Can a truck driver collect on a back injury despite having a history of spine-related medical problems? According to the West Virginia Court of Appeals, he can’t. Why? In this case, because there wasn’t enough medical evidence to prove his back problems were related to on-the-job injuries. Pushed down onto pavement The driver claimed he […]
Can an injured worker who already received workers’ compensation benefits collect on a claim for a back injury from the same incident? The Court of Appeals of Arkansas said he couldn’t and upheld a lower court and Workers’ Compensation Commission ruling that argued the worker’s testimony wasn’t credible. However, one appeals court judge, while “reluctantly […]
Can an employee get additional workers’ compensation benefits for an injury that occurred at home if it’s related to a workplace injury? In some cases, yes, if there’s enough evidence showing that the injury that occurred at home was caused by complications with the workplace injury. But as a recent case in Oregon illustrates, the […]
An airport worker fell and injured his leg as he was walking through the terminal after clocking out for the day. Can he collect benefits even though the fall technically occurred after hours? Felix Aquino was a baggage handler for American Airlines at the company’s Miami airport terminal. He clocked out for the day on […]
Is COVID-19 a work-related illness covered by workers’ compensation or can workers file lawsuits against employers over exposure? A Feb. 15 ruling by a federal court in Texas regarding a COVID-19-related death joins other recent decisions finding the virus is an occupational hazard, which generally bars liability lawsuits against employers under workers’ compensation exclusive remedy […]
Is a worker who drives a company vehicle and is paid by the mile but who gets no other benefits an employee or an independent contractor for the sake of workers’ compensation? A Nebraska appeals court found this a question of control, with the facts pointing toward the worker being an independent contractor. Driver found, […]
A California business owner and her husband will be serving jail time and paying more than $925,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to workers’ compensation fraud totaling almost $1 million. Carmen Hall Soruco and her husband, Antonio Soruco, were sentenced Feb. 7 to each serve 120 days in jail and pay more than $925,000 in […]
The Kentucky Supreme Court recently demonstrated the limitations of the going-and-coming rule in a ruling in favor of a worker who was injured in a crash on his way home from work. If a worker gets hurt while traveling from home to work or from work to home, workers’ compensation typically doesn’t apply because of […]
The owners of a California-based chicken processing plant are in hot water after being accused of orchestrating a $1.7 million workers’ compensation fraud scheme. Wei Wen Wu and Feng Wen Lam, the husband and wife ownership team of Golden Food Inc., are charged with 43 felony counts of insurance fraud, grand theft and conspiracy after allegedly […]
