Vol. 7, Issue 1

Find Solutions & Strategies January 4, 2016

Top 10 Bizarre Workers' Comp Cases for 2015

How would your state have ruled in these cases?

In This Issue

- TOP 10 BIZARRE CASES

- NEW ALJ REGULATIONS

- LARSON'S: Maximum Medical Improvement, Employee Status, Going and Coming Rule, Statutory Employer

- NATIONAL & STATE NEWS

- eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Happy New Year

Workers' Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis
2015 Edition ... Order Today!

the Top 10 bizarre workers' comp cases for 2015

By Thomas A. Robinson, co-author Larson's Workers' Compensation Law

Last November, I had the pleasure of speaking at the 24th Annual National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference in Las Vegas. My session was a spin-off of what has become one of my most popular annual blog offerings--a presentation of truly bizarre workers' compensation cases decided during the year. As I mentioned in Las Vegas, my bizarre case blog is, in many respects, a reenactment of a tradition that my mentor, Arthur Larson, and I shared prior to his death some years ago. Each January, Arthur and I would meet in Arthur's home on Learned Place, near Duke University's campus and review our respective lists of unusual or bizarre workers' compensation cases reported during the previous 12 months. One thing we always kept in mind: while a case might be bizarre in an academic sense, it was intensely real. It affected real lives and real families. And so, to continue in the spirit of that January ritual, here follows my list (in no particular order) of 10 (plus a bonus) bizarre workers' compensation cases for 2015...read it.

about time! new alj regulations finally final

By Thomas C. Fitzhugh, III, Fitzhugh & Elliott, P.C., Houston, TX

The comment period for proposed new regulations for ALJ proceedings closed more than two years ago. For months we were promised that the new rules would be forthcoming "soon." In May the final rules were published, and they became effective in June. While intended for all OALJ proceedings, they represent a significant change in pre-trial practice for longshore attorneys. Among these changes are changes to initial disclosures, changes to discovery, and enhanced requirements for expert testimony. In the docketing order, an ALJ may require parties to confer and submit a discovery plan upon notice of docketing by an ALJ. The ALJ can require this meeting to be in person, although most should occur by phone...read more.

LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT CASES

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is the co-author of Larson's Workers' Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

Missouri: Claimant May Be Awarded TTD Benefits Even After Maximum Medical Improvement. Indicating that it was "not eliminating the concept of maximum medical improvement from the workers' compensation lexicon," the Supreme Court of Missouri held that...read more.

Illinois: City Water Meter Reader Is Employee and Not Independent Contractor. A water meter reader was an employee of the city and not an independent contractor where it exercised considerable control over her labor...read more.

South Carolina: Recreation Superintendent's Accident Retrieving Keys Did Not Arise Out of and In the Course of Employment. A former Superintendent of the Parks and Recreation Department for the City of Spartanburg was not in the course and scope of his employment when...read more.

Federal: Non-Operating Partner in Joint Venture Qualified as Statutory Employer of Injured Worker. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a non-operating partner in a joint-venture qualifies as a "statutory employer," as that term is used in the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Act, even though...read more.

WCRI Annual Issues Conference

national & state news

ProPublica Examines Power, Wealth of Middlemen at Workers Comp Conferences.

CDC Reports Increase in Drug, Opioid Overdose Deaths in U.S. 2000-2014.

CDC Accepting Comments for Proposed Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain.

NIOSH Examines Troubling Statistics on Opioid Overdose Epidemic.

NPR Reports on 'Third Wave' of Asbestos Disease in the U.S.

Expert Details How Affordable Care Act Is Expanding Into Workers' Compensation.

AZ: ICA Solicits RFQ for Qualified Vendor List for Medical Peer Review Services.

AZ: ICA Adds Medical Resource Office to Website.

CA: DWC Posts Mileage Rate Effective 1-1-2016.

CA: Federal Judge Bars Uber From Imposing New Contract on Drivers in Class Action Suit.

CA: WCIRB Releases Report on Q3 Insurer Experience.

CA: Bill Would Allow Gig Workers to Collectively Bargain With Company.

CA: 9 Arrested in $24M Scheme to Allegedly Defaud 230 WC Insurers for Interpreter Services.

CA: DIR Publishes 2015 Legislative Report.

CA: DWC, Sedgwick Reach Settlement on Recent Audit of Medical Treatment Requests.

CO: Pinnacol Assurance Seeks to Expand Colorado Borders.

CO: Governor Announces Appointments to Special Funds Board for WC Self Insurers.

DE: Workers Comp Oversight Panel Votes for 7% Fee Schedule Reduction.

DE: Head Case: Some Funky Permanencies and a Disfigurement Admonishment.

DE: Referral of Medical Treatment for UR Concedes Causation in Delaware.

DE: Delaware IAB Addresses Claims of Narcotic-related Tooth Decay.

DE: The Intoxication Defense Is Upheld in Delaware.

FL: DWC to Amend Process to Resolve Disputes Between Carriers & Health Care Providers.

FL: Florida Supreme Court Delivers Coup de Gras to Padgett.

IN: WCB Posts 2016 Second Injury Fund Recommendation Report and Certificates.

IA: High Court Says Discovery Rule Applies to Single Trauma Injuries.

KY: Governor Appoints Lawmaker Pullin to Administrative Law Judge Position.

ME: Insurance Bureau Updates Rules for Accepting Reinsurance of WC Self-Insurance.

MA: WCRIBMA Submits Filing for Workers Comp Rate Hike.

MI: WCA Posts 2016 Maximum Weekly Benefit Rate.

MN: Governor Reappoints Gary M. Hall to Workers Compensation Court of Appeals.

MT: Actress Laura Dern Plays Attorney Dealing With Violence by Angry Injured Worker.

NE: Injured Worker Failed to Establish Spinal Cord Stimulator Was Reasonable/Necessary.

NV: NCCI Analyzes Proposed Changes to Nevada Medical Fee Schedule.

NV: DIR Proposes Revised Rules for Industrial Insurance, Claim Files, Voc Rehab, Etc.

NJ: Assault by Coeemployee Not Compensable But Rooted in Pyramid Investment Scheme.

NJ: Cancer Presumption Bill Passes Both Houses.

NJ: Court Finds No Discrimination Against Injured Worker Fired for Lack of Available Work.

NJ: Court Finds Popping Incident in Low Back While Walking Not Work Related.

NM: Businesses Plan to Push Legislation Against Injured Workers Intoxicated on the Job.

NY: Governor's Task Force to Investigate 450 Cases of Worker Exploitation.

NY: WCB Posts Newly Authorized Health Care Providers.

NY: WCB Posts Changes to List of Authorized Health Care Providers.

NC: Legislature Approves 10 Rules Adopted by IC.

OH: BWC Says Ohio Employers Share Over $7.8M in Safety Rebates.

OR: WCD Issues Final Rule on Employer/Insurer Coverage Responsibility.

OR: WCD Corrects Hospital Fee Schedule Adjusted Cost-to-Charge Ratios.

OR: WCD Posts New Mileage Rate, Lodging and Meal Rates.

OR: WCD Provides Guidance on HB 2797 Timely First Payment of Time Loss.

SC: WCC Posts Latest Maximum Weekly Compensation Rate.

SC: WCC Approves 22 Applications to Self-Insure for Workers Comp.

SD: Bullene Appointed to Workers' Cop Advisory Council, Replaces Haase.

TN: BWC Posts Final Draft of Drug Formulary, Medical Treatment Guidelines.

TX: DWC Revises Request for Travel Reimbursement Form.

TX: Texas Mutual, Travis County DA Reach New Agreement on Fraud Funding.

VA: SCC Approves WC Rate Increase Eff. 4-1-2016.

WA: Seattle Votes to Allow Uber and Lyft Drivers to Unionize.

WV: Supreme Court Reports Continuing Decline in Workers Comp Case Load in 2014.

WI: Lawmakers File Bill to Limit Workers Comp Benefits, Shorten Limitations Period.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Take a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2015 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.

December 14, 2015: Occupational Death by Machine.
December 7, 2015: Alarming Mortality and Morbidity Trend; Implications for Ability to Work.
November 30, 2015: Silicosis Plagues Construction, Fracking, Countertop Workers.
November 23, 2015: Paris Tragedy Reminds Us That Workplace Violence Is a Serious Risk.
November 16, 2015: Will 2016 Be the Year That Opt Out Legislation Catches Fire?

ACCESS ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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