LexisNexis Workers' Compensation eNewsletter

Vol 1, Issue 13

Find Solutions & Strategies June 21, 2010

Gulf Oil Spill and Workers' Comp Claims

BP's safety systems for 25,000 workers considered inadequate

In This Issue

-FEATURED ARTICLE: oil spill

-LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT: asbestos, intentional tort, compensability, interpreter, retaliation

-BLOG ROUND UP: fraud, international stories, Calif. attorney involvement in comp cases

-TOP CASES: TX, FL, CA

-NATIONAL NEWS

-STATE NEWS

-WHAT'S NEW IN LARSON'S: acts of God and exposure

-LARSON 50% OFF SALE

-eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

A Note From the Editor

Dear WC Professionals:

Now that summer is here, it's time to take precautions to prevent heat-related illnesses and deaths in the workplace. I urge you to read "The Short LIfe and Preventable Death of Maria Isabel Vasquez Jimenez".

Sincerely,
Robin E. Kobayashi, J.D.

LexisNexis Editorial & Content Development

robin.e.kobayashi@lexisnexis.com

Workers' Compensation, a PBS television event (2011)

Making History: Celebrating 100 Years of Workers' Compensation

"Americans are poised to celebrate 100 years of state workers' compensation laws which recognized society's responsibility to the workplace and established workers' compensation as the first form of social insurance in American history."

Read about the PBS program

Web Poll Final Results

Medical treatment access and quality for workers' comp claimants in your state are:

Good - 20%
Fair - 20%
Poor - 60%

Vote at the LexisNexis Workers' Comp Law Community

Workers' Comp Profile

William J. McCabe practices law in Longwood, Florida with the law firm of Shepherd, McCabe & Cooley. He has handled workers' comp cases and appeals since 1972. In 1988 he received the Orange County Legal Aid Society Award of Merit. In 1999 his law firm was recognized by the Seminole County Legal Aid Society. He has presented Continuing Legal Education Seminars for the Florida State Bar Association, including seminars on appellate practice in Workers' Compensation. He has had Oral Argument before the First District Court of Appeal at the Workers' Compensation convention for each of the last four years (2004-2008). He is also an editorial consultant for Dubreuil's Florida Workers' Compensation Handbook.

FEATURED ARTICLE: gulf oil spill

Oil Spill Likely to Lead to Future Workers' Compensation Claims, by Alabama Workers Comp Blawg. The Gulf Shores oil spill cleanup poses serious risks of long-term injury to workers. There were over 1,800 workers' comp claims filed as a result of the Exxon/Valdez spill. The Gulf spill will probably result in many more workers' comp claims being filed considering that there are already twice as many workers involved in the cleanup. > Read more

Larson's spotlight: 5 recent cases you should know about

Tom Robinson thumbnail Larson's Spotlight reports noteworthy workers' comp cases each week. This list was compiled by Thomas A. Robinson, a staff writer for Larson's Workers' Compensation Law, the nation's leading authority on workers' compensation law.

> Read the case summaries and court decisions

#1 IL: Employer Owes Duty to Worker's Family for Asbestos Brought Home On Worker's Clothes

#2 MT: Employer Goes "One for Two" in Intentional Tort Cases Based on Faulty Propane Stove

#3 TX: Sixty-Day Deadline for Challenging Compensability Does Not Apply to Dispute Over Extent of Injury

#4 WA: Non-indigent Claimants Have No Statutory Right to Interpreter Services at Government Expense

#5 US: 7th Circuit Agrees Firing Was for Dishonesty and Not Related to Filing Workers' Compensation Claim

blog round up

Fraud Sign Workers' Comp Fraud Blotter - Recent Arrests, Charges, Convictions, Investi-gations 6/17/2010. Read it.

The International Scene: Schoolyard Fight, Workplace Violence, Sleep Disorders, Farm Deaths, Workplace Safety. Read it.

CWCI Data Quantifies Attorney Involvement in California Workers' Comp. New data reveals high level of attorney involvement in cases during period 2000 through 2008. Read it.

top cases: TX, fl, CA

TEXAS APPEALS PANEL DECISION REVIEW (6/14/2010), by Stuart Colburn, Downs Stanford. Read it.

TEXAS TOP CASES, powered by Texas Workers' Compensation Handbook (updated 6/15/2010).Read it.

FLORIDA TOP CASES, powered by Dubreuil's Florida Workers' Compensation Handbook (updated 6/15/2010). Read it.

CALIFORNIA TOP CASES, powered by California Compensation Cases (updated 6/12/2010). Read it.

national news

> H. Neal Conolly Appointed to PacificComp's Board of Directors

> CMS Clarifies Guidance on Rated Age Language for WCMSA Proposals
> Pulling the Plug on Four Unnecessary WC Costs

> OSHA Limits Fail to Protect Gulf Coast Oil Spill Workers
> MSHA's Notice of Decisions on Petitions for Safety Standard Modification
> US DoL Wins Challenge to H-2A Regulation
> Vuvu What? Vuvuzelas and Hearing Loss

> New Study Says Injured U.S. Soldiers and Civilians Shortchanged Under Integrated War Labor Model

> Senate HELP Committee Examines Worker Misclassification
> Labor Agencies Back Legislation to Prevent Employee Misclassification

state NEWS

> CA: New Lien Procedures for L.A. District Office Lien Unit
> CA: Court of Appeal Says Worker Furloughs Illegal
> CA: WCIRB Posts 2010 Summary of Policy Year Statistics
> CA: DWC Encourages External Users to Become e-Form Filers
> CA: Court of Appeal Grants Rehearing in Alvarez v. WCAB (Ex Parte Communication)
> CO: Pinnacol CEO Still Eyes Privatization for Insurer
> CT: Hartford to Settle Class Action Suit for $72.5M
> FL: DWC Announces Hearing on Proposed Rule Changes on Stop-Work Orders, Compliance Reports
> FL: Order Setting WC Administration Trust Fund Assessment Rate for 2011
> ID: Orthopedists Settle Antitrust Suit Over Alleged Workers' Comp Patient Boycotts
> KY: Supreme Court Rules Off-Duty Pilot's Commute Was Work-Related
> LA: Governor Signs Bill to Clarify Corporate Officer Exemption
> LA: DHH Updates Oil Spill-Related Exposure Information
> ME: WCB Reduces Assessments on Businesses
> MD: DWC Clarifies Voc. Rehab Procedures
> MI: MIOSHA Cites Clean Air Insulation for Serious Violations for Asbestos Hazards
> MN: New Captive Insurance Company Planned for Construction Industry
> MO: Commission Affirms Permanent and Total Disability Benefits for Conversion Disorder
> NE: Workers' Comp Court Updates Choice of Doctor Form
> NE: WCC Implements A Managed File Transfer Service
> NH: DoL Updates HB271
> NY: SIIA Rejects New York Task Force Findings Regarding SIGs
> NY: Husband, Wife Demolition Owners Arrested for Fraud
> NY: Suffolk Women Guilty, Repays NYSIF $34,000
> NY: Trucking Company Duo Hits Fraud Roadblock
> NY: Contractor in Certificate Fraud an Alleged Repeat
> NY: NYSB Releases New Manual to Help Businesses Stay Compliant
> NC: NCIC Adopts Fees for CPT Codes
> OK: Governor Signs Bills Impacting Workers' Comp Court, Benefits
> OK: IFA Applauds Wise Treatment of Franchises in New Oklahoma Workers Comp Law
> OR: Budget Cuts Cause DCBS to Close June 18
> OR: OSHA Adopts Fed. Amendments to Hexavalent Chromium Rules
> PA: Eastern Alliance Insurance Group's Ratings Upgraded
> TX: Cathleen Parsley Reappointed Chief Administrative Law Judge at Office of Administrative Hearings
> VT: New VT WC Attorney Fee Rule Effective June 15, 2010
> WV: House Speaker Requests Delay in Raising Workers' Comp Premiums for Volunteer Fire Depts.
> WV: Governor Announces One-Year Extension Agreement With BrickStreet Insurance

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what's new in larson's workers' compensation law

Lexis.com subscribers to Larson's Workers' Compensation Law can link to the chapter discussion below.

Find out more about how to become a Larson's online subscriber by contacting: Caroline.Conway@lexisnexis.com.

Acts of God and Exposure. As our economy shifted during the past century and a half from one in which a substantial number of workers performed their labor outdoors in agricultural and other associated activities to an economy where work was more often concentrated in manufacturing facilities, offices, retail space, and other indoor settings, there has been an overall reduction in injuries associated with lightning, windstorms, freezing, sunstroke, and other acts of God.

Nevertheless, the discussion contained in Chapter 5, dealing with acts of God and exposure, is important in that it helps lay the foundation for three alternative tests of workers' compensation causation: the increased risk test, the actual risk test, and the positional risk text. The chapter has been revised and updated. Recent cases follow historic patterns.

Thus, in one recent decision from North Carolina, Heatherly v. Hollingsworth Co., Inc., 189 N.C. App. 398; 658 S.E.2d 30 (2008), the state appellate court held that the N.C. Industrial Commission erred when it applied the positional risk test in determining the compensability of a claim involving an employee struck by lightning as he discussed the threatening weather situation with superiors. The employee had retreated to an unfinished garage that had no doors and was talking on a landline. The North Carolina court indicated that the appropriate issue was whether the danger to which the employee was subjected was one that was incident to the employment, or was it merely one to which the public generally, in that neighborhood, were subjected. The case was remanded for such a determination. See Ch. 5, § 5.01[4] n.9.1.

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