Shooting survivor battles New York Workers’ Compensation Board for telehealth access
A woman who survived the 2018 killings at a DeWitt, New York chain restaurant says the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board allowed her to see her therapist and her psychiatrist via telehealth during the pandemic, but is puzzled and upset by a regulation that would require every third visit be in person. The attorneys who have been working on her workers’ comp case since just after the shooting say forcing psychologically injured clients into an in-person visit could be catastrophic for some. CNY Central
West Virginia’s new Intermediate Court selects chief judge
Dan Greear has been chosen as the first chief judge for West Virginia’s new appellate court, the Intermediate Court, which was established in 2021. The court hears appeals of civil cases including workers’ compensation appeals. WWNews
Rhode Island: Exception favors widow’s workers’ comp recovery
Some attorneys are viewing a recent Rhode Island Supreme Court opinion granting workers’ compensation dependency benefits to an employee’s surviving spouse as a practical clarification of the “ownership element” of the long-established exception to the going-and-coming rule. Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly [may require registration]
Sixth Circuit denies immunity for TVA coal ash spill contractor
The 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that a contractor accused in the mass workforce poisoning by radioactive coal ash waste, in connection with the utility’s February 2009 Kingston disaster, cannot avail itself of Tennessee Valley Authority governmental immunity, because the utility itself would not have been immune from liability had sickened employees chosen to sue it. Tennessee Lookout
What to do if your Facebook friend claims you’re owed workers’ comp
Scammers are using Facebook to con people into thinking they have thousands of dollars in unclaimed workers’ compensation, according to recent BBB Scam Tracker reports. Here’s how to avoid the scam. BBB