Ohio Admin.Code 4121-3-20(F)(1) requires that a staff hearing officer (SHO) review a proposed settlement agreement related to an alleged violation of specific safety requirements ("VSSR") claim for adequacy; a cursory review to determine if... Read More
A broad release contained within a settlement of a violation of specific safety requirements ("VSSR") claim, signed by an injured employee represented by counsel at the time, barred a later civil action filed by the employee against the employer... Read More
Stressing that a person who is not a party to a contract is not bound by its terms, a Maryland appellate court held that a widow was not bound by a settlement agreement signed by her husband that purported to release not only the husband's rights... Read More
Where plaintiff, a semi-truck driver for a Pennsylvania corporation, sustained injuries in a vehicular accident in Grundy County, Illinois and eventually settled his Pennsylvania workers’ compensation claim by means of a settlement agreement in... Read More
Where a claimant filed multiple claims, was represented by an attorney, and later entered into a settlement agreement that provided, inter alia , (a) that the employer would not be responsible for medical costs associated with a claimed right shoulder... Read More
Where a former employee, represented by counsel, sought workers’ compensation benefits and later settled his claim for $3,800, executing a settlement agreement and general release, it was inconsistent for him later to argue that the release should... Read More
Language contained in a preprinted Compromise & Release form, which purported to release the employer from liability for ”any and all potential claims” did not constitute a waiver by a former employee when he subsequently filed suit against... Read More
Where the employer joined into a third-party settlement agreement that stated the employer agreed to a payment of a sum certain “in full satisfaction of the defendant/employer’s (and its workers’ compensation insurance carrier’s... Read More
Where an injured employee and the employer (and carrier) executed a settlement agreement, forwarding it on to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission for approval and the employee died from unrelated causes two days before the agreement... Read More
Where settlement in 2002 (via Vermont’s Form 22) of the PPD segment of a workers’ compensation claim was based upon a physician’s use of the AMA Guides’ Diagnosis Related Estimate (“DRE”) and, six years later, two different... Read More
The burden of proof for showing a change in condition is on the party asserting the change. Accordingly, where it was undisputed that an employee sustained injuries in a work-related accident, but both the extent of her disability and the issue of resulting... Read More
CALIFORNIA COMPENSATION CASES Vol. 77 No. 3 March 2012 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
Under the provisions of by Ala. Code § 25-5-56, the trial court must approve any agreement compromising an injured worker’s benefits in order to be enforceable. Under that rule, an Alabama appellate court affirmed a finding that a settlement... Read More
Where a hearing officer approved a workers’ compensation settlement agreement that contained broad release language and had required the claimant to sign a separate letter acknowledging the breadth of the release of future rights to seek additional... Read More
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