Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts

Workers' Comp Fraud Blotter (9/15/2011) – Caterer Caught On Video Cooking and Coordinating Events While On Disability
Posted on 16 Sep 2011 by LexisNexis Workers' Comp Newsroom Fraud Team

Each week we'll be surveying what the media, state agencies, insurance companies, and others report in terms of workers' comp fraud. Just like a police blotter, our workers' comp fraud blotter lists recent arrests, charges, convictions and... Read More

The Masked Wrestler’s Lament
Posted on 25 Apr 2011 by Lex Larson

(Lyrics and Performance by Lex Larson) This moving ballad is inspired by an actual case: Gyarmati v. George E. Fern Co., 2002 Ohio 4323 (Ct. App. 2002) .* Set to one of the many versions of the traditional song “Red Rocking Chair,” the... Read More

Missouri: A "Working" Claimant is Not a Total (sometimes)
Posted on 8 Dec 2011 by Martin Klug

Claimant's capacity to return to work for 1 1/2 years after her back injury defeated her SIF claim that she was permanently and totally disabled. Her duties such as data entry, answering phones or monitoring suicidal patients were considered a ‘real... Read More

Missouri: Attorney Wins $700K in Medical Bills on “Modified” Award
Posted on 24 Nov 2015 by Martin Klug

The claimant hurt his back in 2011 when he moved a 100-pound bag of sugar onto a pallet. The commission modified a finding that claimant not only strained his back, but hurt his prior degenerative spine, and increased the award more than $700,000. Valdez... Read More

Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Board Opinions for August 2012
Posted on 5 Oct 2012 by Roland Legal PLLC

By Marcus A. Roland, Esq. The Kentucky Workers' Compensation Board rendered 52 decisions for the month of August, 2012. Summaries regarding opinions of note are set forth below. Bush v. Jack Cooper Transport, et al , Claim No. 2007-7362 (August... Read More

Mississippi: Benefits Awarded for Staph Infection Caused by Epidural Injections for Lumbar Injury
Posted on 3 Nov 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

It is the province of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission to weigh the evidence—including expert medical testimony. Accordingly, where the Commission gave more weight to the employee’s medical expert—who opined that... Read More

Cody Varnes, the Sequel…..and a Whole Lotta Nothin’ at the Delaware IAB
Posted on 24 Oct 2012 by Cassandra Roberts

This was sent to me by defense counsel (and fashion icon) Paula Witherow. I wanted her commentary on our cases du jour, but all I got was a copy of two decisions in the case of Cody Varnes v. Diamond State Mechanical . Paula is not one to boast, but boast... Read More

Iowa: Severe Back Injury Helping Friend Was Medically Tied to Earlier Admitted Industrial Injury
Posted on 4 Dec 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

An Iowa employer is responsible for paying indemnity and medical benefits related to a serious back injury sustained by an employee while helping a friend move go-kart frames onto a trailer since substantial evidence indicated that six weeks earlier the... Read More

Put the Knife Back in the Butcher Block, Please – Another Ditty About Surgery at the Delaware IAB
Posted on 20 Sep 2012 by Cassandra Roberts

As Susan Hauske might say, defense lawyers we are on a roll. Susan was prompted to share the ruling du jour in light of my recent (9/6/12) post titled Walks on Water? , a discussion of a recent ruling in which surgery was denied, a rare occurrence here... Read More

Delaware: Exchange of Correspondence Regarding “Resolved” Back Injury Constitutes a Binding Settlement Agreement
Posted on 6 Nov 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

Substantial evidence supported a finding by the Industrial Accident Board that a worker and his employer had settled the worker’s back injury claim where an examining physician (hired by the defense) wrote a report saying that as of the date of... Read More

North Carolina: Assistance With Housekeeping, Cooking, and Personal Hygiene Found Not Compensable
Posted on 23 Nov 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

A North Carolina appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Industrial Commission that found an injured worker’s request for assistance with housekeeping, cooking, and personal hygiene were “ordinary expenses of life” and... Read More

Missouri: Award Supported by "Subjective" Symptoms
Posted on 31 Jan 2014 by Martin Klug

Missouri courts once again wrangle in the old grudge match between the evidentiary weight given to subjective and objective symptoms. Reformers thought they had put an end to those types of fights by indicating that " where inconsistent or conflicting... Read More

Understanding Geographic Variation in the Use of Treatment Guidelines for Occupational Injuries
Posted on 5 Feb 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

Greater medical consensus could reduce geographic variability A recent study published by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine suggests that there is geographic variation in the use of medical treatment guidelines that reaches... Read More

The Masked Wrestler’s Lament
Posted on 25 Apr 2011 by Lex Larson

(Lyrics and Performance by Lex Larson) This moving ballad is inspired by an actual case: Gyarmati v. George E. Fern Co., 2002 Ohio 4323 (Ct. App. 2002) .* Set to one of the many versions of the traditional song “Red Rocking Chair,” the... Read More

Kentucky Workers’ Compensation Board Opinions for August 2012
Posted on 5 Oct 2012 by Roland Legal PLLC

By Marcus A. Roland, Esq. The Kentucky Workers' Compensation Board rendered 52 decisions for the month of August, 2012. Summaries regarding opinions of note are set forth below. Bush v. Jack Cooper Transport, et al , Claim No. 2007-7362 (August... Read More