A worker uses questionable judgment while using heavy equipment. He’s seriously injured, and a test shows he used illegal drugs. The employee applies for workers’ comp. Does he get benefits?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: heavy equipment, impaired, marijuana, workers' compensation
An employee engaged in unsafe horseplay at work. He got warnings, including a final one, but was caught once again on videotape. He was fired, and the case eventually went to court.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: final warning, horseplay, Wal-Mart
An employee injures her knee just by walking up stairs at work and applies for workers’ comp benefits.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: accident, knee injury, walking up stairs, work-related injury, Workers' comp
Uh oh. An OSHA inspector shows up at your business. He uncovers a violation, and you don’t dispute it. How do you limit your company’s financial liability?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: excavation, lower OSHA fines, OSHRC, willful violation
An employee who suffered from an eye disease had a corneal transplant that improved his vision from 20/200 to 20/50. Then, a workplace incident damaged the transplant, and his vision returned to 20/200.
Read the rest of this entry »
For most employees, turning around isn’t dangerous. But for a nurse in Mississippi, that simple act resulted in a broken leg, a protracted court battle, and ultimately, a sizable workers’ comp award.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: injury, Workers' comp
A company decided to take back a conditional offer of employment after it found the applicant was a recovering drug addict. A lawsuit followed.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: conditional offer of employment, drug test, drug treatment, methadone, safety threat
How far should the “exclusive remedy” provision of workers’ comp go?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: court, criminal charges, Workers' comp
Two employers will have to fork over $1.5 million to the victim of a truck crash, following a California jury’s verdict.
Read the rest of this entry »
When workers don’t report injuries right away and then apply for workers’ comp benefits, it often raises a red flag. With conflicting testimony, these cases often come down to which side the court finds more believable.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: back injury, delayed injury report, injured back when lifting, workers' comp benefits
An employer encouraged carpooling when some of its workers didn’t have transportation to work. Is the company now on the hook for workers’ compensation benefits after a fatal car crash?
Read the rest of this entry »
A worker at a bear park smoked pot before coming to work where he fed grizzlies. The worker was seriously injured by one of the bears. A workers’ compensation judge called that “mind-bogglingly stupid.” But did the judge rule the worker was entitled to workers’ comp?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: marijuana, mauled by grizzly, pot smoking, Workers' comp
For purposes of workers’ comp benefits, just what constitutes an injury “arising out of and in the course of employment”? A court recently issued an interesting interpretation of that phrase.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: broken leg, in the course of employment, off the clock, workers' comp benefits
What types of workplace noise do you think of in connection with occupational hearing loss? Jack hammers, lawn tractors, manufacturing assembly lines? In this case, a worker claims hearing loss from being yelled at on the phone by angry customers.
Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a fact: Dust, temperature and humidity factor into asthma attacks. But how can you tell if asthma is an ongoing disability?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: asthma, dust, permanent disability, temperature and humidity
A New Jersey state appeals court has upheld a record $30.3 million jury award in an asbestos-related mesothelioma lawsuit. The case is also noteworthy because of the test recognized by the court for a mesothelioma case.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: asbestos, mesothelioma, record jury award
A jury in Alabama awarded $10 million to a woman whose husband died in a workplace incident in 2008.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Fatality, fell 150 feet, jury verdict
Prosecutors asked for prison time for the owner of a tree cutting company after he was found guilty of negligent homicide in connection with a worker fatality. But the judge disagreed and sentenced him to a suspended jail term.
Read the rest of this entry »
Lawyers believe a judge’s award of damages to five former refinery workers for hearing damage is the first of its kind in Louisiana.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: hearing loss, Murphy Oil, refinery workers
An employee who said a co-worker’s perfume made her throat “close a little” will receive $100,000 from her employer in a settlement. The company will also have to enact a new policy on personal scents.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Americans with Disabilities Act, Crystal deodorant, perfume allergy, scents
An employee was injured at work. At first his injury seemed minor. But as time passed, his condition grew more serious. He didn’t tell his employer about the incident until he needed to see a medical specialist.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: open wound, report injuries, Workers' comp
If doctors declare an injured worker totally disabled, what happens if he looks for work while he’s waiting to see if he gets workers’ comp benefits?
Read the rest of this entry »
A migrant worker fractured his ankle on a sidewalk outside of employer-provided housing. Does he get workers’ comp benefits for his injury?
Read the rest of this entry »
A doctor cleared an injured worker for a specific light-duty job. The worker didn’t think she could do the offered job and didn’t show up for work. Did a court allow her to continue to receive workers’ comp benefits?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: back strain, light-duty job, Workers' comp
An employee used a company vehicle, which he was allowed to drive, to get coffee and suffered a serious accident. He applied for workers’ comp benefits. Did he receive them?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: company vehicle, personal comfort doctrine, Workers' comp
A worker tests positive for PCP right after he’s injured. Is he still able to collect workers’ comp benefits?
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: drug use, injured worker, lifting injury, Workers' comp
The bright lights of TV proved too attractive to an interior designer who was on workers’ comp.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: disability payments, HGTV, insurance fraud
Under their union contract at one company, workers were only paid for their “line time.” They weren’t compensated for the time it took to put on or take off safety gear.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: donning and doffing, FLSA, PPE, safety gear, union contract
A judge has sentenced a man to 65 years in prison for the attempted murder of three of his former co-workers at a Brooklyn, NY, seafood warehouse.
Read the rest of this entry »
BP must pay more than $100 million in damages for exposing contract workers to toxic chemicals, even though none of the 10 employees in the case suffered major long-term health effects.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: BP, chemical leak, jury verdict, permissible limits, toxic chemicals
Imagine this: One of your employees complains that a customer’s perfume made her so sick that she needs permanent and total disability benefits. We’re not making this up: It actually happened.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: asthma, perfume, permanent and total disability, preexisting condition, Workers' comp
Ever face an appeal in a workers’ comp case? Then you know it can take a long time. But here’s a case that’s been in the courts for 27 years, and it isn’t over yet. And the injury was to the worker’s little toe.
Read the rest of this entry »
Workers sue to be compensated for the time spent changing clothes and showering at the end of each work shift. Do they win? You be the judge.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: chemical exposure, hazardous chemicals, pay for changing clothes
Following a worker’s death and millions in OSHA fines, some shareholders filed a lawsuit against Cintas Corp. alleging the board has failed to ensure the company complied with safety regulations. Now the company has settled the lawsuit.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Cintas, lock out, shareholder lawsuit, unguarded machines, worker's death
A burned out light, two identical doors and an 18-foot fall add up to a costly jury verdict for one employer.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: 18-foot fall, burned out light, costly jury verdict, disability
Loading ...
