It may be a long shot, but a recent New York appellate decision may have opened the door, if ever so slightly, to compensability of COVID-19 claims on the basis...
Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for Presumption Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for PresumptionA New York appellate court held that since an employer and carrier had prevailed in a 2013 scheduled loss of use (SLU) claim on causation grounds — the WCLJ’s decision...
In NY Apportionment Claims, Key is Existence of Prior Disability, Not its Cause In NY Apportionment Claims, Key is Existence of Prior Disability, Not its CauseAgain illustrating the discretionary power of a board or commission to make factual findings, a New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board denying benefits...
NY Retail Employee Loses Her "Gray Area" Injury Claim NY Retail Employee Loses Her "Gray Area" Injury ClaimTwo months ago, I posited that a decision in an old influenza case from Hawaii might give us some indication as to how a COVID-19 presumption of compensability might operate...
407-Page IME Report Insufficient to Rebut Hawai'i's Presumption of Compensability 407-Page IME Report Insufficient to Rebut Hawai'i's Presumption of CompensabilityAn injured worker’s unpaid religious activity within a small church, which included providing occasional sermons, counseling a small group of parishioners, assisting with Bible studies and baptisms, and the like,...
NY Worker’s Failure to Disclose Religious Activity Does Not Bar Her Receipt of Benefits NY Worker’s Failure to Disclose Religious Activity Does Not Bar Her Receipt of BenefitsIn a long, winding, yet carefully-worded decision (with both concurring and dissenting opinions), a divided Supreme Court of Texas held the federal Airline Deregulation Act (ADA) does not preempt Texas’s...
Texas High Court Collides with 10th Circuit’s Air Ambulance Decision Texas High Court Collides with 10th Circuit’s Air Ambulance DecisionA New York appellate court affirmed a decision of a state trial court that had granted summary judgment to a defendant/farm owner who had been sued by the mother of...
New York Mother's Intentional Tort Action Against Farm Owner Barred New York Mother's Intentional Tort Action Against Farm Owner BarredBuilding on an earlier decision, discussed here, a federal district court sitting in Illinois held, in relevant part, that an action filed by an employee against an employer pursuant to...
Should Employers Consider Special Release Agreements Before Distributing New Laptops? Should Employers Consider Special Release Agreements Before Distributing New Laptops?Jettisoning a decision that had stood for more than 85 years, a divided Supreme Court of Georgia overruled Ocean Acc. & Guar. Corp. v. Farr, 180 Ga. 266 (178 SE...
Supreme Court of Georgia Jettisons 85-Year-Old Decision Regarding “Off-the-Clock” Injuries Supreme Court of Georgia Jettisons 85-Year-Old Decision Regarding “Off-the-Clock” InjuriesIn a Massachusetts divorce proceeding, a state appellate court affirmed a decision by a state Probate and Family Court judge that had allocated $50,000 of the husband’s remaining workers’ compensation...
MA Court OKs Division of Workers' Comp Settlement Between Divorcing Couple MA Court OKs Division of Workers' Comp Settlement Between Divorcing CoupleIn a decision not designated for publication, a Virginia appellate court affirmed an award of workers' compensation benefits to a claimant who contended he developed Crohn's colitis — a type...
Virginia Employee's Bowel Disease Tied to Puncture Wound in Foot Virginia Employee's Bowel Disease Tied to Puncture Wound in FootIn another case involving Utah's so-called "Allen standard," under which an employee with a preexisting condition faces a heightened standard for proving legal causation, a state appellate court affirmed a...
Utah Court Agrees that Leap from Truck Was Unusual Utah Court Agrees that Leap from Truck Was Unusual