Category: Case comment

Jan 21, 2013

Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable

A Louisiana appellate court recently affirmed the denial of a claim filed by a police sergeant who sustained injuries when he fell in a stairwell at Police Headquarters following a...

Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable
Jan 7, 2013

Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury”

An Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment in favor of a medical center clerk who had received an award of workers’ compensation benefits related to physical...

Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury” Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury”
Jan 4, 2013

Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional

On the last day of 2012, and in a split decision, the Supreme Court of Montana reversed a trial court’s summary judgment decision that had earlier determined that the requirement...

Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional
Jan 4, 2013

D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed

In a case with a number of interesting twists, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a decision by a U.S. District Court that, in relevant part,...

D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed
Dec 31, 2012

Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing

A Missouri appellate court recently affirmed a jury verdict in favor of a former employer on a former employee’s claim of retaliatory discharge and agreed that the former employee was...

Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing
Dec 31, 2012

Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable

The Supreme Court of Arkansas, construing the state’s restrictive statute regarding the compensability of repetitive motion injuries, recently reversed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that had denied,...

Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable
Dec 20, 2012

Florida: Truck Driver Is Employed During Two-Day “Orientation” and is Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits

A truck driver, who sustained injuries in an automobile accident as he traveled to lunch on the second day of a two-day orientation program was an employee of the trucking...

Florida: Truck Driver Is Employed During Two-Day “Orientation” and is Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits Florida: Truck Driver Is Employed During Two-Day “Orientation” and is Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Dec 19, 2012

Kentucky: Teacher’s Tort Action Against Snake-Handling Assistant Principal Barred by Exclusivity

The Court of Appeals of Kentucky recently affirmed a state trial court’s summary judgment in favor of a high school assistant principal and a county board of education in a...

Kentucky: Teacher’s Tort Action Against Snake-Handling Assistant Principal Barred by Exclusivity Kentucky: Teacher’s Tort Action Against Snake-Handling Assistant Principal Barred by Exclusivity
Dec 16, 2012

US: Office Worker’s Tort Action Against Dentist Employer Alleging Sexual Assault Not Barred by Exclusivity

In Painter v. Atwood, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176655 (D. Nev., Dec. 12, 2012), a federal district court from Nevada recently held, in relevant part, that a civil action filed...

US: Office Worker’s Tort Action Against Dentist Employer Alleging Sexual Assault Not Barred by Exclusivity US: Office Worker’s Tort Action Against Dentist Employer Alleging Sexual Assault Not Barred by Exclusivity
Dec 5, 2012

Georgia: Claimant Required to Consent to Ex Parte Communications Between Treating Physician and Employer or Employer’s Representative

Reversing the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled that an employee who filed a claim under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act, must authorize her treating...

Georgia: Claimant Required to Consent to Ex Parte Communications Between Treating Physician and Employer or Employer’s Representative Georgia: Claimant Required to Consent to Ex Parte Communications Between Treating Physician and Employer or Employer’s Representative
Nov 23, 2012

Arizona: Carrier May Not Suspend Benefits Where Claimant Indicates IME Will Be Recorded

An Arizona appellate court recently held, as a matter of law, that a workers’ compensation claimant who expressed an intention to record an independent medical examination (“IME”), in the absence...

Arizona: Carrier May Not Suspend Benefits Where Claimant Indicates IME Will Be Recorded Arizona: Carrier May Not Suspend Benefits Where Claimant Indicates IME Will Be Recorded
Nov 21, 2012

LHWCA: Ninth Circuit Agrees that Injury Was Caused By Intoxication, Not Concrete and Metal Slab Onto Which Claimant Fell

Under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act (“LHWCA”), no compensation is payable “if the injury was occasioned solely by the intoxication of the employee” [see 33 U.S.C. § 903(c)]....

LHWCA: Ninth Circuit Agrees that Injury Was Caused By Intoxication, Not Concrete and Metal Slab Onto Which Claimant Fell LHWCA: Ninth Circuit Agrees that Injury Was Caused By Intoxication, Not Concrete and Metal Slab Onto Which Claimant Fell