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Find Solutions & Strategies January 10, 2011 |
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 Top 10 Bizarre Workers' Comp Cases for 2010
You've got to read it to believe it
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| A Note From the Editor |  | Dear WC Professionals:
I want to thank Thomas A. Robinson for his contributions this week to our eNewsletter. His annual Top 10 list of bizarre workers' comp cases is a fascinating read!
Sincerely,
Robin E. Kobayashi, J.D.
LexisNexis Editorial & Content Development
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Workers' Comp Cost Reduction: Free Newsletter |
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Click on the image above to sign up for the free Workers' Comp Kit Newsletter.
To view past newsletters by Workers' Comp Kit, click here.
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Workers' Comp Profile | |
 Comp Time by Roberto Ceniceros, published by Business Insurance, offers invaluable news summaries and learned analysis about risk management, business insurance and workers' compensation. A sampling of the issues covered by Ceniceros include the underground economy, workers' compensation fraud, guns in the workplace, and abuse of controlled substances and prescription drugs. Those who are pressed for time should turn first to Comp Time to get a broad overview of current developments in the field. The Blog was selected as a LexisNexis Top 25 Blog for 2010.
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| top 10 bizarre cases for 2010 | |
 Back by popular demand! Find out what made the annual list in this blog post written by Thomas A. Robinson.
In 1987, when I first went to work for Arthur Larson, Emeritus Professor of Law at Duke, multi-talented author of countless journal articles and a number of books (e.g., two non-fiction best sellers in the 60s on the American political system), as well as his flagship, Larson's Workers' Compensation Law, I asked him what he liked about "our" subject. Without hesitation, he responded, "the facts." He said, "The law is interesting, but comp cases have some of the most unusual, quirky facts you'll ever run across." He added, "some cases are just plain bizarre. One always has to remember to approach the strange case with an appropriate level of respect; you're reading about real people, after all-real problems and real disputes. Nevertheless, some of the cases we stumble across are real 'zingers.'" ...
And so, in the spirit of Arthur and my former annual ritual, here follows my list (in no particular order) of 10 bizarre workers' compensation cases during 2010. Recognize, of course, that you may find merely curious the sorts of cases that strike me as manifestly weird, and vice versa. If you keep an annual list of your own, I'd love to hear from you. Send them to compwriter@gmail.com. > Read more. |
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| Larson's spotlight: 5 recent cases you should know about | |
Larson's Spotlight reports noteworthy workers' comp cases each week. This list was c ompiled by Thomas A. Robinson, a staff writer for Larson's Workers' Compensation Law, the nation's leading authority on workers' compensation law.
#1 - OH: Injured Worker's Termination for Refusing to Take Drug Test is Sustained
#2 - NV: Hotel Attendant's Tort Action Against Former Employer for Post-Termination Injuries May Proceed
#3 - NV: Notice of Claim for Work-Related Breast Cancer Found Timely in Spite of 8 Year Delay; Firefighter's Presumption Was Not Rebutted by Employer
#4 - VA: Employer's Voluntary Payment of Benefits Does Not Necessarily Create "De Facto" Award
#5 - IA: Possibility of Some Modest Improvement Does Not Mean Claimant Still Has Not Reached MMI Status
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| top 10 must-reads in the blogosphere & Beyond | |
 We recommend the following workers' comp-related articles recently posted in the Blogosphere and Beyond:
1. MSHA, Massey Energy Reach Settlement Agreement in Landmark Case, The DOL Newsletter - January 6, 2011.
2. NIOSH Completes Assessment of Occupational Exposure to Carbon Nanotubes and Nanofibers, posted by Occupational Health & Safety.
3. Six States to Watch on Health Reform, posted by Politico.
4. Mobile Phone Use May Influence Tinnitus, posted by Ramazzini; Blog on work and health.
5. Recapping 2010 and Looking Ahead to 2011, posted by Workers' Comp Insider Blog.
6. What's up for 2011 - predictions for work comp in the Next Year, posted by Joe Paduda on Managed Care Matters blog (January 2, 2011).
7. Legally Intoxicated Sanitation Worker Awarded Work Comp Benefits, posted by San Diego Workers' Compensation Blog, published by Law Office of Thomas M. DeBenedetto.
8. 2010 wrap-up and predictions for 2011, posted by The Official Medicare Set-Aside Blog, published by MEDVAL, LLC.
9. Cancer Survivors' and Employers' Perceptions of Working Following Cancer Treatment, by E.A. Grunfeld, et al., Occupational Medicine.
10. A Prospective Study of Work Stressors and the Common Cold, by S.G. Park, et al., Occupational Medicine. |
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| blog round up at the lexisnexis workers' compensation law community |
 Workers' Comp Fraud Blotter - Recent Arrests, Charges, Convictions, Investigations - 1/6/2011. Read it.
 Vermont Workers' Compensation Update: October to December 2010, by Keith Kaspar. Read it.
 Permanency in Delaware: Rodgers is from Venus, Gelman from Mars, by Cassandra Roberts. Read it.
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| recent published scholarship | |
NEW FEATURE: This week we're surveying recent law review and journal articles. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the articles below within their subscriptions:
- Revolution in Pragmatist Clothing: Nationalizing Workplace Law, by Jeffrey M. Hirsch, 61 Ala. L. Rev. 1025.
- Third Party Settlements and Medicare, by Christine L. Hummel, 47 AZ Attorney 30.
- Square Peg in a Round Hole: Government Contractor Battlefield Tort Liability and the Political Question Doctrine, by Chris Jenks, 28 Berkeley J. Int'l L. 178.
- Medicare Myths: What Every Trial Lawyer Should Know About the MSP & Liability Medicare Set Asides, by Jason D. Lazarus, 84 Fla. Bar J. 46.
- Asserting the Workers' Compensation Exclusive Remedy Bar After McCracken, by Joseph H. Guffy & Nathan D. Sturycz, 66 J. Mo. B. 206.
- Fool Me Once, Shame on Me; Fool Me again and You're Gonna Pay for It: An Analysis of Medicare's New Reporting Requirements for Primary Payers and the Stiff Penalties Associated With Noncompliance, by Brent M. Timberlake & Monica A. Stahly, 45 U. Rich. L. Rev. 119.
- Tennessee's Workers' Compensation Law: When Does an Employee Return to Work for the Pre-Injury Employer? by Robert D. Meyers & Eileen Kuo, 46 Tenn. B.J. 22.
- "Show Me the Pain": Limitations and Pitfalls of Medical Imaging of the Low Back, by Jack E. Hubbard, Ph.D., M.D. & Samuel D. Hodge, Jr., J.D., 14 Mich. St. J. Med. & Law 129.
- The Importance of Accurate Injury Descriptions in Notices of Compensation Payable, by Thomas R. Bond & Hannah L. Hubler, 81 PA Bar Assn. Quarterly 34.
- Independent Contractor or Employee?: Getting It Wrong Can Be Costly, by Debbie Whittle Durban, 21 S. Carolina Lawyer 31.
- The Insurance Policy as Social Instrument and Social Institution, by Jeffrey W. Stempel, 51 Wm and Mary L. Rev. 1489.
Find out more about how to become a Lexis.com subscriber by contacting: Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com. |
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- Rebecca Shafer, JD, President, Amaxx Risk Solutions, Inc. Read her complete review at Workers Comp Kit Blog.
There are many people who don't understand that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' approval process of a Medicare set-aside arrangement is voluntary and carries  an inherent cost. In fact, many of the decisions that need to be made in a settlement negotiation are risk management decisions rather than being truly Medicare Secondary Payer-oriented. Once you understand why CMS wants what it wants, you will realize that its preference may not be the only way to achieve MSP compliance. The Complete Guide to Medicare Secondary Payer Compliance, Jennifer C. Jordan, Editor-in-Chief, will help you take control of your insurance settlements. > Read more about the contents (1,350 pages). List Price: $179
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 | New! 2010 Edition -
Call 800-833-9844 |
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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: Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.
Use of False Social Security Number Nixes Compensation Claim. A Florida court ruled that the workers' use of a false social security number at a hospital, at a pharmacy, and to a claims investigator was sufficient to disqualify him from receiving benefits [see Arreola v. Administrative Concepts, 17 So. 3d 792, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 11323 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009); Ch. 66, § 66.03[3][c] n24.1]. A judge of compensation claims denied benefits on the ground that the claimant had violated § 440.105, Fla. Stat. (2006) by providing a false Social Security number shortly after the accident when he was taken by ambulance to the hospital, at a pharmacy when obtaining prescription medication, and on the telephone in an interview between the claimant and the employer and carrier's investigator. The appellate court affirmed, stating that the evidence supported these findings. Although the claimant asserted that he presented the number solely as a means of identification and lacked the requisite intent to obtain benefits, this was a question of fact for the JCC to determine, and the JCC simply did not accept his account. The appellate court acknowledged that illegal aliens were covered by the Florida Workers' Compensation Law pursuant to § 440.02(15)(a), Fla. Stat. (2006); however, they had to comply with the statute to obtain its benefits. The statute required everyone to be truthful, responsive, and complete.
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