Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts

California: Discovery of Witness Statements
Posted on 28 Jan 2013 by Mark Kahn

By Mark L. Kahn (Associate Chief Judge, Retired) Arbitrator/Mediator/Attorney - Altman, Lunche & Blitstein A review of the most recent cases on the subject of discovery of witness statements leads to the conclusion that witness statements taken... Read More

California: Trial Practice and Procedure Post SB 863
Posted on 21 Feb 2014 by David Bryan Leonard

At the California Workers’ Compensation Defense Attorneys’ Association 2013 Winter Conference, a panel led by the Honorable Anne Horelly, defense attorney Sharon Renzi and applicant’s attorney John Reff presented practical and procedural... Read More

Vermont Workers' Compensation Update: July to September 2011
Posted on 5 Oct 2011 by Keith J. Kasper

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DECISIONS Rowell v. Northeast Kingdom Community Action , Opinion No. 17-11WC (July 8, 2011). Claimant is not entitled to PTD for his February 2007 back injury under the "odd lot" doctrine. Claimant's medical experts... Read More

Connecticut: Employer Need Not Pay for Palliative Medical Care
Posted on 13 Mar 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

A Connecticut court affirmed the finding of the commissioner that various medications prescribed by the plaintiff’s treating physician for a head injury that occurred some 18 years earlier were palliative rather than curative, and thus were not... Read More

Missouri: Post-Deposition Surveillance Video Could Not Be Introduced Into Evidence
Posted on 5 Feb 2016 by Larson's Spotlight

When, during a deposition related to claimant’s workers’ compensation claim, a representative of the employer indicated that it had conducted no surveillance activities of the claimant, the employer was under an obligation to supplement that... Read More

California: The PQME Process Runs Amok - A Tragic-Comedy
Posted on 21 Oct 2011 by Robert G. Rassp, Esq.

By Robert G. Rassp, Esq. This story is true. The names were changed to protect the guilty. This story is a great example of what is wrong with the panel QME process under Labor Code sections 4062.1 and 4062.2. There are many cases where claims administrators... Read More

Deposition Procedures Not Required for Vocational Expert Interviews: Cal. Comp. Cases September Advanced Postings (8/29/2014)
Posted on 29 Aug 2014 by California Compensation Cases Staff

Here’s the first batch of advanced postings for September 2014 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com and Lexis Advance subscribers can link to the case to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2014 LexisNexis. All rights... Read More

About Time! New ALJ Regulations Finally Final
Posted on 28 Dec 2015 by BRBS Longshore Reporter Staff

By Thomas C. Fitzhugh III, Fitzhugh & Elliott, P.C., Houston, Texas The comment period for proposed new regulations for ALJ proceedings closed more than two years ago. For months we were promised that the new rules would be forthcoming “soon... Read More

California: CIGA Allowed to Force a Deposition of Pro Per Injured Worker 18 Years After Industrial Injury
Posted on 26 Sep 2014 by Calif. WCAB Noteworthy Panel Decisions Reporter

In Hunter v. Oroville Elementary School , 2014 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS --, a deeply divided WCAB panel denied an applicant’s petition for removal and upheld the WCJ’s order compelling a pro per applicant to attend a deposition noticed by... Read More

California: The Element of Surprise as an Ex Parte Communication
Posted on 22 Apr 2013 by Mark Kahn

Attorneys cannot surprise the other side and show “information” (films or vocational reports) to the AME at cross-examination as it is an ex-parte communication in violation of Labor Code section 4062.3 because the parties must agree on what... Read More

Florida: Judge’s Exclusion of Health Care Nurse’s Deposition Was Erroneous
Posted on 27 Feb 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

A decision by a judge of compensation claims to exclude the deposition of a home health care nurse, based on the fact that the claimant’s attorney “was not aware” that the employer planned to offer it into evidence was improper, even... Read More

Holiday Roundup…… And a Fall From a Keg in Delaware
Posted on 5 Dec 2014 by Cassandra Roberts

The above depicts what has evolved into the annual Workers’ Compensation Holiday Beer Swap. Not sure if Dr. John Townsend was in attendance last night, but I have it on good authority that when he participates, there is at least one case of wicked... Read More

Applicant Asserts Marital Privilege to Bar Testimony on Drug Use: Cal. Comp. Cases February Advanced Postings (2/24/2012)
Posted on 24 Feb 2012 by California Compensation Cases Staff

Here’s the fourth batch of advanced postings for the February 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the cases to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2012 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. ... Read More

California: Vocational Rehabilitation Experts
Posted on 17 Apr 2012 by Colleen Casey

By Colleen S. Casey Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. The decision in Ogilvie v. WCAB (Ogilvie III) (2011) 76 CCC 624 created an increasing demand for the expertise of vocational rehabilitation (VR) experts. Parties... Read More

Vermont Workers' Compensation Update: July to September 2011
Posted on 5 Oct 2011 by Keith J. Kasper

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR DECISIONS Rowell v. Northeast Kingdom Community Action , Opinion No. 17-11WC (July 8, 2011). Claimant is not entitled to PTD for his February 2007 back injury under the "odd lot" doctrine. Claimant's medical... Read More