Supreme Court Overturns Denial of Benefits for Worker With Back Injury

The West Virginia Supreme Court overturned a denial of benefits to a worker with preexisting back issues for his claimed back injury. Case: Butcher v. Parker Drilling Co., No. 21-0504, 01/23/2023, published. Facts: Troy Butcher worked for Parker Drilling Co. He allegedly injured his back at work in April 2019 while pulling on and brushing top drives. Butcher was diagnosed with lumbar strain/sprain. X-rays were negative and a computed tomography scan showed multilevel degenerative disc disease with bulging at L2-3, L3-4, L4-5 and L5-S1. Butcher had a history of lower back iss...