Monthly Archives: March 2017

Arkansas Opt-Out Bill: The Devil’s in the Details

Posted on March 29, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

Only There Aren’t any Details—at Least Not Yet Lately, I’ve seen a number of news items indicating that the Arkansas Legislature is considering an opt-out arrangement for its workers’ compensation system. The implication is that Senate Bill 653, introduced March … Continue reading →

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Employer-Provided Motel Room Insufficient to Transform Georgia Worker into Traveling Employee

Posted on March 15, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

Reiterating that Georgia Superior Courts are required to give appropriate deference to the factual findings of the Appellate Division of the Board of Workers’ Compensation, the Court of Appeals of Georgia, in a split decision, reversed a trial court’s finding … Continue reading →

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Worker’s Fall Was Not Idiopathic, in Spite of Opinion Offered by IME

Posted on March 14, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

In an unpublished decision, an Arizona appellate court found that the evidence in the record supported an ALJ’s award of workers’ compensation benefits to an office worker who sustained a compound fracture of her left forearm when, as she was … Continue reading →

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Airport Luggage Transport Driver Recovers Under Personal Comfort Doctrine

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

A Pittsburgh International Airport airport employee, whose job consisted of driving a luggage transport “tug,” and who sustained serious injuries when she flipped her tug as she traveled to one of the airport terminals to meet her mother—who was delivering … Continue reading →

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“Fore”: Country Club Locker Room Attendant Struck in Groin by Golf Club Shaft May Sue Co-Employee

Posted on March 13, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

A locker room attendant at a Queensbury country club, who had his left testicle surgically removed following a bizarre incident in which the attendant was struck in the groin by a golf club shaft wielded by the country club’s general … Continue reading →

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S.C. Supreme Court Says Return to Work Insufficient to Rebut Presumption of PTD Where Impairment to Back is Greater Than 50 Percent

Posted on March 9, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

Yesterday, in a divided decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, overruling an earlier decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, held that evidence of subsequent employment is insufficient by itself to rebut the presumption of permanent and total disability … Continue reading →

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Virginia Employer Proves Employee Was Intoxicated, But Still Loses Case

Posted on March 2, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently reiterated that in order to defeat a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, it is not enough to show that an employee was intoxicated at the time of his or her injury; the employer … Continue reading →

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$841,200 Fine Against Small Colorado Employer Was Unconstitutionally Excessive

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

While upholding the facial constitutionality of Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8–43–409, which provides for the imposition of fines against certain employers that fail to maintain workers’ compensation insurance, a Colorado appellate court nevertheless found that the imposition of a fine … Continue reading →

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Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies “Willful Misconduct” Doctrine

Posted on March 1, 2017 by Thomas A. Robinson

Reversing a decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia, in Telecom v. Burdette, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 103 (Feb. 27, 2017), held that while the mere violation of instructions or the mere doing of a hazardous … Continue reading →

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