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Handwritten Notes Fail to Preserve Insurer’s Second Injury Fund Claim: N.H. Top Court
Handwritten Notes Fail to Preserve Insurer’s Second Injury Fund Claim: N.H. Top Court

Case File While an insurer included handwritten notations on two memoranda of payment identifying concurrent employment wages, the New Hampshire Supreme Court found the notations insufficient to constitute notice of a potential claim against the […]
Did Tweak to Safety Guard Leading to Finger Amputation Point to Tort Action?
Did Tweak to Safety Guard Leading to Finger Amputation Point to Tort Action?

What Do You Think? Can adjusting a safety guard on a piece of equipment ever constitute an intentional act, thus exposing an employer to personal injury claims? A case involving a worker for a box […]
Did Seeing 4 Physicians Comply with Illinois’ 2-Physician Rule?
Did Seeing 4 Physicians Comply with Illinois’ 2-Physician Rule?

What Do You Think? Does two plus two ever equal two? In Illinois, it may. Illinois employers and workers compensation carriers need to know about the “the two physicians” rule. A recent case involving a […]
Costco Worker’s Injury Notches TTD Benefits Thanks to Credible Medical Evidence
Costco Worker’s Injury Notches TTD Benefits Thanks to Credible Medical Evidence

Case File Because substantial credible evidence supported the compensation judge's finding that the work injury exacerbated the worker's knee symptoms, the Appellate Division affirmed an award of medical and temporary disability benefits. Case Munoz v. […]
Did Icy Freezer Floor let Worker Skate into Court with Tort Lawsuit?
Did Icy Freezer Floor let Worker Skate into Court with Tort Lawsuit?

What Do You Think? A company allegedly fails to fix a leak in a warehouse freezer section, turning it into an “ice skating rink.” Predictably, one of its employees falls and seriously injures himself. That […]
Exclusive Remedy in Alaska
Exclusive Remedy in Alaska

State Snapshot BASIC RULE In Alaska, workers’ compensation is an employee’s sole legal remedy for a work-related injury. Alaska Statutes § 23.30.055. This is the “exclusiveness of liability” provision (or “exclusive liability” provision). The rule […]
Dependency at Time of Injury, not Resulting Death, Determines Right to Survivor’s Benefits in Maine
Dependency at Time of Injury, not Resulting Death, Determines Right to Survivor’s Benefits in Maine

Case File The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine held that eligibility for workers' compensation death benefits hinges on dependency at the time of the injury, not at the time of death. Because the statute does […]
Statutory Employment Status Sinks La. Plant Workers’ Tort Claim for Smashed-Hand Injury
Statutory Employment Status Sinks La. Plant Workers’ Tort Claim for Smashed-Hand Injury

Case File A worker's hand was crushed by a 2,500-pound check valve during a plant turnaround project. Could he avoid Louisiana workers' compensation exclusivity by alleging an intentional tort and suing the plant owner? Case […]