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, […]
The owners of a Minnesota drywall company were sentenced Nov. 23 for a $300,000 workers’ compensation insurance fraud scheme. LeRoy and Joyce Mehr, owners of Merit Drywall, were sentenced to 180 days of electronic home monitoring and have to complete 30 days of community service. Both were also fined $30,000 and must repay their insurance […]
An injured worker refused a light duty job offer because it interfered with caring for her disabled granddaughter. Did the worker receive workers’ comp benefits? Bridget Moss suffered a knee sprain at work. Two weeks later, Moss was released to return to work with restrictions. Ryan Alternative Staffing offered Moss a light duty job within […]
An employee sought workers’ comp benefits, claiming his MRSA infection was due to cuts and scrapes he suffered on the job. How did a court rule? Kenneth Streit says he sustained cuts and scrapes while doing construction work, which resulted in a MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphyloccus aureas) infection in 2012. His employer, Streit Construction Inc., and […]
Due to a paycheck dispute, an employee was pushed off a roof and injured by a co-worker. Does workers’ comp cover the employee’s injuries? Martin Duran Perez worked as a carpenter for Focus Framing in Nevada. On the day he was injured, Perez was upset because he believed the paycheck he received was short for […]
The owner of several janitorial companies was arraigned on multiple felony counts of insurance fraud for allegedly underreporting employee wages to reduce workers’ compensation insurance premiums by more than $2.5 million. Almirante Perez, owner of four California-based janitorial services companies – Capital Janitorial Services, Cal Best Service Group Inc., Southern Pacific Janitorial Group and United […]
