Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is a leading commentator and expert on the law of workers' compensation.
Alabama: Compensation for Loss of Scheduled Member Exclusive Unless Effects of Injury Interfere With Body's Efficiency. Citing an earlier decision by the Supreme Court of Alabama wherein the state high court adopted "the Larson rule" regarding schedule allowances-that if the effects of the loss of the member extend to other parts of the body and interfere with their efficiency, the schedule allowance for the "lost member" is not exclusive and the claimant may be awarded disability for impairment to the body as a whole...read more.
Missouri: Employee Need Not Show Comp Claim Was Exclusive Factor in Retaliatory Firing. A divided Supreme Court of Missouri held that in order to make a submissible case for retaliatory discharge under § 287.780 R.S.Mo., an employee must demonstrate that his or her filing of a workers' compensation claim was a "contributing factor" to the employer's discrimination or the employee's discharge....read more.
Federal: Widow's Wrongful Death Action Against Employer for Husband's Exposure to Harmful Substances May Be Removed to Federal Court. Construing Missouri law, a federal district court held that a widow, who alleged her husband died as a result of exposure to a variety of harmful substances while he worked for the defendant manufacturing firm, had alleged common law tort liability; her claim did not "arise under" the state's workers' compensation law and, therefore, could be removed by the defendant to federal court in spite of...read more.
Nebraska: Recreational Drug User Entitled to Inpatient Care to Treat Worsening Drug Problem Following Robbery and Work-Related Shooting. A retail employee, who was shot multiple times by assailants who had returned to the store in apparent retaliation for the employee's reporting of an earlier robbery to police, and who developed PTSD as a result of the incident, was appropriately awarded medical and disability benefits for his PTSD condition...read more.
Quality "Continuum of Care" for Worst Case Lumbar Patients
Measured by such yardsticks as return-to-work, work retention and reoperation rates, the success of lumbar surgeries in the Workers' Compensation system could be fairly characterized as mixed. This, combined with the reality that lumbar spine surgery rates have been increasing, makes particularly intriguing a recent study suggesting improved outcomes where patients participate in a comprehensive "continuum of care" which includes quality postoperative rehabilitation....
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