In the continuing saga surrounding Pennsylvania’s Protz decision [see Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 639 Pa. 645, 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017)(Protz II)], the state’s...
PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive" PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive"As many of you know, as co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, I read — or truth be told, skim — many, many appellate decisions each year. Recently, because of...
Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker Lunch Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker LunchNoting that dismissal with prejudice is the most severe sanction available to the court in a civil case, and thus, it should not be readily granted, a North Carolina appellate...
NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With Prejudice NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With PrejudiceIn a decision that is likely to raise some eyebrows, a divided Supreme Court of Virginia, affirming an earlier decision by a lower appellate court, held that an injured employee’s...
Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement Surgery Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement SurgeryIllustrating what can happen when a workers' compensation carrier fails to notify its counsel of the carrier's receipt of important papers concerning a claim, a New York appellate court affirmed...
NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses Appeal NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses AppealIn a document published in February, the Congressional Research Service observed: “Workers’ compensation has been called a grand bargain between employers and workers … [under which] workers receive guaranteed, no-fault...
Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered? Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered?In a case in which the original work-related injury occurred two decades before the appellate decision, a Florida appellate court held that a JCC erred in focusing on a claimant's...
Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After Retirement Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After RetirementA Virginia appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state's Workers' Compensation Commission that denied temporary partial disability benefits to an injured employee under Va. Code Ann. § 65.2-502,...
Injured VA Employee May Not Merely Accept Lowest-Paying Post-Injury Job and Recover Difference in Earnings Injured VA Employee May Not Merely Accept Lowest-Paying Post-Injury Job and Recover Difference in EarningsA New York appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that a claimant/employee did not sustain injuries arising out of and in the course of his...
New York's "Gray Area" Rule Does Not Aid Claimant Struck by Car Near Workplace New York's "Gray Area" Rule Does Not Aid Claimant Struck by Car Near WorkplaceIn a case that provides guidance for employers and carriers who seek to rebut the special presumption of compensability provided to firefighters and certain other “covered officers” (including corrections officers)...
Florida Court Says Cardiac Presumption Favoring Corrections Officer Was Rebutted Florida Court Says Cardiac Presumption Favoring Corrections Officer Was RebuttedIn a decision not designated for publication, an appellate court from the state of Washington affirmed a jury’s determination that an injured worker was intoxicated to such an extent that...
Washington Landscaper Denied Benefits After "Blowing" Twice the Legal Limit Washington Landscaper Denied Benefits After "Blowing" Twice the Legal LimitIn a decision that discusses the complex give and take between an injured Pennsylvania employee and an employer who contends that the employee no longer is entitled to a payment...
PA Commonwealth Court Reverses ALJ's Decision Awarding Unreasonable Contest Fees PA Commonwealth Court Reverses ALJ's Decision Awarding Unreasonable Contest Fees