Category: Case comment

Apr 8, 2019

No Recovery for Home-Based Workers’ Comp Adjuster Who Trips Over Her Dog

Deeply Divided Florida Court Says Risk of Tripping Did Not Arise Out of Employment Emphasizing that eligibility for workers’ compensation benefits turns on whether the employment led to the risk...

No Recovery for Home-Based Workers’ Comp Adjuster Who Trips Over Her Dog No Recovery for Home-Based Workers’ Comp Adjuster Who Trips Over Her Dog
Mar 28, 2019

Plaintiff May Not Use Illinois’ “One Day in Rest Act” to Subvert Exclusive Remedy of State’s Workers’ Compensation Act

The administrator of the estate of an Illinois employee killed in a work-related vehicular accident may not utilize the state’s “One Day Rest in Seven Act” (“ODRA”)[820 Ill. Comp. Stat....

Plaintiff May Not Use Illinois’ “One Day in Rest Act” to Subvert Exclusive Remedy of State’s Workers’ Compensation Act Plaintiff May Not Use Illinois’ “One Day in Rest Act” to Subvert Exclusive Remedy of State’s Workers’ Compensation Act
Mar 28, 2019

7th Circuit Certifies Important Exemption Question to Illinois Supreme Court

May Unpaid Healthcare Providers Reach Workers’ Compensation Claim Settlement? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently certified to the Illinois Supreme Court an important question regarding the...

7th Circuit Certifies Important Exemption Question to Illinois Supreme Court 7th Circuit Certifies Important Exemption Question to Illinois Supreme Court
Mar 27, 2019

Split Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Airport Worker’s Electrocution Claim

Lip Service Given to “Liberally Construing” the “Arising Out of” Tests In a split decision, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, tipping its hat to the notion that the workers’ compensation statutes...

Split Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Airport Worker’s Electrocution Claim Split Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Airport Worker’s Electrocution Claim
Mar 25, 2019

Arizona Officer’s PTSD Not Barred By Three-Year Delay in Filing Claim

Arizona’s one-year filing requirement [see Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 23-1061(A)] is an affirmative defense and the employer or carrier bears the burden of production of evidence to support that defense,...

Arizona Officer’s PTSD Not Barred By Three-Year Delay in Filing Claim Arizona Officer’s PTSD Not Barred By Three-Year Delay in Filing Claim
Mar 25, 2019

Ohio Employer May Fire Employee Who Sought Workers’ Compensation Benefits from Prior Employer

No provision of Ohio law sanctions an employer for terminating an employee who sought workers’ compensation benefits while working for a prior employer, held a state appellate court in McGree...

Ohio Employer May Fire Employee Who Sought Workers’ Compensation Benefits from Prior Employer Ohio Employer May Fire Employee Who Sought Workers’ Compensation Benefits from Prior Employer
Mar 22, 2019

Washington Public Defender May Be Able to Recover in Tort for Work-Related PTSD

Restrictive “Mental-Mental” Coverage in State’s Comp Act Opens Door to Potential Liability In a case with a bizarre fact pattern, a King County (Washington) public defender, who contended that she...

Washington Public Defender May Be Able to Recover in Tort for Work-Related PTSD Washington Public Defender May Be Able to Recover in Tort for Work-Related PTSD
Mar 19, 2019

Ohio Widow’s Action Against Ford for Failure to Implement Substance Abuse Policy is Barred by Exclusivity Defense

Post-Mortem Shows Marijuana, Fentanyl, and Alcohol in Deceased Employee’s System In what appears to be the first case of its kind—an action filed against an employer for its allegedly inadequate...

Ohio Widow’s Action Against Ford for Failure to Implement Substance Abuse Policy is Barred by Exclusivity Defense Ohio Widow’s Action Against Ford for Failure to Implement Substance Abuse Policy is Barred by Exclusivity Defense
Mar 18, 2019

Aggressive Kentucky Bus Driver Denied Benefits for Injuries Sustained in Fight with Passenger

The Supreme Court of Kentucky, affirming a lower court’s decision denying workers’ compensation benefits to a bus driver who alleged that he sustained injuries in an altercation with a passenger,...

Aggressive Kentucky Bus Driver Denied Benefits for Injuries Sustained in Fight with Passenger Aggressive Kentucky Bus Driver Denied Benefits for Injuries Sustained in Fight with Passenger
Mar 15, 2019

Colorado ALJ May Not Find MMI Without Appropriate Expert Medical Opinion

A Colorado appellate court recently held that a workers’ compensation claimant may not be placed at the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI) where neither the claimant’s treating physician nor...

Colorado ALJ May Not Find MMI Without Appropriate Expert Medical Opinion Colorado ALJ May Not Find MMI Without Appropriate Expert Medical Opinion
Mar 12, 2019

NH High Court Issues Ruling on Medical Marijuana for Injured Worker—Sort of

Opinion Raises as Many Questions as It Answers Last Thursday (March 7), the Supreme Court of New Hampshire handed down a decision that reversed, in pertinent part, a state Appeals...

NH High Court Issues Ruling on Medical Marijuana for Injured Worker—Sort of NH High Court Issues Ruling on Medical Marijuana for Injured Worker—Sort of
Mar 6, 2019

Ohio Worker’s Claim Suspended After Refusal to Undergo Psychological Testing

An Ohio appellate court recently held that the state’s Industrial Commission did not err when it suspended the claim of an injured worker based on his refusal to undergo psychological...

Ohio Worker’s Claim Suspended After Refusal to Undergo Psychological Testing Ohio Worker’s Claim Suspended After Refusal to Undergo Psychological Testing