Larson's Spotlight on Death Benefits to Nonresident Aliens, Accidental Injury, Third Party Settlement Proceeds, Work Order Violation, and Prisoners. Larson's surveys the latest case developments that you need to know about. Thomas A. Robinson, the staff writer for Larson's Workers' Compensation Law , has compiled the list below. PA: Paving Worker Strikes Bowling Ball With Sledgehammer, Loses Eye...

Claimant worked 10 years in Jasper County making components for battery cells and developed a rare cancer, IgA myeloma. As a result of either the condition or the stem cell transplant and chemotherapy, he required treatment for about 5 years for kidney disease, recurrent skin basal cell carcinomas, carpal and cubital tunnel releases, and foot orthotics. Claimant, 57, continues to have dizziness, fatigue, and cannot walk...

The recent Commission case Lantie Wilson v Buchanan County , Oct. 14, 2011, 2011 Mo WCLR Lexis 206, involved a claimant who fell on the employer's lot reporting to work. The Commission affirmed an award of benefits and concluded that there was no need to even consider if claimant had equal exposure to falling away from work because he was reporting for work and that was a risk "related to employment." ...

By Stuart D. Colburn, Esq., Shareholder, Downs Stanford This case concerns application of the TX Supreme Court's decision in Leordeanu v. American Protection Ins. Co., 330 S.W.3d 239 (Tex 2010) . The claimant in Tex. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Guar. Ass'n v. Brooks, 2011 Tex. App. LEXIS 7269 (Tex. App. Austin Aug. 31, 2011) was an oil rig driller, supervising a crew of three. He drove his personal vehicle...

Many studies have analyzed why the medical componen t of workers' compensation costs have risen rapidly the past several years despite the recession. Explanations for the higher costs have ranged from increased workers' compensation prescription drug costs to the decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average . A November 2011 National Council on Compensation Insurance, Inc. (NCCI) study entitled " Medical...

Featured Case of the Week: Airline Pilot's Claim for Injuries Barred by Going and Coming Rule Dann Peter Shubin, Petitioner v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Southwest Airlines, PSI, administered by Cambridge Pasadena, Respondents, 2011 Cal. Wrk. Comp. LEXIS 166 Injury AOE/COE-Going and Coming Rule-WCAB, reversing WCJ, held that applicant's claims for injuries to his head, back, shoulders...

The following list contains our picks for the top "noteworthy" panel decisions issued by the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board for 2011. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the panel decisions below. Reminder: Practitioners should check the subsequent history of a panel decision before citing to it. Our list is current as of 11/3/2011. 1. Rochelle Gladden (Deceased) v. State of California...

The LexisNexis Workers' Compensation Law Community is pleased to announce the recipient of its first Special Achievement Award. This year we would like to honor a social media phenomenon on LinkedIn - the Work Comp Analysis Group . In the fall of 2008, Mark Walls, an Assistant Vice President - Claims at Safety National, started a discussion group on LinkedIn, with "the hopes of creating a tool to dialogue...

Larson's Spotlight on Tort Action, Retaliatory Discharge, Black Lung, Disqualification From Benefits, and Loss of Wage Earning Capacity. Larson's surveys the latest case developments that you need to know about. Thomas A. Robinson, the staff writer for Larson's Workers' Compensation Law , has compiled the list below. NE: Injured Worker's Tort Action Against Corporation Closely Related to Her...

Props to Larry Kimmel of Kimmel, Carter, Roman & Peltz, who rather sheepishly shared our case du jour. He was embarrassed because he won and didn't want to appear like he was trying to call attention to himself. Anyone who knows Larry knows that that is just not his way. Thank you Larry for bringing an important ruling to our attention. I bring you Calvin Williams v. Bank of America , IAB# 1367621 (9/23...

It's Christmas in January, folks! The annual Work Comp Section seminar will be held this year on Wednesday January 25th at 8:30 a.m. at the Riverfront. This event, chaired by Gary Baker and Jessica Welch, has become overwhelmingly popular and is designed to cover the current "hot topics" in comp. Yours truly will be presenting a CaseLaw Update that is specific to medical treatment and UR since our...

Today's post is offered up by attorney Chris Logullo of Chrissinger & Baumberger. A recent Motion Day Hearing on the issue of what happens when the carrier requests that the doctor delineate his medical charges to parcel out the compensable treatment for an arguably unrelated body part and the doctor declines to do so. Liberty Mutual's concern in this case, a well-founded one indeed, was that if it paid bills...

On July 29, 2011, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, issued its long awaited decision in Ogilvie v. Workers' Comp. Appeals Bd., which reversed the WCAB en banc decision and remanded the matter back to the WCAB to determine whether Ogilvie effectively rebutted the application of the 2005 Permanent Disability Rating Schedule. In its decision, the Court reversed use of an individualized diminished...

In July 2010 the Dept. of Justice (DOJ) issued a final rule implementing accessibility provisions of the ADA. The DOJ is also seeking comments on proposed regulations on internet accessibility, movie captioning, and accessible equipment and furniture. In July, the Dept. of Transportation also issued ADA regulations to protect the rights of passengers with disabilities aboard passenger vessels, such as cruise ships. ...

"The world of workers' compensation was knocked off course recently by an asteroid from the U.S. Sixth Circuit striking at the very core of the system - the exclusive remedy", writes Denis Paul Juge. "Former employees of a Michigan employer filed a civil RICO action (treble damages and attorney fees) against the employer, its workers' compensation third party administrator and a physician alleging...

“Spinal manipulation under anesthesia is a controversial procedure for allegedly treating spine pain using osteopathic or chiropractic manipulation techniques while the patient is under general anesthesia or conscious sedation,” explains Stephen Levit, M.D. “ Its goal is the relief of spinal pain that, due to muscle spasm and protective guarding, limits the success of traditional manual manipulative...

“Manipulation Under Anesthesia (MUA) is a generic term that describes a procedure or set of procedures designed to improve lost ranges of motion due to infiltration of fibrotic and scar tissue. Fibrosis deposition is part of the normal healing process, but can lead to scarring and motion restrictions in articulations and soft tissues if the healing takes place in an environment where full motion is inhibited,”...

In this Emerging Issues commentary, Julie Myers Wood, former Assistant Secretary running U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), examines the new Arizona immigration law (S.B. 1070, amended by H.B. 2162). She analyzes some key relevant provisions, including the requirement for aliens to register and carry documents. Based on her years at ICE, Ms. Wood discusses the potential legal and logistical challenges of...

In this commentary, Vernon Sumwalt, North Carolina board certified specialist in workers' compensation law and noted legal author, examines inconsistent case holdings on actual notice of an injury in North Carolina workers' comp cases. "Latin is a dead language, and one has to wonder why lawyers still use so many phrases from it," Sumwalt says. "Take, for example, res ipsa loquitur, post hoc...

In this Emerging Issues Analysis, Vernon Sumwalt says the delay in authorizing medical compensation is viral throughout the workers' compensation system. Sumwalt analyzes the recent case of Boylan v. Verizon Wireless , in which the North Carolina appellate court held (again) that the Industrial Commission's preapproval of attendant care services is not necessary before employers and carriers are liable for retroactive...

The use of analgesics (pain relievers) and other medications is the most common method of chronic pain treatment. Pain medications can be helpful for some patients in chronic pain, but they are not universally effective and may actually create harm. In this Emerging Issues Analysis commentary, Steven D. Feinberg, MD, discusses the use of analgesics and other medications to treat chronic pain in patients. “Medication...

In this Emerging Issues Analysis, Robert G. Rassp summarizes the California Workers Compensation Appeals Boards en banc decision in Ogilvie I and II and sets forth the Ogilvie formula, step-by-step, with helpful practice pointers. “On February 3, 2009, the WCAB issued its en banc decision in Ogilvie, which we refer to as Ogilvie I ", explains Robert Rassp. “Defendants filed a Petition for Reconsideration...

In this Emerging Issues Analysis, Thomas A. Robinson analyzes noteworthy cases from California that interpret the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, Fifth Edition. Robinson initially explains that California adopted the AMA Guides as follows: “Cal. Lab. Code § 4660(b)(1), as amended by SB 899, effective April 19, 2004, provides: "For purposes of this section, the 'nature of the physical...

This Emerging Issues Analysis by Thomas A. Robinson contains a state-by-state survey of key workers compensation legislative changes during the period from January through November 2009. “Overall, it has been quite an active year,” Robinson writes. “Legislatures in California, Colorado, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, West Virginia, and Wyoming were particularly busy, successfully...

Complex regional pain syndromes (CRPS) type I and type II formally known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and Causalgia respectively, are the most complicated chronic neuropathic pain syndromes involving sensory, motor and autonomic changes. Short of a diagnosis of an incurable terminal disease, there are few diagnoses that cause more patient disability and dysfunction and treating physician and payer frustration...