By: Ryan Lawson, Associate, Atlanta Georgia law provides employers and insurers a defense to the payment of workers’ compensation benefits when an injured employee tests positive for a non-prescribed, controlled substance within eight (8) hours from the occurrence of an occupational injury. This defense is codified at O.C.G.A. § 34-9-17(b)(2), which holds: If any amount […]
By: Ryan Lawson, Associate, Atlanta The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (O.S.H.A.) recently released an updated set of regulations governing employer requirements for workers reporting occupational injuries and illnesses. These updated regulations, which are codified at 29 CFR 1904.35, went into effect on November 1, 2016 following a short delay from the initially scheduled inception […]
Greetings, DOAH has published the annual report for their fiscal year, 7/1/15-6/30/16….DO NOT PRINT unless you want 236 pages. That window of time only contains two months of litigation post-Castellanos, but its interesting and shows statistics on each venue. Quick snapshot: 12.1% increase in PFB’s filed over 2014-2015 4% increase in the number of new […]
Greetings, Tis the season for holiday parties and functions, and inevitably holiday party claims. If its an in-office event during the workday its likely going to be compensable. The afterhours or when the workplace is closed events are trickier. As a reminder, to be compensable, there are two things that both must apply: The event […]
Greetings, Due to the changes in the law from the Castellanos and Westphal cases, WC rates in Florida were set to increase by 14.5% tomorrow, 12/1/2016. However, a Miami claimant’s attorney filed a lawsuit against NCCI in Leon County, the rate setting agency, stating the meetings they held on rates were not open to the […]
By: Tara Said, Partner, Pensacola The day broke bright and sunny. Every young lawyer dreams about that one day that she might be offered the opportunity to be admitted to the United States Supreme Court. I have been a Florida licensed attorney for sixteen years but had always wanted to do this. It was the […]
By: James DaFonte, Associate, Miami As the holiday season rolls around, it is always a good idea to provide a refresher on the compensability of injuries at holiday parties. Over the next few months, there will likely be claims trickling in from the festivities. Outlined below are a few pointers to consider in […]
By: Mike Quiggins, Partner, Tallahassee Earlier this year, the Florida Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Westphal that found Section 440.15 to be unconstitutional, and revived the pre-1994 law allowing for up to 260 weeks of temporary total disability benefits. Since the Westphal decision, the workers’ compensation industry has debated whether the Supreme […]
Greetings, tis the season for 1-time change shenanigans week. In an effort to slide a request by and gain the right to pick the doctor, some claimant’s attorneys will send their requests at the last minute on Wednesday. Every year I get a handful of these Anything date stamped before 5:00 PM Wednesday, by email, […]
Greetings, Yesterday, the 1st DCA confirmed that the Fla Supreme Court’s decision in the Westphal case applies to both Temporary Total and Temporary Partial Disability. In Jones v. Food Lion, Case No. 1D15-3488 (attached), the claimant filed for PTD at the expiration of 104 weeks, even though he was not at MMI. The case was […]