TX - Court Overturns Summary Judgment in Worker's Claim
12/04/2024 | 0
A Texas appellate court revived a worker’s claim for injuries from a car accident that happened while he was driving home in his work vehicle.
Jason Hart worked for Weatherford International LLC as a driver and field technician.
He worked at a Weatherford facility in Longview and various remote jobsites. Weatherford provided Hart with a pickup for work-related travel, including between his home and the Longview yard.
Hart was driving his work truck home from the yard in April 2017 when an oncoming driver veered into his lane, colliding with and severely injuring him.
Hart filed a wor...
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The Tennessee Court of Appeals revived a widow’s civil suit for a worker’s death against the property owner where the accident happened.
Case: Lowe v. Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC, No. M2023-01774-COA-R3-CV, 11/21/2024, published.
Facts: Beau Christopher Lowe worked for Cumberland Machine Co. Inc. as a millwright. Cumberland was an independent contractor of Bridgestone Americas Tire Operations LLC and had a dedicated space inside a Bridgestone plant where it repaired molds for the company.
While Lowe was at work in June 2020, a 2,200-pound tire mold fell on him....
A New York appellate court upheld the apportionment of an injured truck driver’s disability between his most recent work accident and a decades-old accident.
Case: Matter of Young v. LP Transportation, No. CV-23-1751, 11/14/2024, published.
Facts: Duane Young worked as a truck driver for LP Transportation Inc. He suffered injuries in a motor vehicle accident in 1971.
Young established a workers’ compensation claim for his injuries. He testified that it took him about a year to recover from his injuries, and after that, he returned to work as a truck driver.
Young underwent surg...
A divided West Virginia Supreme Court overturned a permanent partial disability award to an injured coal miner, finding further evidence on apportionment was needed.
Case: Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. v. Nelson, No. 23-383, 11/26/2024, published.
Facts: Charles Nelson worked as a coal miner for Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc. He suffered multiple injuries on the job when a shuttle car hit the car he was exiting in December 2019.
Nelson continued to work after the accident until September 2020, when he underwent back surgery.
After surgery, Dr. Rober Crow Jr. diagnosed chronic...
Telehealth is an increasingly important component of medical treatment, including for workers’ comp patients.
New York providers treating injured workers must know the rules regarding when telehealth care is permissible (and payable). In this first part of our series on telehealth for New York State workers’ comp, we break down:
Which types of providers may treat injured workers via telehealth.
Technical (i.e., video and/or audio) and other requirements for administering treatment via telehealth.
N.Y. providers eligible to treat via telehea...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced that all hearings currently held using telephone conference lines will transition to the CourtCall video platform, effective March 1.
The DWC said using CourtCall for status conferences, mandatory settlement conferences, priority conferences and lien conferences will provide more flexibility for parties.
Each judge will have a link to their virtual courtroom that the DWC will post on its website and include on hearing notices. Every courtroom will also have a call-in number.
The division said there will be no charge for the serv...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation is proposing changes to the rules governing the Supplemental Job Displacement Benefits voucher.
Changes posted to the DWC's online forum for a two-week comment period would increase efficiencies in the voucher program, improve management of the vocational return-to-work counselor list and provide safeguards against fraud, the agency said.
Workers injured after Jan. 1, 2013, are eligible for the $6,000 vocational retraining voucher if the employer does not offer reemployment within 60 days of a physician or evaluator declaring the appli...
Treating doctors would be allowed to perform maximum medical improvement examinations by telemedicine or telehealth under rules proposed by the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation.
The division said the proposed rules would revise the definitions of "telemedicine services" and "telehealth services" to include MMI exams and evaluation of permanent impairment when:
The injured worker has been examined by the treating doctor for the condition in question at least once before.
The injured worker consents to the remote exam.
The condition qualifies as a minor ...
Workers' compensation loss cost rates will decrease by an average of 5.3% in Missouri, effective Jan. 1.
The National Council on Compensation Insurance said the reduction is based on favorable trends such as a continuing reduction in lost-time claims and improved loss experience and premiums.
"While indemnity and medical severity both increased moderately in 2022, loss ratios continue to decrease," NCCI said in a State Advisory Forum. "Accordingly, lower trend factors were applied in this filing. The proposed loss cost level change also includes an update to the loss-based...
Contact:
Diane Guevarra
diane@DGCattorneys.com
California Workers Compensation Defense Firm | Dietz Gilmor & Chazen
...
A divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a widow was entitled to mandamus relief directing the Industrial Commission to reconsider her entitlement to a loss-of-use award.
Arthur J. Heilman worked for Riverside Main Industries Inc. On April 4, 2019, Heilman was struck in the head by a piece of metal from a machine that malfunctioned.
He was rushed to a hospital, bleeding from the nose and mouth. Heilman never regained consciousness and died two days later.
In March 2020, Dr. Donato Borrillo completed an independent medical review in which he found that Heilman suffered a permanent l...
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld an award of temporary total disability benefits to a worker after post-concussive syndrome and post-traumatic headaches were added to his claim.
Case: Murray American Energy Inc. v. Yost, No. 23-622, 11/26/2024, published.
Facts and procedural history: Richard Yost Jr. worked for Murray American Energy Inc. Yost sustained injuries when the “man trip” he was operating in a coal mine was struck by a tractor bolt machine.
A claims administrator for Murray’s insurance carrier accepted liability for a cervical strain, lumbar strain&nb...
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a worker who was terminated for misconduct could not collect temporary total disability benefits after undergoing surgery for his compensable injury.
Case: State ex rel. AutoZone Stores Inc. v. Industrial Commission, No. 2023-0493, 11/26/2024, published.
Facts: Jason Schomaker worked for AutoZone Stores Inc. He suffered injuries at work in June 2020.
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation accepted his claim for injuries to his right shoulder and arm. Schomaker was placed on light duty and continued to work with restrictions.
In September 2020, Schomaker...
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a schedule loss of use award for a worker’s shoulder injury.
Case: Matter of James v. Premier Home Health Care, No. CV-23-1674, 11/14/2024, published.
Facts: Juana James worked for Premier Home Health Care. She established a claim for an injury to her left shoulder.
A magnetic resonance imaging scan ruled out a rotator cuff tear. James was diagnosed with a left shoulder strain, bursitis, impingement and calcific tendonitis.
She received temporary total disability benefits and then partial disability benefits. James’ benefits...
Federal workplace safety regulators fined a hardwood flooring manufacturer in Ohio $255,528 after a 23-year-old worker suffered a partial arm amputation.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said an employee at Appalachian Wood Floors Inc. was injured in May while performing maintenance on a rip saw machine.
OSHA said its inspectors determined that a safety device on the machine was bypassed.
After the accident, OSHA opened an investigation into another facility operated by the same company.
The agency said the company failed to adequately train employees at both locations in ...
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration extended the public comment period to Jan. 14 for its proposed rule to protect workers from extreme heat exposure in indoor and outdoor workplaces.
OSHA also announced that it will hold an informal public hearing on the rule June 16.
The agency in July proposed a rule that would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive heat. Employers would be required to evaluate heat risks and implement procedures to provide drinking water, rest breaks and cli...
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed a bill that would have increased the threshold for determining whether medical procedures need prior approval.
The governor vetoed Senate Bill 6929, which would have raised the preauthorization limit for treatment that can be provided without prior approval to $1,500 from $1,000.
The bill also would have clarified that procedures can't be summarily denied because they're not in the medical treatment guidelines.
"Based on industry data, at this time, only treatments within the (medical treatment guidelines) are receiving authorization, which...
