It 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 that illustrates the difficulty that many employers will face if their state has adopted a presumption of compensability in COVID-19 cases, the District of Columbia Court of...
Opinion Mondays: D.C. Stroke Case Shows Fighting COVID-19 Presumptions is Going to Be Up-Hill Battle Opinion Mondays: D.C. Stroke Case Shows Fighting COVID-19 Presumptions is Going to Be Up-Hill BattleAs the nation moves, with fits and starts, toward some sort of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, many within the workers’ compensation system are still trying to digest significant changes...
Opinion Mondays: 30 Days into California's COVID-19 Executive Order, Questions Abound Opinion Mondays: 30 Days into California's COVID-19 Executive Order, Questions AboundIn a document published in February, the Congressional Research Service observed: “Workers’ compensation has been called a grand bargain between employers and workers … [under which] workers receive guaranteed, no-fault...
Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered? Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered?In recent weeks, as multiple states have established presumptions of compensability favoring some workers who contract the coronavirus/COVID-19, many within the workers’ compensation community have pondered just how these presumptions...
Opinion Mondays: Old Influenza Case From Hawaii Shows How COVID-19 Presumptions Might Work Opinion Mondays: Old Influenza Case From Hawaii Shows How COVID-19 Presumptions Might WorkGovernor and Legislators Might Profit From Reading PA’s Protz Decision The controversial “rule change” put in place two weeks ago by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, which purports to create...
Opinion Mondays: Later Today, IL Comm'n Will Say "Ooops" as to its Presumption of Compensability Opinion Mondays: Later Today, IL Comm'n Will Say "Ooops" as to its Presumption of CompensabilityCOVID-19 Legislation Continues to Follow Discriminatory Practices The workers’ compensation coronavirus legislation recently passed in Wisconsin and Utah continues to follow the predictable pattern of discriminating against many who face...
Opinion Mondays: "The First Shall Be First, and the Last Shall Remain Last" Opinion Mondays: "The First Shall Be First, and the Last Shall Remain Last"Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, a number of state governors (e.g., California, Kentucky, Missouri, and North Dakota) have issued executive orders promising extended workers’ compensation benefits and, in...
Opinion Mondays: State Governors Have Pens, Who Needs Legislatures? Opinion Mondays: State Governors Have Pens, Who Needs Legislatures?Over the past several weeks, as the coronavirus pandemic has raged across the United States, several state governors and a number of state legislatures have announced, and in a few...
Opinion Mondays: “Old” Case Law May Be Key to Many Coronavirus Claims Opinion Mondays: “Old” Case Law May Be Key to Many Coronavirus ClaimsLast Wednesday (March 25), North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed Executive Order 2020-12 that, as of March 13, 2020, purports to extend special worker compensation protections to first responders, health...
New Feature: Opinion Mondays — In the COVID-19 Medical Crisis, Who Is on the Front Line? New Feature: Opinion Mondays — In the COVID-19 Medical Crisis, Who Is on the Front Line?