Category: Case comment

Jan 24, 2020

Arkansas Worker Fails to Show Injury Was Not “Substantially Occasioned” by Marijuana Use

Stressing that an Arkansas appellate court must defer to the state Commission’s findings of credibility and its resolution of conflicting evidence, even though it is the administrative law judge —...

Arkansas Worker Fails to Show Injury Was Not “Substantially Occasioned” by Marijuana Use Arkansas Worker Fails to Show Injury Was Not “Substantially Occasioned” by Marijuana Use
Jan 23, 2020

Blowing Both Hot and Cold: When Can Florida Employer Deny Comp Claim and Later Say Tort Action is Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule?

Yesterday, a Florida appellate court held an employer and a co-employee were not estopped to raise the exclusive remedy defense in a civil action filed against them by a plaintiff...

Blowing Both Hot and Cold: When Can Florida Employer Deny Comp Claim and Later Say Tort Action is Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule? Blowing Both Hot and Cold: When Can Florida Employer Deny Comp Claim and Later Say Tort Action is Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule?
Jan 22, 2020

Firing Injured Florida Worker Before He Could File Claim Did Not Preclude Retaliatory Discharge Action

A Florida trial court erroneously granted a former employer summary judgment in a retaliatory discharge action filed by a former employee where the trial court based its decision on the...

Firing Injured Florida Worker Before He Could File Claim Did Not Preclude Retaliatory Discharge Action Firing Injured Florida Worker Before He Could File Claim Did Not Preclude Retaliatory Discharge Action
Jan 21, 2020

War Between the States: Federal Court Decides PA Law Precludes Third-Party Indemnity Action Against Employer

With a conflicting web of state versus state policies that would make any Conflict of Laws professor salivate, a federal district court in Pennsylvania found a choice of law provision...

War Between the States: Federal Court Decides PA Law Precludes Third-Party Indemnity Action Against Employer War Between the States: Federal Court Decides PA Law Precludes Third-Party Indemnity Action Against Employer
Jan 17, 2020

Divided Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed against TN employer

In a split decision, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an injured Tennessee worker’s intentional tort action against her employer based on the district court’s finding...

Divided Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed against TN employer Divided Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed against TN employer
Jan 16, 2020

Virginia Court Says Injuries Occurring Two Years Apart Can Actually Be From the “Same Accident”

Construing Va. Code Ann. § 65.2-503(C), which provides for PTD benefits, rather than PPD benefits, when an individual suffers the loss of use of two limbs in the same accident,...

Virginia Court Says Injuries Occurring Two Years Apart Can Actually Be From the “Same Accident” Virginia Court Says Injuries Occurring Two Years Apart Can Actually Be From the “Same Accident”
Jan 15, 2020

Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request

In a proverbial “battle of the statutes,” an Iowa appellate court held that, under the facts of the case, a workers’ compensation decision granting a claimant’s application for alternate medical...

Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request
Jan 13, 2020

NJ Court Approves Order Requiring Employer to Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana

In a case of first impression, earlier today (January 13, 2020), the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey affirmed an order of a state workers’ compensation judge...

NJ Court Approves Order Requiring Employer to Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana NJ Court Approves Order Requiring Employer to Reimburse Worker for Medical Marijuana
Jan 13, 2020

NY Court Affirms Use of Hearsay Evidence to Establish Employee Fraud

In an unusual case that shows how traditional procedural rules can sometimes be disregarded in workers’ compensation cases, a New York appellate court affirmed a finding of the state’s Workers’...

NY Court Affirms Use of Hearsay Evidence to Establish Employee Fraud NY Court Affirms Use of Hearsay Evidence to Establish Employee Fraud
Jan 10, 2020

“Substantial” Evidence, Not Just “Some” Evidence Required to Rebut NY Presumption Regarding Unwitnessed Injuries

As is the rule in many jurisdictions [see Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 7.04], New York provides a presumption of compensability for accidents occurring during the course of employment which...

“Substantial” Evidence, Not Just “Some” Evidence Required to Rebut NY Presumption Regarding Unwitnessed Injuries “Substantial” Evidence, Not Just “Some” Evidence Required to Rebut NY Presumption Regarding Unwitnessed Injuries
Dec 27, 2019

Idaho High Court Does “a 180”: Employees May Sue Employers for Reckless Conduct

Reversing itself (in relevant part), a divided Supreme Court of Idaho cast aside a year-old decision and, after re-argument, adopted what amounts to a reckless standard in so-called “intentional” tort...

Idaho High Court Does “a 180”: Employees May Sue Employers for Reckless Conduct Idaho High Court Does “a 180”: Employees May Sue Employers for Reckless Conduct
Dec 23, 2019

NY Court Bars IME Physician’s Testimony on Strict Procedural Grounds

A recent decision from the Empire State, Matter of Keller v. Cumberland Farms, 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 9113 (3d Dept. Dec. 19, 2019), illustrates a point sometimes lost on...

NY Court Bars IME Physician’s Testimony on Strict Procedural Grounds NY Court Bars IME Physician’s Testimony on Strict Procedural Grounds