9th Circuit Sets Standard for Determining When Disability is Permanent

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ruled that a longshoreman who went 15 years without any actual or expected improvement in his condition could not be classified as "temporarily disabled." Although Robert Carrion's doctors said that a knee-replacement surgery was likely to benefit him, the court said the prospect of a hypothetical future treatment cannot transform an otherwise permanent disability into a temporary one for purposes of the Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act. Carrion's attorney, Eric Dupree, of Coronado, said he belie...