Massachusetts Workers Compensation Lawyers Blog

State, ex rel., Dep’t of Workforce Servs. v. Hartmann, a workers’ compensation appeal from the Supreme Court of Wyoming, involved claimant who was injured while driving a 240-ton truck in the course of his employment. A 240-truck is a giant dump truck typically used in conduction with a mining operation to haul material to a processing plant.

While driving, claimant was struck from behind by a shovel bucket of another huge piece of mining equipment. According to court records, the shovel bucket was large enough to hold an automobile. It hit the rack of the dump truck located behind the operator’s cab. Claimant testified the force from the impact caused his entire body to go numb and to nearly knock him unconscious. He was not sure where he was or what he was doing following the collision and was taken to the emergency room.

At the hospital, he complained of neck pain and was diagnosed with cervical spine pain. He was released and cleared to return to work with instructions to return for a follow-up appointment in seven days. This was not the first time a doctor treated claimant for neck pain, as he had previously suffered a C5-6 disc herniation. He was given more medication and told there was a 90 percent chance his condition would improve within a few weeks.
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Paulino v. Chartis Claims, Inc., a case from the Untied States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, involved claimant who suffered a spinal cord injury while working for employer. His work-related accident left him a permanent paraplegic.
Following the accident, employee’s workers compensation insurance company paid the cost of claimant’s medical treatment and rehabilitation services. After a considerable amount of time at the rehabilitation center, claimant was transferred to another post-operative care center, where he learned how provide himself with basic care and was supposed to be transferred to a permanent assisted living facility.

Employer’s insurance company was unable to find a center he could afford on the less than $400 he was receiving in workers’ compensation benefits they were paying him. He was also unable to seek federal disability assistance under the Social Security Administration (SSA) due to his status as an undocumented worker from Mexico. Even without an assisted living facility, he was in need of wheelchair accessible housing, with appropriate accommodations, and access to public transportation. Employer’s insurance company case manager tried to assist him with finding suitable housing but was again unable to help him.
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State ex rel. Varney v. Indus. Comm’n, a case from the Supreme Court of Ohio, involved a claimant who was lost four fingers on his left hand in a workplace accident. This industrial accident occurred in 1983. Following the accident, three of the fingers were reattached completely and the forth was partially reattached. The fingers however, never regained their full functionality following reattachment.

The state workers’ compensation bureau awarded claimant benefits for the amputation of his four fingers after the accident, allowed a further claim for a one-third disability in his index finger in 1985, and another claim in 1990 for two-thirds loss of his other three fingers.
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In Martz v. Hills Materials, a case from the Supreme Court of South Dakota, claimant injured his shoulder in 2000 while working at a mining company. Claimant filed a workers’ compensation claim and received benefits for the work-related injury.

In this accident, his employer was self-insured, accepted liability for workers’ compensation, and paid for all medical bills related to his rotator cuff surgery and lost wages associated with his disability rating.

Two years later, claimant injured the same shoulder while working for another employer. This employer ran a sawmill. While working, claimant reported he felt a pop in his left shoulder while moving a log. Claimant filed again for workers’ compensation benefits and employer initially paid benefits but later terminated his benefits.
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In re Worker’s Compensation Claim of Stevens, a workers’ compensation appeal from the Supreme Court of Wyoming, involved claimant who was injured when she fell down a flight of stairs outside her workplace. She worked at an aquatics facility, and the accident occurred in late 2010. After falling down the steps, claimant crawled back into her workplace and was helped by her coworkers.

Her husband drove her to the hospital that day, and doctors diagnosed her with fractures in one of her fingers and the fifth metacarpal of her left hand. Intake records show she was able to walk, her main complaint was pain in her hand, and she denied any other injuries from the fall.

The following day, a surgeon operated on her left hand and noted she had pain in her hand and arm. He prescribed pain medication and saw her during follow-up visits over the next few months.
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Morales v. Zenith Ins. Co., a workers’ compensation case from the Supreme Court of Florida, involved an employee who was crushed to death by a palm tree while working at employer’s lawn care business. Employee’s surviving spouse entered into a settlement agreement with employer and its liability insurance carrier. This agreement contained a release of liability in which surviving spouse elected that this would be her sole remedy in connection with the fatal accident.

After reaching this settlement, plaintiff filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit against employer and obtained a default judgment in the amount of $9.525 million in damages. After the default judgment was entered, employer refused to pay the judgment. At this point, plaintiff sued employer again in state court, alleging employer breached its agreement under their liability policy. Employer had the case removed to federal court.
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