A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that awarded death benefits to a surviving spouse following the suicide of her husband, who had...
NY Court Affirms Death Benefits Following Injured Worker’s Suicide NY Court Affirms Death Benefits Following Injured Worker’s SuicideA Louisiana appellate court affirmed an award of indemnity benefits, medical expenses, $6,000 in penalties, and $9,500 in attorney’s fees to a foreman who sustained two heat exhaustion episodes in...
Louisiana Foreman Awarded Benefits for Heat Exhaustion in Spite of Co-Morbid Condition Louisiana Foreman Awarded Benefits for Heat Exhaustion in Spite of Co-Morbid ConditionAcknowledging the broad latitude afforded the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Review when it comes to weighing the medical evidence before it, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia,...
West Virginia Court Reverses Medical Findings of Board of Review West Virginia Court Reverses Medical Findings of Board of ReviewIt may be a long shot, but a recent New York appellate decision may have opened the door, if ever so slightly, to compensability of COVID-19 claims on the basis...
Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for Presumption Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for PresumptionTwo months ago, I posited that a decision in an old influenza case from Hawaii might give us some indication as to how a COVID-19 presumption of compensability might operate...
407-Page IME Report Insufficient to Rebut Hawai'i's Presumption of Compensability 407-Page IME Report Insufficient to Rebut Hawai'i's Presumption of CompensabilityIn a decision not designated for publication, a Virginia appellate court affirmed an award of workers' compensation benefits to a claimant who contended he developed Crohn's colitis — a type...
Virginia Employee's Bowel Disease Tied to Puncture Wound in Foot Virginia Employee's Bowel Disease Tied to Puncture Wound in FootThe Supreme Court of Missouri, construing the state’s special causation rules for workers’ compensation claims, affirmed a decision by the state’s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission that denied an employee’s...
"First Do No Harm" – Missouri Employee's Injuries At Doctor's Office Not Compensable "First Do No Harm" – Missouri Employee's Injuries At Doctor's Office Not CompensableAcknowledging that when South Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Commission makes a credibility determination based on substantial evidence, that credibility finding itself is substantial evidence, and factual findings properly based on such...
SC Supreme Court Stresses Commission May Not Use Credibility as a Wild Card SC Supreme Court Stresses Commission May Not Use Credibility as a Wild CardA Virginia appellate court recently affirmed a determination by the state’s Commission which, in a divided decision, had awarded workers’ compensation benefits to an administrative assistant who contended she was...
Virginia Court Affirms Award for Brown Recluse Spider Bite Virginia Court Affirms Award for Brown Recluse Spider BiteThe world is transfixed by a new enemy: the coronavirus. I just received an email from my bank reminding me how I can use my accounts’ electronic features so as...
For Workers’ Comp World, Coronavirus is a Real “Snake in the Grass” For Workers’ Comp World, Coronavirus is a Real “Snake in the Grass”In a well-expressed opinion that illustrates how an appellate court is sometimes required to construe an ambiguous statute, the Supreme Court of New Mexico held that while there was no...
NM Supreme Court Applies IME Statute to Death Benefit Cases NM Supreme Court Applies IME Statute to Death Benefit CasesIn a decision illustrating the broad latitude given to Missouri’s Labor & Industrial Relations Commission in judging the weight of medical evidence, a panel of a state appellate court recently...
Missouri Worker Fails to Connect Tinnitus to Work-Related Brawl Missouri Worker Fails to Connect Tinnitus to Work-Related Brawl