Challenges to the constitutionality and scope of exclusive remedy—providing employer immunity from injured employee tort suits—continued as a hot topic in 2019 among workers compensation stakeholders and in the courts.

Cases:

• Arkansas—Vasile Stan v. Vences (Court of Appeals of Arkansas)
• Florida—Progressive Waste Solutions v. Britt (Florida Third District Court of Appeal)
• Kentucky—Ontario LTD. d/b/a JDW International v. Mackey (Kentucky Court of Appeals)
• Louisiana—Griggs v. Bounce N’ Around Inflatables, L.L.C (Louisiana Supreme Court)
• Minnesota—Daniel v. City of Minneapolis (Minnesota Supreme Court)
• Oklahoma—Wells v. Oklahoma Roofing & Sheet Metal (Supreme Court of Oklahoma)
• South Carolina—Matthews v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co. (Federal District Court of South Carolina)
• Texas—Amerigas Propane, L.P. v. Aboyte-Muniz (Texas Supreme Court), Berkel & Company Contractors, Inc. v. Lee (Texas Supreme Court), and Mo-Vac Service Co. v. Escobedo (Texas Supreme Court)
• Wisconsin—Graef v. Continental Indemnity Co. (Wisconsin Court of Appeals)

Since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s 2017 decision striking statutory use of the “most recent edition” of the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides in Protz v. Workers Compensation Appeals Board, challenges to the AMA Guides and other third-party guides used to aid in the administration of the workers compensation system have continued to garner stakeholder interest

Cases:

• Kansas—Johnson v. US Food (Kansas Supreme Court)
• Pennsylvania—Pennsylvania AFL-CIO v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania)
• Texas—Holt v. Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (Texas Supreme Court)

Marijuana legalization has been a hot topic at the state and federal levels for some time, and this year was no exception. Courts have been actively reviewing marijuana-related issues in workers compensation and the workplace, with varying outcomes across states.

Cases About Marijuana in Workers Compensation:

• Delaware—Giles & Ransome v. Kalix (Delaware Superior Court)
• Florida—Jones v. Grace Health Center (Florida First District Court of Appeal)
• Massachusetts—Wright v. Pioneer Valley (State Department of Industrial Accidents)
• New Hampshire—Appeal of Andrew Panaggio (New Hampshire Supreme Court)
• Oklahoma—Rose v. Berry Plastics Corp. (Supreme Court of Oklahoma)

Cases About Marijuana and the Workplace:

• Federal—Washington et al. v. Barr (Federal Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit)
• Arizona—Whitmire v. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (Federal District Court for the District of Arizona)
• Colorado—Kenney v. Helix TCS (Federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit)
• Delaware—Chance v. Kraft Heinz Foods Co. (Delaware Superior Court)
• Michigan—Eplee v. City of Lansing (Michigan Court of Appeals)
• Montana—Carlson v. Charter Communications (Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
• New Jersey—Wild v. Carriage Funeral Holdings, Inc. (New Jersey Supreme Court)

Courts continue to review cases addressing whether state workers compensation laws establishing air ambulance reimbursement rates are preempted by the federal Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (ADA). To date, state and federal courts have largely found that the federal ADA preempts state workers compensation laws and fee schedules.

Cases:

• Colorado—Scarlett v. Air Methods (Federal Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit)
• Kansas—Eaglemed, LLC v. Travelers Insurance (Kansas Supreme Court)
• Tennessee—PHI Air Medical, LLC v. Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development (Federal District Court of Middle District of Tennessee)
• Texas—Air Evac EMS, Inc. v. State of Texas, Department of Insurance (Federal Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit), and PHI Air Medical, LLC v. Texas Mutual Insurance Co. (Texas Supreme Court)
• West Virginia—Air Evac EMS, Inc. v. Cheatham (Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit)

State and federal courts across the country have been considering cases that test the constitutionality of workers compensation provisions or raise issues that could impact the workers compensation system.

Cases:

• Federal—Presumption of compensability for federal contractor illnesses, United States of America v. State of Washington (Federal Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit)
• Federal—Black Lung benefits award, Freestone Coal Co. v. Director, Office of Workers Compensation Programs (Federal Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit)
• Arizona—Benefit limits for mental injuries, France v. The Industrial Commission of Arizona (Arizona Court of Appeals)
• Florida—Expert medical provider presumptions, Abreu v. Riverland Elementary School (Florida First District Court of Appeal)
• Florida—Timeliness for claim investigations, Rente v. Orange County BOOC (Florida First District Court of Appeal)
• Idaho—Suspension of statute of limitations for additional benefits, Austin v. Bio Tech Nutrients (Idaho Supreme Court)
• Idaho—Claimant due process rights, Ayala v. Robert J. Meyers Farms, Inc. (Idaho Supreme Court)
• Iowa—Bad faith liability for claims administrators, De Dios v. Indemnity Insurance Co. (Iowa Supreme Court)
• Iowa—Workplace insurance inspections, Clark v. Insurance Company State of Pennsylvania (Iowa Supreme Court)
• Kansas—Idiopathic injuries, Estate of Graber v. Dillon Companies (Kansas Supreme Court)
• Kentucky—Retroactivity of income benefit limitations, Holcim v. Swinford (Supreme Court of Kentucky)
• Kentucky—Occupational hearing loss, Teco/Perry County Coal v. Feltner (previously reported as Napier v. Enterprise Mining Company) (Supreme Court of Kentucky)
• Maryland—Home as the worksite, Schwan Food Co. v. Frederick (Maryland Court of Special Appeals)
• Louisiana—Drug test admissibility for benefit denials, Parson v. Truck Parts & Equipment, Inc. (Supreme Court of Louisiana)
• Missouri—Enhanced mesothelioma benefits, Hegger v. Valley Farm Dairy Co. (Missouri Court of Appeals for the Eastern District)
• Missouri—Liability of the Second Injury Fund for PPD claims, Cosby v. Treasurer of Missouri (Missouri Supreme Court)
• Oregon—Occupational Disease Compensability Standards, Simi v. LTI, Inc. Lynden, Inc. (Oregon Court of Appeals)
• Texas—Trial court jurisdiction over division of workers compensation appeals, Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Chicas (Texas Supreme Court)
• Texas—Waiver of subrogation against a third party, Exxon Mobil Corp. v. The Insurance Company of the State of Pennsylvania (Texas Supreme Court)
• Washington—Challenge to legislative authority, Murray v. Department of Labor and Industries (Washington Supreme Court)

For more information on the cases monitored by NCCI’s Legal Team in 2019, visit previous Court Case Update editions and for continuous updates use NCCI’s Court Case Insights online resource in the Legal section of INSIGHTS on ncci.com.