Magnifying Glass

Suspension, not Dismissal, Applies to Utah Claimants who Obstruct IMEs
Suspension, not Dismissal, Applies to Utah Claimants who Obstruct IMEs

Case File Suspension of a workers' compensation claim during the period in which the claimant fails to cooperate is the only available sanction when an employee obstructs an Independent Medical Examination. The Utah Supreme Court […]
Mass. Top Court Orders Insurance Commissioner to Explain 14.6% Workers’ Comp Rate Cut
Mass. Top Court Orders Insurance Commissioner to Explain 14.6% Workers’ Comp Rate Cut

Case File Although the Massachusetts insurance commissioner was entitled to depart from WCRIB's ratemaking methodology, he failed to adequately explain how he arrived at a 14.6% rate decrease. Case Workers' Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau […]
Increased Risk from Work Environment Makes Shooting Compensable: Florida Supreme Court
Increased Risk from Work Environment Makes Shooting Compensable: Florida Supreme Court

Case File When is a workplace assault compensable under Florida's Workers' Compensation Law? When the work environment exposes the worker to an increased risk of assault. Case Bouayad v. Normandy Ins. Co., No. SC2023-1576 (Fla. […]
Miss. Court Puts Brakes on Bad Faith Claim of Driver who Tried to Stop Theft
Miss. Court Puts Brakes on Bad Faith Claim of Driver who Tried to Stop Theft

Case File The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi held that a workers' compensation claimant must fully exhaust all administrative remedies before filing a bad faith or breach of good faith and […]
Georgia Employers Bear Burden of Proving Exclusivity Rule Protects them from Tort Suit
Georgia Employers Bear Burden of Proving Exclusivity Rule Protects them from Tort Suit

Case File The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that the exclusive remedy provision of the state’s Workers' Compensation Act is an affirmative defense -- not a matter of subject-matter jurisdiction. This means that the […]
District Court had Jurisdiction to Vacate Compensation Court Award, says Neb. Top Court
District Court had Jurisdiction to Vacate Compensation Court Award, says Neb. Top Court

Case File A Nebraska statute spelling out that compensation court judgments and awards have the "same force and effect as a judgment" and that "all proceedings in relation thereto shall ... be the same as […]
Forfeiture of Workers’ Comp Benefits for Fraud in La. Applies Post-Misrepresentation Only
Forfeiture of Workers’ Comp Benefits for Fraud in La. Applies Post-Misrepresentation Only

Case File When a workers' compensation claimant indulges in fraud, he forfeits his right to obtain benefits, but is the forfeiture retroactive or only after the misrepresentation was made? Case Cousain v. Smitty's Supply, Inc., […]
Iowa Top Court Clears Up AMA Guides Question
Iowa Top Court Clears Up AMA Guides Question

Case File The Iowa Supreme Court applied the AMA Guides to clarify that the impairment value for a distal clavicle excision didn't get the 25% multiplier from Table 16-18. Case Klein v. Whirlpool Corp., No. […]