In a thoughtful and clarifying opinion, the Minnesota Supreme Court has reaffirmed the case-specific nature of the statutory retirement presumption applicable to permanent total disability (PTD) claims under Minn. Stat....
MN High Court Reaffirms Case-Specific Standard in PTD Retirement Presumption Cases MN High Court Reaffirms Case-Specific Standard in PTD Retirement Presumption CasesIntroduction 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 AttackA Colorado workers’ compensation insurer and an employer’s counsel need not respond to a discovery request made by a workers’ compensation claimant that they disclose whether any of them had...
Colorado Employer and Carrier Need Not Disclose if They Made Gifts to State Comp Judges Colorado Employer and Carrier Need Not Disclose if They Made Gifts to State Comp JudgesSupplementing my earlier post, in separate rulings yesterday, both Uber and Lyft failed to satisfy United States District Court judges that their drivers are independent contractors and not employees [see...
Juries Will Decide if Uber and Lyft Drivers are Employees Juries Will Decide if Uber and Lyft Drivers are EmployeesHolding that the factual findings of a workers’ compensation judge were “self-contradictory,” the Supreme Court of Minnesota has, for the second time, reversed and remanded an award of benefits to...
MN High Court Gives Math Lesson to Lower Court: “2/3 Does Not Equal 1/2” MN High Court Gives Math Lesson to Lower Court: “2/3 Does Not Equal 1/2”An employee’s injuries sustained in a one-car auto accident while he drove down a dead-end road some 2.5 miles from his office did not arise out of and in the...
Tell-Tale Web Page on Employee’s Blackberry Spells Doom for South Dakota Comp Claim Tell-Tale Web Page on Employee’s Blackberry Spells Doom for South Dakota Comp ClaimA City of Chicago plumbing inspector, whose duties required him to travel throughout the city by car to inspect the plumbing in both residential and commercial buildings, sustained an injury...
Chicago Plumbing Inspector’s Trip & Fall on Street Curb is Compensable Chicago Plumbing Inspector’s Trip & Fall on Street Curb is CompensableTwo Injured Workers File Petition With Oklahoma Supreme Court Two Oklahoma workers who were denied benefits under Injury Benefit Plans set up by their respective employers after the effective date...
Injured Workers Challenge Constitutionality of Oklahoma Opt Out Law Injured Workers Challenge Constitutionality of Oklahoma Opt Out LawSenate Bill 721 On Wednesday, state senator Mark Green (Republican from Clarksville), introduced Senate Bill 721 to the Tennessee legislature. If enacted, many Tennessee employers would be allowed to opt-out...
Workers’ Comp “Opt-Out” Bill Introduced in Tennessee Legislature Workers’ Comp “Opt-Out” Bill Introduced in Tennessee LegislatureArguments were held last week in connection with motions pending in a federal lawsuit [O’Connor v. Uber, 13–3826, U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal.- San Francisco] that could put an ugly...
Could Employee Classification Issues Uberwhelm the Uber Business Model? Could Employee Classification Issues Uberwhelm the Uber Business Model?Illustrating the point that for telecommuting employees, who are often tethered to their employers by ubiquitous cell phones and tablets, the line between the employment world and private life is...
Maine Home Treadmill Fatality Found Compensable Maine Home Treadmill Fatality Found CompensableAn authorized treating health care provider’s “certification” authorizing the use of medical marijuana under New Mexico’s Compassionate Use Act [N.M. Stat. Ann. § 26–2B–1 et seq.] is the functional equivalent...
New Mexico: Health Care Provider’s “Certification” of Medical Marijuana is Functional Equivalent of Prescription for Injured Worker New Mexico: Health Care Provider’s “Certification” of Medical Marijuana is Functional Equivalent of Prescription for Injured WorkerThe Supreme Court of South Carolina, reversing the state court of appeals, recently held that an office worker who sustained injuries when she fell as she walked down an unobstructed,...
South Carolina Supreme Court Adopts What Amounts to Positional Risk Standard in Slip and Fall Cases South Carolina Supreme Court Adopts What Amounts to Positional Risk Standard in Slip and Fall CasesIn a split decision dealing with the application of the personal comfort doctrine described in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 21.01, et seq., a majority of the Supreme Court of...
Kentucky High Court Splits in Case Involving Personal Comfort Doctrine Kentucky High Court Splits in Case Involving Personal Comfort Doctrine
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