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Category Archives: Issue commentary
Florida Legislature Approves PTSD Coverage for First Responders
Earlier this month, the Florida Senate and House both unanimously passed Senate Bill 376, so as generally to allow workers’ compensation benefits for first responders who suffer PTSD as a result of their work. The coverage protection, which treats PTSD … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary, Legislation
Tagged AOE/COE, first responder, Florida, mental injury, PTSD
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Is the Wall Strong Enough?
Recent Air Ambulance Decisions Hint that McCarran-Ferguson Insurance Barrier to Federal Involvement in Workers’ Comp May Be Decaying Two recent court decisions, one from Texas [PHI Air Med., LLC v. Tex. Mut. Ins. Co., 2018 Tex. App. LEXIS 849 (3rd … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary
Tagged business of insurance, federal intervention, insurance, McCarran-Ferguson, state-control, workers' compensation
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New Study Says Employer-Directed Choice of MD May Actually Increase Overall Claim Costs
Employer-Controlled Medical Care Drives Claimants to Attorneys, Erasing Savings in Medical Costs A common mantra from the employer-carrier side of the workers’ compensation world goes something like this, “If you really want to gain control of claim costs, you need … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary
Tagged attorney involvement, claims costs, empirical study, JOEM, lost time injuries, medical care, physician choice
Comments Off on New Study Says Employer-Directed Choice of MD May Actually Increase Overall Claim Costs
Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just Beneficial
Virginia Employer Need Not Provide Specialized “Running Blade” Prosthesis While all but a few American jurisdictions require employers to provide medical benefits that are essentially unlimited in terms of duration and amount [see e.g., Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law (“Larson”) § … Continue reading
Posted in Case comment, Issue commentary
Tagged amputation, medical benefits, prosthesis, reasonable and necessary, Virginia
Comments Off on Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just Beneficial
Virginia Case Shows “On-the-Job” Injuries May Not be Compensable
The phrase is used quite often, even by attorneys: “He [or she] was hurt ‘on-the-job.’” The typical implication is that a worker who sustains an “on-the-job” injury deserves workers’ compensation benefits. Such use of imprecise language leads many claimants to … Continue reading
Posted in Case comment, Issue commentary
Tagged actual risk, AOE/COE, arising out of employment, back injury, on-the-job, positional risk, Virginia
Comments Off on Virginia Case Shows “On-the-Job” Injuries May Not be Compensable
2017’s Top 10 Workers’ Compensation Cases
During September of each of the past five years, my colleague, Robin Kobayashi, and I have pulled together a volume entitled, Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis. Annually published by LexisNexis®, it is a compendium of expert analysis and commentary highlighting … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary
Tagged AMA Guides, apportionment, choice of pharmacy, constitutional, impairment, important cases, maximum benefits, medical benefits, Top 10, undocumented workers
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Bob Wilson May Have a “Cluttered Desk;” His Prediction of Opt Out Reprise is Spot On!
What if Employers Are Willing to Give Up Exclusive Remedy Defense? In his typically lucid and engaging style, Bob Wilson mused in his post this morning that the employer opt out movement in workers’ compensation law isn’t dead; it’s only … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary
Tagged Exclusive Remedy, nonsubscribing employer, Oklahoma, opt in, opt out, Texas
Comments Off on Bob Wilson May Have a “Cluttered Desk;” His Prediction of Opt Out Reprise is Spot On!
Pennsylvania High Court Strikes Down Use of “Most Recent” AMA Guides
In a highly anticipated decision, Protz v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Derry Area Sch. Dist.), 2017 Pa. LEXIS 1401 (June 20, 2017), a split Supreme Court of Pennsylvania yesterday held that the provision, found in Section 306(a.2) of the state’s Workers’ … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary
Tagged AMA Guides, constitutional, delegation, impairment, most recent edition, Pennsylvania
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Those Holding Their Breath for Arkansas Opt Out Legislation Can Exhale
I should have noted this earlier, but anyone still holding his or her breath as to whether Arkansas might pass workers’ compensation opt out legislation during the Legislature’s 2017 session can now officially exhale. As I indicated here and here, … Continue reading
Posted in Issue commentary
Tagged Arkansas, opt out
Comments Off on Those Holding Their Breath for Arkansas Opt Out Legislation Can Exhale
Commentary: How Equitable is Florida’s New PTSD Coverage?
What Does Florida Have Against Teachers and Bartenders? As I posted Monday [click here to view that post], a bill to extend relatively broad PTSD coverage to Florida’s first responders was passed unanimously by both state houses earlier in March. … Continue reading →
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