Workers' Compensation

Recent Posts

New York: Employee is Disqualified from Further Benefits by Failure to Disclose Auto Accident on Medical Intake Form
Posted on 27 Dec 2021 by Thomas A. Robinson

Where an employee failed to disclose on an intake form at the office of a physician employed to conduct an independent medical examination that he had been involved in a motor vehicle accident after his work-related injury, the Board could exercise its... Read More

New York: Record Did not Support Board’s Decision to Bar Claimant Permanently from Indemnity Benefits
Posted on 22 May 2021 by Thomas A. Robinson

Acknowledging that the New York Workers’ Compensation Board had broad latitude in determining whether an employee had violated N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 114-a—for example, by failing to disclose post-injury earnings—but also... Read More

New York: Failure to Disclose "Religious Activity" Was Not a Violation of § 114-a
Posted on 26 Jul 2020 by Thomas A. Robinson

A decision by the New York Workers' Compensation Board that an injured worker had not violated N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 114-a, by failing to disclose her religious activity in her church -- preaching occasional sermons, counseling a small... Read More

New York: Misrepresentations Regarding Claimant's Photography Business Justified Disqualification From Further Benefits
Posted on 20 May 2020 by Thomas A. Robinson

Where a New York claimant testified during a 2015 hearing that she had not worked in any capacity nor had she run any business since her PTD classification, yet during a 2016 disqualification hearing, she admitted that she operated a photography business... Read More

New York: Truck Driver’s Failure to Mention Side Business Did Not Result in Forfeiture of Benefits
Posted on 16 Jun 2019 by Thomas A. Robinson

A New York truck driver’s failure to disclose his involvement in an online and retail flower business was not the sort of misrepresentation that should disqualify him from receiving workers’ compensation benefits under N.Y. Workers’... Read More

New York: Claimant Disqualified from Future Benefits Based Upon Misrepresentations as to Post-Injury Earnings
Posted on 18 Jan 2019 by Thomas A. Robinson

A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that found in relevant part that claimant violated N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 114-a and disqualified him from future indemnity benefits where... Read More

North Dakota: WSI Need Not Prove Intent to Defraud in Order to Justify Forfeiture of Benefits
Posted on 8 Sep 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

A North Dakota district court committed error when, in relevant part, it affirmed an ALJ’s finding that claimant’s false statements as to his income and work activities were not willful and were instead “inadvertent,” and not made... Read More

California: Tips for Avoiding Sanctions
Posted on 17 Mar 2016 by Calif. WCAB Noteworthy Panel Decisions Reporter

Practitioners have noticed a slew of WCAB Noteworthy Panel Decisions recently relating to the imposition of sanctions for “bad faith tactics” under Labor Code § 5813 [ LC 5813 ]. Everyone wants to avoid sanctions, so litigators should... Read More

New York: Board May Not Disregard Videotape Evidence Showing Claimant Misrepresented Condition
Posted on 20 Feb 2015 by Larson's Spotlight

A finding by the state Workers’ Compensation Board that surveillance video did not show any images of claimant engaging in physical activities inconsistent with any representation he made to a doctor was not supported by substantial evidence, held... Read More

California Workers' Comp Case Roundup (7/3/2015)
Posted on 4 Jul 2015 by California Compensation Cases Staff

CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 80 No. 6 June 2015 A Report of En Banc and Significant Panel Decisions of the WCAB and Selected Court Opinions of Related Interest, With a Digest of WCAB Decisions Denied Judicial Review CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE... Read More

Louisiana: Claimant Misrepresents Ability to Work and Forfeits Comp Benefits
Posted on 19 Apr 2018 by Thomas A. Robinson

A grant of summary judgment by the Louisiana Office of Workers’ Compensation that order the forfeiture of a claimant’s right to workers' compensation benefits under La. Stat. Ann. 23:1208, based upon a finding that he made false statements... Read More

California: To Be or Not To Be Present: That Is The Question
Posted on 10 Nov 2016 by Brad Wixen

When should a claim be dismissed for lack of appearance? In the case of Nunez v. Petrochem Insulation, Inc ., 2016 Cal. Wrk. Comp. P.D. LEXIS --, applicant alleged a CT injury ending in 2009. In April 2011 there was a “stipulation” signed... Read More

Florida: Truck Driver Disqualified From Comp Benefits for Misleading Physicians
Posted on 31 Dec 2014 by Larson's Spotlight

A Florida appellate court affirmed a decision by a state judge of compensation claims that barred a long-haul truck driver from receiving workers’ compensation benefits for an alleged work-related injury based on findings that the driver had given... Read More

New York: Claimant’s Alford Plea Regarding Sale of Drugs Did Not Constitute Sufficient Evidence to Justify Finding of § 114-a Violation
Posted on 28 Jul 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

Where a claimant pleaded guilty to violating probation by committing a crime that involved the sale of a controlled substance or a narcotic and two days later, in an Alford plea, claimant further pleaded guilty to two separate counts of criminal sale... Read More

New York: Minimal Activity at Nonprofit Concession Stand Does Not Violate § 114-a
Posted on 15 Sep 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board could reasonably conclude that a claimant had not violated N.Y. Work. Comp. Law § 114-a—the false statement/misrepresentation of material fact provision—where a surveillance video showed... Read More