Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Refresher: Accident

by | Mar 2, 2016

Nebraska Revised Statute § 48-101 provides that when personal injury is caused to an employee “by accident or occupational disease,” arising out of and in the course of his or her employment, such employee shall receive compensation, provided the employee was not willfully negligent at the time of receiving such injury.

An accident for purposes of the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Act is an unexpected or unforeseen injury which occurs suddenly and violently, producing at the time objective symptoms of injury. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-151(2). “Unexpected” means the cause has an accidental character or the effect was unforeseen. “Suddenly and  violently” does not necessarily mean instantaneous; it is sufficient if the injury occurs at some identifiable point in time requiring the employee to discontinue work and seek medical treatment.

“Repetitive trauma” or “cumulative” injuries are also tested under the statutory definition of “accident.” As with standard accidents, for a repetitive trauma injury to be compensable, (1) the injury must be unexpected or unforeseen, (2) the accident must happen suddenly and violently, and (3) the accident must produce at the time, objective symptoms of injury. Dawes v. Wittrock Sandblasting & Painting, 266 Neb. 526, 667 N.W.2d 167 (2003).

In repetitive trauma cases, the key issue is whether the “suddenly and violently” element has been met. Under Neb. Rev. Stat. § 48-151(2) “suddenly and violently” does not mean instantaneously and with force, but rather, the element is satisfied if the injury occurs at an identifiable point in time requiring the employee to discontinue employment and seek medical treatment. Risor v. Nebraska Boiler, 277 Neb. 679, 696, 765 N.W.2d 170 (2009). The time of an accident is sufficiently definite “if either the cause is reasonably limited in time or the result materializes at an identifiable point.” Id.

  1. Identifiable Point in Time

In Swoboda v. Volkman Plumbing and EMCASCO Ins. Co., 269 Neb. 20, 690 N.W.2d 166 (2004), the Supreme Court explained that the requisite suddenness can be found if either the cause of an accident is sudden, i.e., occurring within a reasonably limited time, or if the effect or result of the accident is sudden, i.e., occurring at an identifiable point in time. Additionally, it is important to understand that the identifiable point in time at which the injurious result of a repetitive trauma materializes does not need to occur within the employee’s working hours in order to be compensable. Id.

Recently the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that an employee establishes an identifiable point if the employee stops work and seeks medical treatment. Risor v. Nebraska Boiler, 277 Neb. 679, 696, 765 N.W.2d 170 (2009) citing Voderschmidt v. Sur-Gro, 262 Neb. 551, 635 N.W.2d 405 (2001).

  1. Discontinue Employment

To recover benefits for a repetitive trauma an employee’s injury must be such that the employee discontinues employment and seeks medical treatment. Jordan v. Morrill County, 258 Neb. 380, 389, 603 N.W.2d 411 (1999). However, what constitutes “discontinuation of employment” is not conclusive. On separate occasions the Nebraska Supreme Court has defined two separate definitions of “discontinue employment.”

  1. Employee misses work

Where an employee actually misses work because of an injury and is paid less because of it, the employee has satisfied the “discontinue employment” requirement. The law does not establish a minimum time that an employee must discontinue work for medical treatment to be eligible for benefits, the length of time is not the controlling factor. Risor v. Nebraska Boiler, 277 Neb. 679, 696, 765 N.W.2d 170 (2009).

  1. Employee is unable to perform work required

Permitting an employee to satisfy the “discontinue employment” requirement by establishing that they were unable to perform the work required was established as a result of employees who worked night shifts and received all of their medical treatment during the day, and as a result never missed scheduled work or received less wages. In Owen v. American Hydraulicsthe Nebraska Supreme Court held that a job transfer to another position requiring less strenuous activity can constitute a discontinuance of work and establishes the date of injury. 258 Neb. 881, 606 N.W.2d 470 (2000).

In Risor, the Nebraska Supreme reiterated that a job transfer can constitute a discontinuance of work that establishes the date of injury, however, the court clarified that minor accommodations are not a job change and will not constitute discontinuance of work. Risor v. Nebraska Boiler, 277 Neb. 679, 698, 765 N.W.2d 170 (2009).

In 2014 the Nebraska Supreme Court further indicated that “no disability is manifested until there is a diminution of employability – and that reasonably can only occur when an employee’s injury interferes with his or her ability to perform the requirements of the job. The point at which an employee has to miss or discontinue work because of the injury is thus a reasonable standard of disability manifestation.” Potter v. McCulla, 288 Neb. 741, 751, 851 N.W.2d 94 (2014).

In determining the application of the “discontinue employment” requirement, the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court has found that both the “missed work” and the “unable to perform” definitions apply to all situations. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Owen in 2000, the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court often applies both definitions to each case. Once an employee seeks medical treatment, the court determines the first date on which the employee either missed work or was unable to perform the work required and holds that that is the date which the employee “discontinued employment” and is the injury date for a repetitive trauma injury. As one workers’ compensation decision put it, an employee must stop work and seek medical care or seek medical care and return to work at a different position due to the injury.

  1. Seeks Medical Treatment

Unfortunately, the Nebraska Supreme Court has not provided a definitive definition of “seek medical care.” However, based on the doctrine of beneficent purposes, the expectation is that it would be interpreted very broadly. For instance, visiting a nurse within the employer’s location has routinely been considered seeking medical treatment.

For information or questions regarding acute or repetitive trauma injuries, please contact Nebraska Workers’ Compensation attorney Thomas Shires at TShires@baylorevnen.com or by phone at 402.475.1075.

Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Refresher: Accident

by | Mar 2, 2016

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Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Refresher: Accident

by | Mar 2, 2016

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Quisque porta non augue nec tincidunt. Nullam volutpat eros eget nisl feugiat, a hendrerit neque consectetur. Proin at ipsum quis dui commodo mollis nec in felis. Vestibulum at finibus dui. Duis vel eros hendrerit, sodales dolor ultricies, viverra libero. Nunc est felis, consectetur ac purus at, vehicula sagittis dolor. Suspendisse et erat eget nisi ultricies faucibus a vel enim. Curabitur varius mauris pharetra viverra molestie. Curabitur odio dolor, suscipit eu metus et, accumsan elementum sem. Vestibulum nisi lectus, volutpat lobortis fringilla non, laoreet in mi. Pellentesque quis quam mauris. Ut dictum non purus cursus placerat. Duis accumsan, felis at mollis convallis, dui arcu mollis erat, id feugiat risus lectus eget odio.

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