Category: Case comment

Jun 3, 2013

Durham, NC: Recovering from Appendicitis

As a number of my friends and colleagues already know, I’ve been out of commission for the past nine days.  I underwent surgery eight days ago for a ruptured appendix....

Durham, NC: Recovering from Appendicitis Durham, NC: Recovering from Appendicitis
May 22, 2013

Iowa: Injuries Sustained in Janitor’s Idiopathic Fall Found Compensable

Reversing a decision by a state trial court that had, in turn, reversed an award of workers’ compensation benefits in favor of a seventy-nine-year-old part-time janitor who had suffered an...

Iowa: Injuries Sustained in Janitor’s Idiopathic Fall Found Compensable Iowa: Injuries Sustained in Janitor’s Idiopathic Fall Found Compensable
May 10, 2013

Arizona: Scar on Neck Qualifies for Facial/Head Disfigurement Award

An Arizona appellate court recently upheld a workers’ compensation award in the form of facial disfigurement benefits where the injured worker, a truck driver, sustained a five-inch scar on his...

Arizona: Scar on Neck Qualifies for Facial/Head Disfigurement Award Arizona: Scar on Neck Qualifies for Facial/Head Disfigurement Award
Apr 29, 2013

Montana: Carrier’s Decision to Stop Paying For Pain Medication Did Not Justify Attorney’s Fee Award Where Decision Was Based On Prior Decision of Workers’ Compensation Court

Stressing that “reasonableness” is a question of fact and that the review the Workers’ Compensation Court’s findings of fact were to be affirmed if supported by substantial credible evidence, the...

Montana: Carrier’s Decision to Stop Paying For Pain Medication Did Not Justify Attorney’s Fee Award Where Decision Was Based On Prior Decision of Workers’ Compensation Court Montana: Carrier’s Decision to Stop Paying For Pain Medication Did Not Justify Attorney’s Fee Award Where Decision Was Based On Prior Decision of Workers’ Compensation Court
Apr 19, 2013

Rhode Island: Utilizing “Street-Peril” or Street Risk Doctrine, Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim by Verizon Employee Assaulted by Random Stranger

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island recently quashed a decree by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court Appellate Division that in turn had affirmed a denial of workers’ compensation benefits to...

Rhode Island: Utilizing “Street-Peril” or Street Risk Doctrine, Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim by Verizon Employee Assaulted by Random Stranger Rhode Island: Utilizing “Street-Peril” or Street Risk Doctrine, Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim by Verizon Employee Assaulted by Random Stranger
Apr 17, 2013

New Mexico: Late Filing of Death Benefits Claim May Be Excused Where Delay Was Due, In Part, to Actions of Employer

The Supreme Court of New Mexico recently held that a death benefits claim filed by the widow of an off-duty police officer, who drowned while rescuing a twelve-year-old boy from...

New Mexico: Late Filing of Death Benefits Claim May Be Excused Where Delay Was Due, In Part, to Actions of Employer New Mexico: Late Filing of Death Benefits Claim May Be Excused Where Delay Was Due, In Part, to Actions of Employer
Apr 16, 2013

Minnesota: Costs to Modify Injured Worker’s Residence to Allow For Installation of Lift System Was Limited to Statutory Max of $60K

Installation of a lift system to enable paraplegic to transfer to and from her wheelchair more safely and to live more independently were remodeling costs subject to the $60,000 limit...

Minnesota: Costs to Modify Injured Worker’s Residence to Allow For Installation of Lift System Was Limited to Statutory Max of $60K Minnesota: Costs to Modify Injured Worker’s Residence to Allow For Installation of Lift System Was Limited to Statutory Max of $60K
Apr 9, 2013

Louisiana: Police Officer Fails To Establish Acute Appendicitis Claim Was Connected to Fall at Police Station

A Louisiana appellate court recently affirmed a finding by the Office of Workers’ Compensation that granted an employer police department’s motion for summary judgment regarding a claim filed by a...

Louisiana: Police Officer Fails To Establish Acute Appendicitis Claim Was Connected to Fall at Police Station Louisiana: Police Officer Fails To Establish Acute Appendicitis Claim Was Connected to Fall at Police Station
Apr 8, 2013

Montana’s Hutterite Colony Seeks Review by U.S. Supreme Court of Decision Requiring it to Provide Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Colony’s Workers

On April 1, the Hutterite Colony, a small religious sect in Montana, asked the United States Supreme Court to review and overturn a decision by the Supreme Court of Montana...

Montana’s Hutterite Colony Seeks Review by U.S. Supreme Court of Decision Requiring it to Provide Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Colony’s Workers Montana’s Hutterite Colony Seeks Review by U.S. Supreme Court of Decision Requiring it to Provide Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Colony’s Workers
Apr 8, 2013

Arkansas: Health Care Technician Fails to Establish Corneal Ulcer Was Associated With Work-Related Urine Splash

An Arkansas appellate court recently affirmed a decision denying a claim filed by a patient-care technician who contended that her corneal ulcer resulted from or was exacerbated by a workplace...

Arkansas: Health Care Technician Fails to Establish Corneal Ulcer Was Associated With Work-Related Urine Splash Arkansas: Health Care Technician Fails to Establish Corneal Ulcer Was Associated With Work-Related Urine Splash
Mar 29, 2013

Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified

On Tuesday, a Virginia appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that reinstated disability benefits to a convenience store employee who refused to undergo recommended surgery–a...

Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified
Mar 27, 2013

Maine: Employer Not Entitled to Offset Incapacity Benefits Against Specific Loss Award for Amputation

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine recently reversed an award by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that had granted an employee specific loss benefits for the amputation of a finger,...

Maine: Employer Not Entitled to Offset Incapacity Benefits Against Specific Loss Award for Amputation Maine: Employer Not Entitled to Offset Incapacity Benefits Against Specific Loss Award for Amputation