Workplace Injuries

• Welder Recovers in Ohio for Manganese Exposure

  John Inserra | December 10, 2007 8:35 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  It is reported in the Cincinnati Post that A federal jury awarded $17.5 million to a welder who sued five companies on claims that he got sick from inhaled fumes, marking the second time in 18 such cases that a verdict has come down on the side of workers.The jury in Cleveland found that the five companies showed negligence by not warning the plaintiff of the toxicity of manganese in their...

• Retaliation in Worker's Compensation

  John Inserra | July 09, 2007 12:48 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The case of Trosper v Bag N Save sets forth the Nebraska Supreme Court's acceptance of a cause of action for the retaliatory demotion for the filing of a Worker's Compensation claim. [7] Focusing on our rationale in Jackson, we conclude thata cause of action for retaliatory demotion exists when an employerdemotes an employee for filing a workers' compensationclaim. When we recognized a...

• Do I have to Move?

  John Inserra | August 22, 2006 9:07 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The recent case of Olson v Capital Electric handed down by the Nebraska Court of Appeals as an unpublished opinion says no you don't have to move. Olson an injured electician refused to move to Kansas City to work for Capial Electric while he was released from his doctor with light duty restrictions which could not be accomodated on his regular job with Capital in Omaha Nebraska. Capital...

• Retaliatory Discharge

  John Inserra | July 21, 2006 11:20 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The case of Riesen v Irwin Industrial sets out Nebraska's analysis for a retaliatory discharge for the filing of a worker's compensation claim in an "employee at will" state. The following procedure is utilized under the three-tiered allocation of proof standard: First, the plaintiff has the burden of proving a prima facie case of discrimination. See Goerke, supra. Second, if the plaintiff...

• Vicarious Liability of a Third Party in a Worker Compensation Case

  John Inserra | July 21, 2006 11:04 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The Nebraska Supreme Court in the case of Didier v Ash Grove Concrete reiterates the rules by which an employer of an independent contractor may be vicariously liable to an injured third party. As noted above, an employer of an independent contractor is generally not liable for physical harm caused to another by the acts or omissions of the contractor or his servants, but an employer of an...

• Welding Rods and Parkinson's Disease Verdict in Cleveland

  John Inserra | June 28, 2006 3:54 PM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  A jury on Tuesday found makers of welding rods were not liable for the health problems of a former civilian worker.Ernesto G. Solis, 57, claims years of exposure to welding fumes at his job damaged his health because of exposure to manganese within welding rods. There are thousands more individuals pursuing similair claims. This is an issue in which the scientific evidence is not clear cut, so...

• Nebraska Statute short on made whole doctrine

  John Inserra | June 22, 2006 10:55 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The Nebraska Supreme Court held in a worker's compensation case that distribution of proceeds recoverd from a third party is not subject to the equitable "made whole" doctrine of equitable subrogation. Now, § 48-118 includes language providing for a fair and equitable distribution. It does not, however, adopt the "made whole" doctrine. Nor does it adopt any other specific rule for...

• Worker's Compensation and Bad Faith

  John Inserra | June 08, 2006 8:32 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  The Supreme Court of Oklahoma allows a claimant to bring a bad faith claim against her employer's Worker's Compensation insurance carrier for failure to pay permanent partial disability benefits. The case is SIZEMORE v. CONTINENTAL CASUALTY COMPANY. The court found that a common law tort of bad faith exists for an insurance carrier's bad faith in refusing to pay a workers' compensation award.

• Top Ten Tips For Injured Workers

  John Inserra | May 24, 2006 1:53 PM | 1 CommentOmaha, NE

  If you get hurt on the job, your employer maybe required to pay you workers' compensation benefits. You may be entitled to Medical Care, Temporary total disability benefits,Temporary partial disability benefits, Permanent partial disability benefits, Vocational rehabilitation benefits, or Death benefits. The tips below only scratch the surface of possible pitfalls in the workers' compensation...

• Workers' Compensation And WTC Clean-up

  Staff Writer | April 27, 2006 9:47 AM | 0 CommentsOmaha, NE

  Julie Ferguson at Workers' Comp Insider brings my attention to an AP article from PhillyBurbs.com. The article points out that the government does not look highly upon workers' compensation claims arising from the clean-up of the 9-11 tragedy: of the 485 federal employees to file for workers compensation claiming injuries from the aftermath at ground zero... virtually all of those claims, some...