High Court: Speculative Medical Opinions Fail to Link Death From Cancer to Work Injury

Expert medical testimony that a worker may have lived longer if treatment for an industrial injury had not delayed treatment for metastatic cancer was too speculative to support an award of benefits, the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled. The high court said it did not need to consider the validity of Kristine Hastreiter's novel theory that she was eligible for workers' compensation death benefits because her husband's compensable hip injury prevented treatment for a nonoccupational cancer that could have prolonged his life. Rather, the medical expert testimony was not decisive enough ...