Justices Say Open Claims Subject to Law Changes

Amendments made two years ago to the Workers' Compensation Act apply to injury claims that were pending at the time, the Oklahoma Supreme Court decided in a ruling this week. The 2005 amendments covered objective medical evidence and medical testimony. The justices ruled they were procedural changes to the act, and so they apply to cases that were unresolved but open when the law changed. In Scruggs v. Edwards, seven claimants challenged a finding by Workers' Compensation Court Judge Ellen Edwards 103443, 02/13/2007. She applied the 2005 rules to their cases, even they were opened years be...