Court Revives Worker's Claim for Benefits Under 'Manual Labor' Exception

A Louisiana appellate court revived an injured worker’s claim for workers’ compensation benefits, since his claim had been denied without consideration of the “manual labor” exception to the rule that independent contractors don’t qualify for benefits. Case: Martinez v. Rames, No. 2016-CA-1312, 07/12/2017, published. Facts: Jarislov Rames hired Federico Espinoza Martinez to perform work at his apartment building. Martinez suffered a cut to his hand while using a rope to help to lower a washer/dryer combination unit from a second-floor apartment. Rames drove Mar...