An Illinois Supreme Court decision from September 2020 that shifted the burden of proof from the employee to the employer in workers’ compensation cases involving “everyday actions” is now affecting current case law in the state. The court decided in McAllister v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission that injuries from everyday actions, also known as “neutral risks,” could […]
A Georgia appeals court has thrown out an $8.6 million jury verdict to the family of the Walking Dead stuntman who fell to his death on the set of the show in July 2017. A jury found TWD 9, an AMC Networks entity, and its production company, Stalwart Films, were negligent in the death of […]
The owner of a California agriculture company and his daughter were each sentenced to 10 years and ordered to pay more than $2.5 million in restitution after pleading no contest to six felony counts of workers’ comp insurance each. Felipe Saurez Barocio, owner of Agriculture Services Inc., and his daughter Angelita Barocio-Negrete were sentenced to […]
An employee was injured at work and received medical treatment and temporary total disability (TTD) benefits. Did a video disqualify her from future benefits? Lisa Forren was a registered nurse for Greenbriar Valley Med Center in West Virginia. Forren injured her right shoulder while positioning a patient. Months after the injury, her doctor evaluated her. […]
An employee was injured when her chair slid out from under her while trying to sit down. Was she eligible for permanent disability benefits? Frances Jones was a respiratory therapist employed by the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She suffered injuries to her back, neck and wrist in July 2016 when a chair slid out […]
A Louisiana appeals court upheld a lower court decision allowing an injured worker who re-injured his knee while putting up Christmas lights to collect workers’ compensation benefits. The appeals court said the new injury was related to the weakened condition of his knee from his previous work-related injury, so he was entitled to workers’ comp. […]
Holiday work parties have led to some tricky workers’ compensation cases over the years – usually involving alcohol and vehicle crashes – but it’s not often that the food served at the party leads to a comp claim due to E. coli. However, an Ohio appeals court published a decision Nov. 19 granting benefits to […]
A worker died when the lawn mower he was using went into a bayou in Louisiana, flipped over and pinned him underwater. Did his family get $75,000 in death benefits and $123,722 in medical expenses? On March 31, 2018, Jonathan Miller was mowing the lawn of the Hakim family in Monroe, LA. He was employed […]
A carpenter suffered severe injuries when he was struck by a falling object. At the time, he was an undocumented worker. Does that affect his ability to collect workers’ comp benefits? Manuel Ibanez worked for High Point Construction in Nevada. In 2014, he suffered severe injuries after a falling two-by-four struck him in the head, […]
