Recent DevelopmentsBill Introduced to Reform Medicare
Set Asides Claimant Must Show Prior Demand
and Wilful Nonpayment to Accelerate Benefits Pursuant to § 1333 Restitution Pursuant to § 1208
is Permissive Rather Than Mandatory Claimant Must Prove an Inability
to Perform Any Work to be Eligible for Temporary Total Benefits Third Circuit Computes AWW
Based on Four Weeks Before Injury Becomes Disabling May 4, 2007 Inability to Identify a Specific Precipitous Event Causing Injury is Fatal to Claim Weekly v. LWCC, 2006 1249 (La.App. 1 Cir. 5/4/07); 2007 La. App. LEXIS 881 Claimant testified that his back started hurting while getting in and out of his car and unloading his files and laptop computer on a business trip. Two months later, while on another business trip, he awoke with severe pain and was unable to get out of bed...(more) May 2, 2007 Court Must Examine Whole Record of First Trial to Grant Exception of Res Judicata in Second Trial Williams v. A-Jax Lumber Co., 07-1 (La.App. 3 Cir. 05/02/07); 957 So. 2d 249; 2007 La. App. LEXIS 794 Defendants' failure to introduce entire record of first trial was fatal to its exception of res judicata in second trial...(more) Benign, Everyday Activities Can Give Rise to Accident Wyble v. Acadiana Preparatory Sch., 07-0091 (La.App. 3 Cir. 05/02/07); 956 So. 2d 722; 2007 La. App. LEXIS 797 Claimant moved furniture and felt stiffness in back after work. The next day, she felt immediate pain when she straightened up from bending over. She asked her employer to pay medical bills. The employer denied claim... (more) Injured Worker's Claim Successful Even Though He Could Not Point to a Specific Time or Activity That Caused His Injury Doyle v. Pepsi Bottling Group, Inc., 07-59 (La.App. 3 Cir. 5/2/07); 956 So. 2d 709, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 796 Injured worker testified that he felt a "crick" in his neck while at work, but did not report it because he didn't think it was serious and didn't think of it as an "accident". When he sought medical care two days later, he did not tell the provider that he was in a work related accident...(more) April 11, 2007 Injured Worker's Misstatement of Mileage Not Fraud; Penalties & Attorney's Fees Awarded Porter v. Pellerin Constr. Co., 06-949 (La.App. 5 Cir. 04/11/07); 2007 La. App. LEXIS 711 Claimant's sister first drove him to the doctor's office and prepared a mileage log from her house, not his. When he started driving himself, he simply used the distances on the log his sister prepared because his odomoter did not work...(more) Claimant Wins Unwitnessed Accident Case Hosli v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., 2006-1466 (La.App. 4 Cir. 04/11/07); 957 So. 2d 207; 2007 La. App. LEXIS 719 The injured worker claimed that he was injured while working directly with his supervisor and just before he was demoted on the same day. He did not report the accident immediately, and did not seek treatment until the next day. (more...) Attorney Fees - The OWCA Giveth, The Fifth Circuit Taketh Away Ocon v. Regency Motors of Metairie, LLC, 06-834 (La.App. 5 Cir. 04/11/07); 957 So. 2d 816; 2007 La. App. LEXIS 705 Although the WCJ was correct in awarding benefits and ruling against the employer on fraud issue, the employer did produce sufficient evidence to reasonably controvert claims...(more) April 7, 2007 Claimant Wins Heart Attack Case in Third Circuit Smith v. Kinder Ret. & Rehab. Ctr., 06-1480 (La.App. 3 Cir. 04/04/07); ___ So.2d ___, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 650 The Claimant contended that her heart attack was compensable under Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 23, § 1021 (7)(e) (now 1021(8)(e), which requires clear and convincing proof that a heart attack be caused by on-the-job physical stress that is extraordinary when compared to others who are engaged in similar occupations... (more) April 4, 2007 Firefighter study - Harvard researchers recently published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine that suggests that firefighters face a greater risk of dying of heart problems while fighting fires than was previously recognized, with the risk of a heart-related death while fighting fires being up to 100 times higher than at other times. About 100 firefighters die in the line of duty annually, and nearly half those deaths are due to heart disease. . Heart Attack Found Compensible Smith v. Kinder Ret. & Rehab. Ctr., 06-1480 (La.App. 3 Cir. 04/04/07); 954 So. 2d 365, 2007 La. App. LEXIS 650 Louisiana law requires a heart-attack Claimant to produce clear and convincing proof to meet a two-prong test: (1) that the heart attack was caused extraordinary stress and (2) that the work stress was the predominant and major cause of the heart attack...(more) April 1, 2007 S.E.B Burden of Proof - Inability to earn 90% of Pre-Injury Wages Many workers’ compensation lawyers have faced the problem of how to prove the negative - the supplemental earnings benefits threshold requirement that the injured worker is incapable of earning 90% of his pre-injury wage...(more) March 20, 2007 Is the Second Circuit ready to expand Weber? Two recent cases indicate that at least two judges on the Second Circuit are ready to expand Weber... (more) |