In the continuing saga surrounding Pennsylvania’s Protz decision [see Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 639 Pa. 645, 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017)(Protz II)], the state’s...
PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive" PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive"Acknowledging that in most cases in Utah, an injured worker who is capable of returning to work full-time cannot be considered to have sustained permanent total disability, a state appellate...
Utah Worker Found to Have Sustained PTD In Spite of His Return to Work Utah Worker Found to Have Sustained PTD In Spite of His Return to WorkAcknowledging that an employee’s refusal of vocational rehabilitation services can constitute voluntary abandonment of the workforce for disability compensation purposes, an Ohio appellate court held that such a refusal does...
Ohio Worker Gets PTD Benefits in Spite of Refusing Vocational Rehab Ohio Worker Gets PTD Benefits in Spite of Refusing Vocational RehabSection 306(a.3) Mandating Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed., Stands In enacting 77 Pa. Stat. § 511.3, which mandates a physician’s use of the American Medical Association “Guides to the...
PA Court Says “Protz-Fix” is Constitutionally OK PA Court Says “Protz-Fix” is Constitutionally OKAn Illinois trial court’s finding that the entire amount of an arbitrator’s award—stated as a weekly amount times a number of weeks—came due when the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission adopted...
Illinois Court Says Trial Court Erred in Converting PPD Award to Lump Sum Illinois Court Says Trial Court Erred in Converting PPD Award to Lump SumWhere an employee sustained work-related injuries, reached maximum medical improvement (MMI), and, based on factual findings by Nebraska’s Workers’ Compensation Court (WCC), was adjudged to be permanently and totally disabled,...
Massive Stroke After MMI Does Not Result in Loss of Nebraska PTD Benefits Massive Stroke After MMI Does Not Result in Loss of Nebraska PTD BenefitsYesterday (October 2, 2017), a cadre of 29 Pennsylvania legislators introduced a bill—House Bill 1840—that would require physicians to apply the methodology set forth in “the sixth edition” of the...
PA Legislative Bill Would Require Use of 6th Edition of AMA Guides PA Legislative Bill Would Require Use of 6th Edition of AMA GuidesYesterday, in a divided decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, overruling an earlier decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, held that evidence of subsequent employment is insufficient by...
S.C. Supreme Court Says Return to Work Insufficient to Rebut Presumption of PTD Where Impairment to Back is Greater Than 50 Percent S.C. Supreme Court Says Return to Work Insufficient to Rebut Presumption of PTD Where Impairment to Back is Greater Than 50 PercentThe Supreme Court of Tennessee’s Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel recently affirmed a decision by a state trial court awarding an X-ray technician permanent and total disability benefits because of...
Tennessee Court Awards Permanent Total Benefits For Worker’s Migraines Tennessee Court Awards Permanent Total Benefits For Worker’s MigrainesThe 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 Itself