Monthly Archives: April 2015

Oklahoma High Court Refuses to Fast-Track Case Challenging Constitutionality of Workers’ Compensation Opt Out Law

Posted on April 29, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

Yesterday (April 28, 2015), the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, in a 7–2 vote, declined to assume original jurisdiction in a civil action challenging the constitutionality of the state’s new and controversial law that allows employers to “opt out” of the … Continue reading →

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Arkansas Court Approves Award of Additional Medical Expenses Related to ER Visit Six Months After Initial Injury

Posted on April 28, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

An Arkansas appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that an employee was entitled to additional medical benefits when, some six months after an ankle injury, he presented to an emergency room complaining of shortness of … Continue reading →

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Who’s “Opting Out” of Workers’ Comp—Employers or the States Themselves?

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

Recent Federal District Court Discusses ERISA’s Strong Preemption Provisions As I have noted on multiple other occasions, one of the distinctive features of the workers’ compensation “opt out” scheme is the employer’s establishment of an employee benefit plan (“EBP”) that … Continue reading →

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Virgin Islands: Going and Coming—Is Break Taken to Run Errands a “Lunch” Break

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

In what Professor Larson would have referred to as an “upside-down” exclusivity case—where the employee tries to prove that her injuries were not covered by the applicable workers’ compensation law in order that she might instead pursue a tort action … Continue reading →

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West Virginia High Court Crafts Narrow Exception to 6-Month Statute of Limitations in Death Claims

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that where a claimant delays the filing of a workers’ compensation death benefits claim because she was unaware, and could not have learned through reasonable diligence, that her husband’s cause of … Continue reading →

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SC Court Signals That Uber Business Model Probably OK in the Palmetto State

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

E-businesses like Uber and Lyft, which utilize smartphone or tablet apps to connect passengers and drivers with vehicles for hire are beginning to carve out a niche within the economy. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Uber/Lyft business … Continue reading →

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West Virginia Employee’s Unexplained Fall Was Idiopathic And Not Compensable

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

In a memorandum decision, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to an employee who suffered a dislocation of his left knee and a tear of the meniscal cartilage while at work, … Continue reading →

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PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania appellate court held that a claimant, whose purported husband had been killed in a work-related rollover accident at a ski resort, had presented clear and convincing evidence that the couple had joined in a common-law marriage … Continue reading →

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Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset

Posted on April 9, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

The 6.5% assessment, payable by a Maryland employer or insurer to the state’s Subsequent Injury Fund on: (i) each award for permanent disability or death, or (ii) each amount payable a settlement agreement approved by the Workers’ Compensation Commission, must … Continue reading →

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Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment

Posted on April 8, 2015 by Thomas A. Robinson

A hospital nurse, who fractured her humerus in a fall in her employer’s emergency room when her coat apparently became ensnarled in a wheelchair, did not sustain an injury arising out of and in the course of the employment, held … Continue reading →

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