California Court Says Dual Capacity Exception Does Not Apply in Wrongful Death Action Against Employer

Medical Marijuana Within the Context of Workers’ Compensation Claims

Florida Court Agrees Firefighter Not Entitled to Reimbursement for Back Surgery

A Florida appellate court has affirmed a decision of a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) holding that an injured firefighter was not entitled to reimbursement for additional surgical expenses related...

MN Supreme Court Says No to Mandatory Reimbursement for Medical Marijuana

In two companion decisions, a divided Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) lacks jurisdiction to decide whether federal law preempts Minnesota law...

MN High Court Says Injured Worker Failed to Establish Exception Allowing Long-Term Opioid Use

In a carefully crafted decision dealing with a chronic problem both within and without the workers’ compensation world—long-term opioid use—the Supreme Court of Minnesota held an injured workers treatment with...

PA Claimant’s Benefits Terminated: 18 Months of Home Remedies Did Not Constitute Medical Treatment

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court held a WCJ appropriately relied upon the medical opinion of the employer’s examining physician in which the doctor opined that the workers’ compensation claimant had made...

Illinois Act Provides No Penalties for Delay in Authorizing Medical Treatment

An Illinois appellate court affirmed an order of a county circuit court that, in turn, confirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission reversing an award of attorney fees...

Iowa Claimant Allowed Alternate Treatment in Spite of Employer’s IME Request

In a proverbial “battle of the statutes,” an Iowa appellate court held that, under the facts of the case, a workers’ compensation decision granting a claimant’s application for alternate medical...

Alabama Employer’s Actions After Injury Might Result in Tort Liability

Where an injured worker asserted claims based on additional injuries that he alleged arose from conduct that occurred following his workplace injury (he alleged, inter alia, that after he suffered a...

NY Court Hints that Employer Might be Required to Pay for Medical Marijuana

In the first appellate decision from New York to deal with the intersection of the state’s medical marijuana law with its Workers’ Compensation Law, a state appellate court recently held...

NC Worker May Proceed in Tort Against Employer and Plant Nurse for Negligent Treatment

A North Carolina worker, who alleged that he was negligently diagnosed and treated by his employer’s plant nurse after suffering a stroke at work, may proceed in tort against that...

NY’s Medical Treatment Guidelines Apply to Out-of-State Providers Treating Nonresident Claimants

In a decision that could have significant repercussions for a number of claimants under the New York Workers’ Compensation Law, a state appellate court affirmed a decision of the Workers’...