Vol. 7, Issue 17

Find Solutions & Strategies April 25, 2016

New York Workers' Comp Trends

LHWCA: When Are Fee Petitions Due?

In This Issue

- NY WORKERS' COMP NEWS

- LHWCA FEE PETITIONS

- LARSON'S: Constitutionality, UIM Benefits, Notice of Injury, Return to Work

- NATIONAL & STATE NEWS

- eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

NEW YORK WORKERS' COMP

A Note From the Editor

new york workers' compensation trends and developments for 2015

New York Workers' Compensation Handbook, 2016 Edition, now available for purchase

Ronald E. Weiss, Esq. & Ronald Balter, Esq.

Many of the new developments in Workers' Compensation Law and Practice in New York in 2015 were in the area of administrative and regulatory changes resulting from the Workers' Compensation Board's Business Process Re-engineering Project (BPR). There were very few legislative developments, but the appellate courts handed down numerous decisions affecting almost all issues under the Workers' Compensation Law this past year. 2016 Update: Since the Foreword for the New York Workers' Compensation Handbook, 2016 Edition, was written, there frankly been more significant developments in workers' compensation in New York. The Governor proposed massive procedural and substantive "reforms" which have so far failed in the Legislature. The Board has implemented a desk decision procedure and new forms for Section 32 settlements. The Voluntary Binding Review process has also been implemented. Biggest news of all is that last week the Appellate Division 1st Department found....read more.

LHWCA: Do you know when your fee petition is due?

The rocky road untimely attorney's fee petitions travel

William Dorsey, Administrative Law Judge, Scott Hardy, Attorney Advisor, OALJ San Francisco

Attorney's fees and costs often are available under the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act (33 U.S.C.S. � 901 et seq.)to lawyers who successfully represent a "person seeking benefits" (usually but not always a worker) after an employer or its carrier denies requested benefits. Yet the Act doesn't set a date when...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).

Oklahoma: Commission May Rule on Specific Constitutional Issues. Oklahoma's Workers' Compensation Commission is appropriately empowered to determine whether a provision of the state's workers' compensation law [Title 85A] is being constitutionally applied to a particular party in a proceeding before...read more.

Federal: UIM Insurer May Not Offset Workers' Compensation Benefits Received by Plaintiff. Construing Colorado law, a federal district court held that in a suit to recover UIM benefits under an insurance policy issued to plaintiff by the defendant insurance company, evidence related to the plaintiff's prior recovery of medical expenses, wages, and...read more.

South Carolina: Statement to Employer That Employee Was "Pretty Sore" Constituted Notice of Injury. Evidence that one day after moving tires, rims and heavy frame equipment while cleaning his employer's shop, an auto body paint technician told the employer's owner that he was "pretty sore" and he "must have hurt [himself]," was sufficient to...read more.

Ohio: PTD Benefits Not Available to 90-Year-Old Since He Could Return to Work. In making its determination that a 90-year-old claimant was not permanently and totally disabled, the Industrial Commission was free to reject a report from claimant's vocational consultant in favor of its own analysis of relevant vocational factors...read more.

Workers' Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis

national & state news

Uber Seeks to Settle Employee Status Lawsuits for $100M; Judge to Review Terms.

CMS Releases April 2016 Version of WCMSA Reference Guide.

CA: DIR Reports 2014 Fatal Occupational Injuries.

CA: DWC Posts Workers' Comp Fact Sheets, Claim Form in Four Additional Languages.

CO: DWC to Conduct Annual Review of Surcharge.

CO: DWC Welcomes John Steininger, New Prehearing Judge.

CT: House Approves Firefighter Cancer Bill.

ME: Governor Signs Opioid Prescribing Reform Bill.

MA: Div. of Insurance Announces 1.5% Increase in Workers Comp Rates.

MI: House Committee Approves $3M to Cover Firefighter Cancer.

MT: DLI Proposes Amendments to Fee Schedule.

NY: WCB Posts List of Newly Authorized Health Care Providers.

NY: WCB Posts Revised List of Authorized Health Care Providers.

OH: Sarah Morrison Sworn In as Interim Administrator, CEO of BWC.

OH: Industrial Commission Posts Notice to Amend Procedural Rules.

PA: Governor Signs Medical Marijuana Bill.

SC: Senate Unanimously Confirms Susan Barden to Workers Comp Commission.

VT: Vermont Workers' Compensation Update January to March 2016 Released.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Take a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2016 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.

April 18, 2016: Physicians, Drug Companies Strike Back at Attempt to Curb Drug Costs.
April 11, 2016: Opt Out Lessons From the Lone Star State.
April 4, 2016: Sharing Economy's Impact on Workers' Compensation.
March 28, 2016: Opt Out Panels at WCRI Conference Sidestep Unresolved Issues.
March 21, 2016: Significant Increase in Fatal Benzodiazepine Overdoses.
ACCESS ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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