The Missouri Commission was justified in filing that an injured worker did not suffer from a permanent total disability where evidence indicated that following his injuries, the worker worked on a full-time, seasonable basis, held a state appellate court... Read More
An award to an injured employee could be made on a permanent partial disability basis—he was not limited to a scheduled award—where the employee suffered a torn quadriceps tendon in his lower extremity, but medical evidence indicated that... Read More
Where a claimant sustained an injury in August 2008, was examined by the insurer’s medical examiner in November 2018, and found to have reached MMI and to have sustained a permanent impairment to her lumbar spine (class 2, severity A ranking), it... Read More
Where an employer’s examining physician opined that the workers’ compensation claimant had fully recovered from her injuries—the physician based his opinion, in large part, on the fact that claimant had not sought medical treatment from... Read More
The Supreme Court of Ohio held that evidence supported a state commission's determination that a worker had abandoned the workforce and, therefore, was not entitled to permanent total disability benefits where the worker testified that he had been... Read More
Where an injured employee sustained a laceration over the eye -- a condition admitted by the employer -- and later sought reinstatement of his disability benefits, the burden was on the employee to establish his entitlement to benefits based on an actual... Read More
In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Idaho held that the plain wording of Idaho Code Ann. §§ 72-425 and 72-430 require that all personal and economic circumstances that diminish the ability of the claimant to compete in an open labor market... Read More
Recently, a panel of three commissioners with the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) addressed the “cannot parcel out” exception” outlined in Benson v. Workers’ Comp. Appeals Bd. (2009) 170 Cal. App.4th 1535 , 74... Read More
An injured Pennsylvania worker, whose disability status was modified from permanent to temporary in 2008, based upon a 2006 impairment rating evaluation (IRE), who then exhausted her 500 weeks of partial disability benefits and, within three years of... Read More
Featured Case of the Week: Worker’s Pre-existing Diabetes Not to Blame for Post-Injury Amputation Bridgestone Firestone, Old Republic Insurance Company, Petitioners v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Ronald Fussell (aka Ronald Fussel... Read More
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
Featured Case of the Week: Intoxication Defense Fails Despite "Presumptive Positive" Blood Test Beyette's Tree Care, Uninsured, Petitioner v. Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, Bart James Johnson , Respondents , 2011 Cal. Wrk. Comp... Read More
It may be an unfortunate reality but narcotics are a common aspect of medical treatment within the workers’ compensation system. As pain is an extremely individual experience, it is difficult if not impossible to assess whether the medications prescribed... Read More
Prior to Senate Bill 899, the law was clear as to which party had the burden of proof on the apportionment issue. If defendant could not provide substantial evidence that there was either pre-existing PD or a progressive disease process, apportionment... Read More
LexisNexis experts provide in-depth analysis of key portions of SB 863: Medical Treatment Permanent Disability Liens Self-insurance Carve Outs Fee Schedules WARNING: These articles were based on the 8/24 and 8/27 drafts of SB 863. On... Read More