A South Carolina employee alleged that his manager threatened him, accused him of dishonesty, called the police, suspended him, and ultimately fired him. He then sued his employer for negligent...
South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox South Carolina’s Mental-Injury ParadoxMany disputes over physician choice in workers’ compensation arise when an injured worker seeks treatment from a doctor of his or her own choosing. Hayes v. Christian Retirement Homes, Inc.,...
Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating PhysicianCourt Applies Massachusetts Law to Maine Injury, Rejects Immunity Defense in Multi-State Staffing Arrangement A New Hampshire contractor that likely would have enjoyed workers’ compensation immunity under Maine law lost...
Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation ImmunityNew York’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Appellate Division order blocking defendants in a personal injury action from using a Workers’ Compensation Board causation determination as collateral estoppel, holding...
NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp DecisionsA New York appellate court affirmed a determination by a state Workers’ Compensation Law Judge, later upheld by New York’s Board, that disqualified a claimant from receiving future wage replacement...
NY Claimant's False Representations Lead to Disqualification from Future Benefits NY Claimant's False Representations Lead to Disqualification from Future BenefitsAcknowledging that one of the important factors to be considered in determining whether a worker is an independent contractor, rather than an employee, is whether the worker brings important “equipment”...
Idaho Court Says Bodies of Tandem Skydivers Are Not "Equipment" Idaho Court Says Bodies of Tandem Skydivers Are Not "Equipment"Construing the state’s traveling employee rules, as those rules pertain to claims for workers’ compensation benefits, a New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board...
NY Court Construes State’s Traveling Employee Rules and Affirms Award of Benefits NY Court Construes State’s Traveling Employee Rules and Affirms Award of BenefitsCOVID-19 Legislation Continues to Follow Discriminatory Practices The workers’ compensation coronavirus legislation recently passed in Wisconsin and Utah continues to follow the predictable pattern of discriminating against many who face...
Opinion Mondays: "The First Shall Be First, and the Last Shall Remain Last" Opinion Mondays: "The First Shall Be First, and the Last Shall Remain Last"In an unusual case with an interesting twist, a New York appellate court yesterday affirmed a decision by a state trial court that denied a defendant's motion for summary judgment...
Injured NY Worker Who Received Comp Benefits Might Also Recover in Tort Against Co-Worker Injured NY Worker Who Received Comp Benefits Might Also Recover in Tort Against Co-WorkerThe Supreme Court of Missouri, construing the state’s special causation rules for workers’ compensation claims, affirmed a decision by the state’s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission that denied an employee’s...
"First Do No Harm" – Missouri Employee's Injuries At Doctor's Office Not Compensable "First Do No Harm" – Missouri Employee's Injuries At Doctor's Office Not CompensableNew York practitioners are aware that when a party seeks review of a WCLJ's findings, the state's Workers' Compensation Board has become quite strict in its examination of a party's...
For NY Board's Form RB-89, Question 15's "When" Did Not Mean a Specific Date For NY Board's Form RB-89, Question 15's "When" Did Not Mean a Specific DateIn this morning’s post, I was critical of a number of states whose governors had marched to the microphone and camera and, in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, announced...
In Illinois, You Need Neither a Legislature Nor a Governor: Comp Commission Unilaterally Changes its Rules of Evidence In Illinois, You Need Neither a Legislature Nor a Governor: Comp Commission Unilaterally Changes its Rules of EvidenceSince the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, a number of state governors (e.g., California, Kentucky, Missouri, and North Dakota) have issued executive orders promising extended workers’ compensation benefits and, in...
Opinion Mondays: State Governors Have Pens, Who Needs Legislatures? Opinion Mondays: State Governors Have Pens, Who Needs Legislatures?Illustrating yet again, that the age-old adage that an employer generally takes an employee as it finds him or her, a Nebraska appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s...
Broken Ankle Results in Permanent Total Disability for Nebraska Truck Driver Broken Ankle Results in Permanent Total Disability for Nebraska Truck DriverIn a decision that could have important implications for those who travel as part of their work for North Carolina employers, a state appellate court, affirming a decision of the...
NC Court Narrows State’s Traveling Employee Rule NC Court Narrows State’s Traveling Employee RuleIn Georgia, a borrowed servant is, even though temporarily, the co-employee of the borrowing employer’s regular employees. Accordingly, such a borrowed servant may not sue one of the employer’s regular...
In Georgia, Borrowed Servant is Co-Employee of Borrowing Employer’s “Regular” Employee In Georgia, Borrowed Servant is Co-Employee of Borrowing Employer’s “Regular” Employee
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