When it comes to these 2016 workers’ comp cases, the old saying, “You can’t make this stuff up” comes to mind.
Despite the unique circumstances in these cases, there’s important take-home for companies in all of them:
- Climbed tree on dare: Can he get workers’ comp for horseplay injury? Sometimes, injuries during workers’ down-time are compensable. Was that the case here?
- Injured falling off chair: Can he get workers’ comp? This case looks into what happens when an employee suffers an injury from an incident that could have happened outside the workplace.
- Video: Woman caught faking injury to get workers’ comp: The penalties for workers’ comp fraud can be steep.
- Job required sitting for hours in one spot: Is blood clot covered by workers’ comp? Our service economy provides a lot more sedentary jobs these days. Sitting for long periods can have serious consequences.
- Employee doesn’t remember fall, no one saw it: Can he get comp? A classic case still being played out in U.S. state courts 2016.
- “Nasty” bathroom causes career-ending injury: Is company liable? A train engineer says the lead locomotive bathroom on his train was so “nasty” that he couldn’t use it when he needed to vomit. He threw up over the side of the locomotive, fell off the train onto the ground, and injured his back.
- Injured playing laser tag at employee event: Does he get workers’ comp? This case shows why it’s important to be careful about whether employee participation is required at team-building events.
- Dancing Kia hamster pleads no contest in workers’ comp fraud case: Collecting workers’ comp and working at the same time isn’t always allowed.
- Trucker burns feet in crock pot of hot water: Can he get workers’ comp? Figuring out when an employee’s daily official work duties start can be a key in workers’ comp cases.
- Hemorrhage while taking out the trash: Can family collect death benefits? It can be complicated figuring out whether a worker’s death was caused by a pre-existing condition or work.
Part 1 of our year-end look at 2016 workers’ comp cases looked at 10 new, old and evolving issues.