Supreme Court Clarifies Post-Reform Appeals Process and Compensability Analysis

It's taken more than 10 years for the Alaska Supreme Court to get an opportunity to address the proper appeals process for decisions by the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Commission. And even though it said it shouldn't reach the merits of the dispute in Huit v. Ashwater Burns because there was no final and appealable decision yet, the court said it would because the commission has been doing its compensability analysis incorrectly. The commission was created in 2005 to streamline the appeals process, and make decisions more expeditious and consistent. Before it came i...