Hartzell v. Palmetto Collision is a workers’ compensation appeal that was decided by the South Carolina Supreme Court. In Hartzell, a 50-year-old claimant was working as as a paint technician at an auto body shop in the beginning of 2009 when he suffered an on-the-job injury. Claimant was moving rims,…
Vandenberg v. Dept. of Health & Social Services, a case from the Supreme Court of the State of Alaska, involved a nurse who suffered a permanent partial disability in a work-related injury. Claimant injured her right shoulder as she was reaching for a laptop computer and bag of some sort…
Maxwell v. Sprint PCS, an appeal from the Oklahoma Supreme Court, involved a claimant who suffered an on-the-job injury. While she was working, she hurt her knee and had to receive immediate medical attention. She did not return to work immediately, but she filled out a timely application for workers’…
According to a recent news article from ABC, a man who was fired from a business in Cambridge, Massachusetts returned to the business early one morning and waited for his former coworker to arrive. Authorities say he had a 12-gauge shotgun with him and ambushed this former coworker and attempted…
A new report by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) reveals that while we know of 10,000 serious work-related injuries every year that result in permanent consequences to the workers and their families. But it also shows us that is probably only half the story. Under a new requirement…
Workers’ compensation insurance companies that have paid benefits have a right to pursue equitable contribution from other insurance companies that also provide insurance to the same policyholder, according to the latest ruling by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Although this doesn’t necessarily affect the injured worker directly, it’s important to…
Chronic pain is one of the most common claims made to workers’ compensation carriers. There are often a range of treatments, including physical and occupational therapy and medication. But it’s the medication part that has raised concern over the last two decades. In particular, the prescription of opioid drugs. These are…
A 70-year-old man who had been recently fired from a local business in Cambridge reportedly returned to inflict harm on his former boss, who’d had a role in his termination. According to The Boston Herald, the alleged shooter drove tot he company and waited in his vehicle for the 58-year-old…
Many workers are required to spend much of their day with potentially dangerous chemicals. While this is obviously true with an employee who works at a hazardous waste facility, it is also true of many workers who work at a big box store. For example, a big box store that…
Every employer in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is required have workers’ compensation insurance or be able prove there are enough funds to qualify as a self-bonded entity with an injury fund. This is usually only the case for state and municipal agencies and does not come up much in the…