Category: Case comment

Dec 15, 2017

Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Denied TD Benefits

In what some may view as insult added to injury, an unemployed New Jersey firefighter, who sustained significant injuries to her leg when she slipped and fell on ice as...

Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Denied TD Benefits Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Denied TD Benefits
Dec 12, 2017

NJ High Court Strikes Down Employment Contract Clauses Waiving Third-Party Claims

Yesterday, in an eagerly awaited decision, Vitale v. Schering-Plough Corp., Case No. A-20-16 (Dec. 11, 2017), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a disclaimer in an employment agreement...

NJ High Court Strikes Down Employment Contract Clauses Waiving Third-Party Claims NJ High Court Strikes Down Employment Contract Clauses Waiving Third-Party Claims
Dec 1, 2017

Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just Beneficial

Virginia Employer Need Not Provide Specialized “Running Blade” Prosthesis While all but a few American jurisdictions require employers to provide medical benefits that are essentially unlimited in terms of duration...

Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just Beneficial Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just Beneficial
Nov 16, 2017

Virginia Court Reiterates Objective Standard For PTSD Claims

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission did not err when it found that a state trooper’s PTSD did not arise out of and in the course of his employment [Hess v....

Virginia Court Reiterates Objective Standard For PTSD Claims Virginia Court Reiterates Objective Standard For PTSD Claims
Nov 16, 2017

Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor

An officer of a Florida corporation, who elected to be exempt from workers’ compensation coverage [see § 440.02(15)(b)(1), Fla. Stat. (2008)], and whose “employing” corporation was a subcontractor on a...

Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor
Nov 3, 2017

MS Worker’s Staph Infection Was Causally Connected to Epidural Injections for Back Injury

Stressing that the weighing of expert medical evidence is the province of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission—and not the appellate courts—the Court of Appeals of Mississippi affirmed a decision awarding...

MS Worker’s Staph Infection Was Causally Connected to Epidural Injections for Back Injury MS Worker’s Staph Infection Was Causally Connected to Epidural Injections for Back Injury
Nov 2, 2017

Texas Electrician Was Not Traveling Employee In Spite of Weekly Stipend

Death Benefits Claim Barred by Going and Coming Rule In spite of (1) an employer’s designation of an employee as a “field electrician”; (2) the employer’s payment of a $75...

Texas Electrician Was Not Traveling Employee In Spite of Weekly Stipend Texas Electrician Was Not Traveling Employee In Spite of Weekly Stipend
Oct 31, 2017

Raped California Hotel Employee May Proceed Against Employer under State’s Fair Employment and Housing Act

Where a California employee alleged facts showing that she was raped while working on the employer’s premises by a drunk nonemployee trespasser, that the employer knew or should have known...

Raped California Hotel Employee May Proceed Against Employer under State’s Fair Employment and Housing Act Raped California Hotel Employee May Proceed Against Employer under State’s Fair Employment and Housing Act
Oct 30, 2017

SC Workers’ Comp Insurance Policy Procured After Injury is Void

Where owners of a roofing business rushed to an insurance agent and procured a workers’ compensation insurance policy just after an employee was taken to a hospital for treatment of...

SC Workers’ Comp Insurance Policy Procured After Injury is Void SC Workers’ Comp Insurance Policy Procured After Injury is Void
Oct 26, 2017

Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability

“White Coat” Syndrome Could Explain Isolated Reading As do a number of states, Florida provides a specialized presumption of compensability favoring certain law enforcement officers [see § 112.18(1), Fla. Stat.]....

Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability
Oct 24, 2017

Ohio Claimant Has Burden of Showing Unexplained Fall Was Not Caused by Idiopathic Condition

Where an injured employee’s medical history and medications raised a fact issue about the possible role of risks personal to the employee in an otherwise unexplained fall, the employee was...

Ohio Claimant Has Burden of Showing Unexplained Fall Was Not Caused by Idiopathic Condition Ohio Claimant Has Burden of Showing Unexplained Fall Was Not Caused by Idiopathic Condition
Oct 19, 2017

In Georgia, Co-Habitation Without Marriage = No Death Benefits

Within the context of a Georgia workers’ compensation claim, a meretricious relationship works to deny dependency benefits, even if actual dependency exists, held a state appellate court on Tuesday [see...

In Georgia, Co-Habitation Without Marriage = No Death Benefits In Georgia, Co-Habitation Without Marriage = No Death Benefits