Notice of the Texas non-subscribing employer’s occupational injury benefit plan was insufficient by itself to show that an employee had notice of an arbitration agreement referred to therein since the...
Texas: No Arbitration Where Employer Could Not Show Employee Had Notice of Arbitration Agreement Texas: No Arbitration Where Employer Could Not Show Employee Had Notice of Arbitration AgreementThe Supreme Court of Oklahoma recently held that a chiropractor is not qualified as an expert in diagnosing psychological illnesses such as depression. Accordingly, the report of a chiropractor as...
Oklahoma: Chiropractors May Not Offer Expert Testimony as to Psychological Overlay Oklahoma: Chiropractors May Not Offer Expert Testimony as to Psychological OverlayA Colorado appellate court recently held that hotels and restaurants that a workers’ compensation claimant patronized during authorized travel to obtain treatment by a specialist were not “medical providers” as...
Colorado: Hotels and Restaurants Are Not “Medical Providers” Colorado: Hotels and Restaurants Are Not “Medical Providers”In a complex medical malpractice diversity action involving multiple issues, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a federal district court’s judgment on a $7 million verdict in favor...
10th Circuit: Under Collateral Source Rule, Evidence of Discounted Med Pay to Medical Providers By Workers’ Comp Payer May Not Be Considered By Jury 10th Circuit: Under Collateral Source Rule, Evidence of Discounted Med Pay to Medical Providers By Workers’ Comp Payer May Not Be Considered By JurySome years ago, my mentor, Arthur Larson, when commenting upon the issue of deviations within the workplace, wrote that courts generally recognize “that human beings do not run on tracks...
Pennsylvania: 5-Minute Deviation Defeated Workers’ Comp Claim Pennsylvania: 5-Minute Deviation Defeated Workers’ Comp ClaimThe Longshore Act provides that no compensation shall be payable if the injury “was occasioned solely by the intoxication of the employee” [33 U.S.C.S. § 903(c), emphasis added]. The Ninth...
Ninth Circuit Construes Longshore Act’s Intoxication Defense Provisions Ninth Circuit Construes Longshore Act’s Intoxication Defense ProvisionsIn an unpublished decision, Elster v. Fishman, 2013 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 5158 (July 22, 2013) [check Cal. Rules of Court, Rule 8.1115(a) regarding rules related to citation], a California...
California: Legal Secretary’s IIED Claim Against Attorney and Firm Related to Pornographic Emails May Proceed California: Legal Secretary’s IIED Claim Against Attorney and Firm Related to Pornographic Emails May ProceedThe Supreme Court of Vermont, in a split decision, recently held that while the AMA Guides (5th Ed.) are determinative with respect to “any determination of the existence and degree...
Vermont: AMA Guides Are Mandatory for Impairment Rating Purposes–Not Diagnosis of Condition Itself Vermont: AMA Guides Are Mandatory for Impairment Rating Purposes–Not Diagnosis of Condition ItselfAn Ohio appellate court recently reversed an award by the state’s Industrial Commission that allowed a claimant $4,000 of additional compensation for facial disfigurement under Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.57(B),...
Ohio: Court Reverses Award For Facial Disfigurement Where Commission’s Findings Were Inadequate Under Statute Ohio: Court Reverses Award For Facial Disfigurement Where Commission’s Findings Were Inadequate Under StatuteThe basic “going and coming” rule, in effect in the vast majority of jurisdictions, is that for an employee having fixed hours and place of work, injuries sustained going to...
Connecticut: Special Statute Providing Benefits to Police Officers and Firefighters Injured During “Commute” Did Not Apply to Injury in Officer’s Driveway Connecticut: Special Statute Providing Benefits to Police Officers and Firefighters Injured During “Commute” Did Not Apply to Injury in Officer’s DrivewayIn a divided decision affirming a ruling last year by a state intermediate appellate court, the Supreme Court of Ohio has reiterated that in order for a mental condition (here...
Ohio: Supreme Court Reiterates that Mental Injury Must Be Caused By, and Not Merely Contemporaneous With, Physical Injury To Support Comp Claim Ohio: Supreme Court Reiterates that Mental Injury Must Be Caused By, and Not Merely Contemporaneous With, Physical Injury To Support Comp ClaimThe Supreme Court of Nebraska recently affirmed a decision of a county district court that had dismissed a tort action filed against the defendant-employer by the estate of an employee...
Nebraska: High Court Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed Against Employer That Violated Multiple OSHA Regulations; Action Barred by Exclusive Remedy Defense Nebraska: High Court Affirms Dismissal of Intentional Tort Action Filed Against Employer That Violated Multiple OSHA Regulations; Action Barred by Exclusive Remedy Defense