BILATERAL SHOULDER INJURIES HELD TO BE TWO SEPARATE SCHEDULED MEMBER INJURIES IN IOWA

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | May 10, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

On May 8, 2024, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that bilateral shoulder injuries are not compensated under the catchall provision and are, instead, two separate scheduled member injuries. In Nordstrom v. Pamela Cramer, the Iowa Court of Appeals found that injuries to the left and the right shoulders both arising out of the same […]

NEBRASKA SUPREME COURT QUESTIONS WHETHER COVID-19 IS AN ORDINARY DISEASE OF LIFE

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Apr 26, 2024 | BLOG, NEBRASKA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

In the recent decision Thiele v. Select Medical Corp., the Nebraska Supreme Court addressed the narrow issue whether COVID-19 is an “ordinary disease of life to which the general public is exposed,” pursuant to the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act. The employee was a “nurse liaison” at a hospital in March and April of 2020, and […]

BRYNNE HOLSTEN PUHL APPOINTED TO NEBRASKA WORKERS’ COMPENSATION COURT

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Apr 25, 2024 | BLOG, NEBRASKA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

On April 25, 2024, Governor Jim Pillen announced the appointment of Brynne Holsten Puhl of Lincoln to Nebraska’s Workers’ Compensation Court. The vacancy on the Court was due to the retirement of Judge James R. Coe. The Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court is composed of six judges who are initially appointed by the governor and who […]

BEWT LEADS SUCCESSFUL LEGISLATIVE EFFORT TO PROTECT EMPLOYERS FROM UNINTENDED CLAIMS

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Apr 12, 2024 | BLOG, FIRM NEWS, NEBRASKA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Yesterday the Nebraska Unicameral gave final approval of a legislative bill which will protect employers and insurers from claims for significant benefits that were never intended to exist. Drafted by Dallas Jones and Eric Sutton for Nebraskans for Workers’ Compensation Equity and Fairness (NWCEF), LB1017 legislatively reverses the holding of the 2023 Nebraska Supreme Court […]

SUPREME COURT RULES ON SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY UNDER PSTCA

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Apr 12, 2024 | BLOG, FIRM NEWS, NEBRASKA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

In Simpson v. Lincoln Public Schools, a former LPS employee sued the District for wrongful discharge alleging that she was terminated because she filed a Workers’ Compensation claim. On appeal, the Nebraska Supreme Court offered a detailed analysis that, among other things, found that sovereign immunity under The Political Subdivision Tort Claims Act (PSTCA) shields […]

MAJOR CHANGES IN IOWA FOR HOW MULTIPLE SCHEDULED MEMBER INJURIES ARE COMPENSATED

by Baylor Evnen, LLP | Mar 29, 2024 | BLOG, IOWA WORKERS' COMPENSATION, WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

On March 29, 2024, Iowa’s Supreme Court handed down an opinion in Anderson v. Bridgestone Americas, Inc. The seminal issue in the case had to do with how to compensate an employee who sustained both an arm and shoulder injury. Under the July 1, 2017 changes to the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Act, a shoulder is […]