Fraud Takes Many Forms–Florida Goes After Unscrupulous Check Cashing FirmsIn yesterday’s post, I pointed out the difficulty courts (and not a few practitioners) have had with a specific form of neutral risk–those in which an employee falls while walking...
Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Benefits Related to Unexplained Fall In Spite of Evidence That Claimant’s Step From Truck Was Larger Than Normal Staircase Distance Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Benefits Related to Unexplained Fall In Spite of Evidence That Claimant’s Step From Truck Was Larger Than Normal Staircase DistanceThere’s nothing like an employee’s unexplained fall while walking on a level, unobstructed floor to test one’s position on the positional risk doctrine in workers’ compensation claims. As was noted...
North Dakota Supreme Court Refuses to Adopt Positional Risk Doctrine in Unexplained Fall Cases North Dakota Supreme Court Refuses to Adopt Positional Risk Doctrine in Unexplained Fall Casesby Thomas A. Robinson A divided Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in Brown v. Cassens Transp. Co., 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6929 (6th Cir. Apr. 6, 2012), has again reversed...
Divided Sixth Circuit Court Delivers Body Blow to Michigan’s Continuing Battle Regarding RICO Claims and Comp Exclusivity Divided Sixth Circuit Court Delivers Body Blow to Michigan’s Continuing Battle Regarding RICO Claims and Comp ExclusivityAn Ohio appellate court, in Lebron v. A&A Safety, Inc., 2012 Ohio 1637, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1435 (Apr. 12, 2012), recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment order favoring...
Ohio: Employer’s Failure to Call Employee Back to Work Was Due to Poor Economy, Not Retaliatory Motive for the Filing of a Comp Claim Ohio: Employer’s Failure to Call Employee Back to Work Was Due to Poor Economy, Not Retaliatory Motive for the Filing of a Comp ClaimGenerally speaking, the insurance carrier (and any third-party administrator representing the carrier), while performing its proper role in the workers compensation claims process, shares the employer’s immunity to suit by...
Spouse’s “Aggressive Surveillance” Cause of Action May Proceed Against Third-Party Administrator Spouse’s “Aggressive Surveillance” Cause of Action May Proceed Against Third-Party Administrator
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