NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
Contact information for NWCDN members is also located on the state specific links in the event you have additional questions or your company is seeking a workers’ compensation lawyer in your state.
NEWS
RITSEMA & LYON WEBINAR – MEDICARE SET ASIDES
Ritsema & Lyon is hosting a webinar on Medicare set asides. The webinar is scheduled for Thursday July 23, 2015 from 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. MDT. Delores Dafoe will be discussing the ins & outs of preparing and handling MSAs. Check out the Events section of our website, www.Ritsema-Lyon.com, for more information and to register. Please contact Jennie Smith atJennie.Smith@Ritsema-Lyon.com or 303.297.7275 with any questions.
22nd ANNUAL SEMINAR
Ritsema & Lyon’s 22nd Annual Workers’ Compensation Seminar will be held on Friday, August 28, 2015, at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel in Denver. Full itinerary and invitation coming soon. Contact Jennie Smith atJennie.Smith@Ritsema-Lyon.com or 303.297.7275 with any questions.
NEBRASKA UPDATE
NEW LEGISLATION PASSED
LB480, discussed in our May 2015 newsletter was passed. The changes are as follows:
Benefits can be denied when an employee knowingly and willfully made false statements regarding his or her physical or medical condition by acknowledging that he or she is able to perform the essential functions of a job based on the employer’s job descriptionwhen such misrepresentation caused further injury.
Employers are not responsible for any finance charges or late penalty payments as a result of medical services rendered by a provider.
The interest rate applicable to late payments is now 6 percentage points above the bond investment yield, as published by the U.S. Secretary of Treasury, which is currently 2.137 percent.
Workers’ compensation trust investment rules were changed to expand investment options.
NEBRASKA OPINIONS
The case of Canas-Luong v. Americold Realty Trust, 22 Neb. App. 999 (2015), confirmed that an employee is not at MMI until all conditions are at MMI and no permanency is due for one condition until all conditions are at MMI. The trial court found claimant was not at MMI for her psychological injury and awarded ongoing TTD, but also awarded PPD for an upper extremity impairment. The Court of Appeals reversed the award of the member impairment, noting that not only was the employee not at MMI for all conditions, that impairment may be factored into her overall loss of earning capacity once she did reach MMI for all conditions pursuant toBishop v. Specialty Fabricating Co., 277 Neb. 171, 760 N.W.2d 352 (2009), andMadlock v. Square D Co., 269 Neb. 675, 695 N.W.2d 412 (2005).
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES
The Omaha office successfully defended an attempt by a plaintiff to strike a counterclaim filed by the employer. Filing counterclaims is a useful procedural tool to ensure a hearing on the merits is had if either party believes one is necessary, and is very valuable. A different trial judge recently struck a counterclaim, which created some question on whether the practice could continue. The favorable ruling supports its use and stems the concern that the Court as a whole may shift to disallow it.
For more information regarding counterclaims contact Jennifer Caswell in our Omaha, NE office.
Jennifer.Caswell@Ritsema-Lyon.com or 402.505.4630