Worker’s Compensation › Civil Procedure › Personal Injury

West Virginia Supreme Court Approves Impairment Tables

Case Report - Gore v. WVOIC and Boone County Parks & Recreation Comm’n, (W.Va. 3/28/2013) - On March 28, 2013, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issued a decision supporting the ranges of permanent...more

Weekly Law Resume - March 28, 2013: Civil Procedure – Summary Judgment – Judicial Estoppel

Diane Marie Minish v. Hanuman Fellowship et al. - Court of Appeal, Sixth District (February 25, 2013) - The doctrine of judicial estoppel precludes a party from obtaining an advantage by asserting one position, and...more

I’ll Take “Not A Vessel” for $600, Alex: What Is A Tension Leg Platform?

In the wake of the revisited tests of vessel status by the Supreme Court in Stewart vs. Dutra Construction Company, 543 U.S. 481 (2005) and Lozman v. City of Riviera Beach, Fla., 133 S.Ct. 735 (2013), it remains to be seen...more

Jurgens And Bercaw Establish A Tension Leg Platform Is Not A Vessel

Jack Jurgens and Jim Bercaw succeeded in obtaining a partial summary judgment from District Judge Lance M. Africk that the MATTERHORN SEASTAR, a floating tension leg platform (“TLP”) secured to the Outer Continental Shelf off...more

Workplace Injuries: Intentional Tort Claims in Ohio Are (Nearly) Dead in the Water

The Ohio Supreme Court delivered another blow to injured workers who attempt to skirt Ohio's workers' compensation system by pursuing a remedy for their injuries in court. On the heels of another opinion1 narrowly...more

California Workers' Compensation Statute Held Not to Support a Common Law Tort Claim

California Labor Code section 132a, the anti-retaliation provision of the state workers' compensation statute, has commonly been used to support a tort claim for wrongful termination in violation of public policy. Plaintiffs...more

Supreme Court Defines Scope of "Power Press" Exception to Work Comp Exclusive Remedy Rule

In its August 20, 2012 decision in LeFiell Manufacturing Company v. Superior Court, the California Supreme Court held that an injured employee’s spouse is not allowed to pursue a claim for loss of consortium in the employee’s...more

A Willful OSHA Violation Insufficient to Circumvent The Workers' Compensation Act's Bar on Lawsuit Against Employer

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that a willful violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) standards, without other evidence of an employer’s intentional conduct, is insufficient to...more

Bill That Could Nullify Howell Moves Forward

California trial lawyers have made no secret of their intent to nullify the Howell v. Hamilton Meats & Provisions, Inc. decision with new legislation this year. If Howell is nullified or restricted by legislation this...more

Collateral Source Rule Does Not Preclude Introducing "Negotiated Rates" of Past Medical Costs in Workers' Compensation Benefits...

In Lydia Sanchez v. Darrell G. Brooke, et. al., (March 8, 2012, B224835), California's Court of Appeal, Second District, acknowledged and extended the recent California Supreme Court decision in Howell v. Hamilton Meats &...more

Why It Pays to "Visualize an Injury" for Mediation or Trial

In litigation, it’s one thing to talk about an injury in dry medical terms, and quite a different and more powerful thing to show what actually happened anatomically at the time of injury. In a personal injury case, attorneys...more

Texas S.Ct.: Workers Comp Carriers Not Subject to Statutory Unfair Claims Settlement Practices Claims

In a ground-breaking decision, the Texas Supreme Court today decided that workers compensation insurers are not subject to "bad faith" claims for unfair claims settlement practices under the Texas Insurance Code. The...more

Supreme Court Rules for Foreign Firms in Accident Cases

A man from New Jersey lost his for fingers in a workplace accident on a metal-cutting machine. The workplace was also in New Jersey, an American manufacturer, but the maker of the metal – cutting machine was a British firm....more

Pa. Supreme Court to Address Exclusivity of Pa. Workers' Compensation Act in Asbestos Cases

The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania recently accepted petitions for allowance of appeal in two similar cases—Landis v. A.W. Chesterton Co.1 and Tooey v. AK Steel Corp.2—to address whether the exclusivity provision in the...more

Extraordinary Writs Newsletter, Vol. 1, Issue 1

Extraordinary Writs is a newsletter published by Jordan Coyne & Savits LLP covering recent developments concerning civil litigation defense in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia....more

Man who lost genitals in industrial accident sues two companies

A Florida man has filed third-party liability claims against a carpet cushion company and an industrial machine manufacturer. He was working as a contractor at the carpet cushion company when his genitals were sliced off in...more

The New World of Work

What are the trends going to be for personnel management in the years to come? From an employment law point of view, how will companies and employees relate to each other in these changing times? These questions were central...more

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission Ruling Reviewed by Court

Help at Home v. The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, No. 4-09-0977 WC, is a case in which the appellant challenged the Circuit Court of Morgan County’s decision in regard to the Illinois Workers’ Compensation...more

Widow of NM Police Officer Is Denied Workers' Comp Death Benefits

In August 2002, a 12-year-old boy was swimming in the upper Rio Grande river in New Mexico during a church event when he suddenly slipped below the surface of the water. Kevin Schultz, an off-duty officer from the nearby town...more

Where Will Oil Spill Work Injury & Wrongful Death Cases Be Tried?

The Gulf Oil Spill -- the largest oil spill and one of the largest industrial accidents in history -- has already resulted in hundreds of lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages. Wrongful death and workers'...more

Illinois Workers’ Compensation ad Third Party Claims Attorneys

Under state workers’ compensation laws, employees who are injured at work are barred from suing their employers for compensation for their injuries. Workers are limited to the compensation that is available under the workers’...more

Camelio v. Powers

Memorandum and order denying defendant's second motion for summary judgment

Plaintiff was injured while helping his boss after work hours install a satellite dish at his boss's home. Defendant filed two motions for summary judgment arguing that the suit was barred by the exclusivity provisions of the...more

Georgia Reimbursement: After the Accident

After a person is injured and medical bills are paid by a health insurance company (either partially or fully), the health insurance company generally has the legal authority to go after the wrongdoer for the medical bills...more

How To Recover For Mental Injuries Under The Alabama Workers' Compensation Law

For an employee to recover for psychological or mental injuries, the employee must have suffered a physical injury to the body and the physical injury must be a proximate case of the psychological injury. The test to be...more

Lawyers Hiring Lawyers - A Reasonable Disbursement?

Article by BC Personal Injury Lawyer Erik Magraken discussing disbursements in personal injury lawsuits, particularly whether it is reasonable to hire an additional lawyer to deal with a WCAT...more