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Workers’ Compensation – ‘Arising out of’ – Recreational Event – Attendance Requirement – Event Organizer
Whigham v. Jackson Dawson Communications (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-102-14, 8 pp.) (Kaye Hearn, J.) (John Kittredge, J., joined by Costa Pleicones, J., dissenting) Appealed from the Workers’ Compensation Commission. On writ of certiorari to the Court of Appeals. S.C. S. Ct. Holding: Although a company kickball game may have been voluntary for company employees generally, […]
Workers’ Compensation – Change of Condition – Pre-Existing Degenerative Disease – Knee Injury – Medical Treatment
Carter v. Verizon Wireless (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-007-14, 9 pp.) (Cureton, A.J.) Appealed from Greenville County Circuit Court (D. Garrison Hill, J.) S.C. App. Holding: When the claimant suffered a compensable knee injury, the Workers’ Compensation Commission determined that she “had pre-existing advanced degenerative joint disease”; after she alleged a change of condition, her doctor [&hel[...]
High court sets guidelines for contractors
A nurse who was hired through a staffing agency to work at a hospital in Florence will be able to collect workers’ compensation for injuries she sustained on the job. The ruling by the South Carolina Supreme Court provided much-needed guidance about how courts should decide whether a worker is an employee entitled to workers’ […]
Tort/Negligence – Workers’ Compensation – Exclusivity – Subcontractor – Statutory Employer
Poch v. Bayshore Concrete Products/South Carolina, Inc Where the defendant-subcontractor and its parent company both had workers’ compensation insurance that would have covered plaintiffs if plaintiffs’ staffing agency had failed to secure coverage, defendants preserved their tort immunity under the Workers’ Compensation Act.
Workers’ Compensation – Administrative – Appeals – Interlocutory
Bone v. U.S. Food Service When a circuit reversed the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s ruling that the claimant had not injured her back at work and remanded for further proceedings, this was not a “final judgment”; therefore, it was not immediately appealable.
Workers’ Compensation – Medical Benefits – Neck & Lumbar Complaints – Average Weekly Wage – Truck Driver
Brown v. Peoplease Corp. The Workers’ Compensation Commission did not err in denying the claimant lifetime medical treatment for his low back pain when the claimant’s doctors did not perform any procedures on his lower back; the only treatment given to the claimant for his lower back was the Percocet given to him at the emergency room; and the claimant could not even specifically tes[...]
Workers’ Compensation – Employment Relationship – Volunteer – Educational Program – Condition of Probation
Simmons v. SC STRONG As a condition of probation and to avoid incarceration, the claimant participated in SC STRONG – a residential, non-profit organization in which “former substance abusers, ex-convicts, and homeless adults” are provided with educational and vocational opportunities. Although the claimant was injured while working on an SC STRONG construction project, he is not en[...]
Cop’s comp claim gets a reboot
The vice chair of the state Workers’ Compensation Commission overstepped her bounds when she took it upon herself to interpret medical images, which led to a finding that disregarded a mound of evidence supporting a police officer’s disability claim.
Broken dreams
Most people harbor dreams of a second career—some of them realistic, some of them not. But the South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that one injured crane operator’s vague, implausible hope to open a restaurant could not be held against him by the Workers’ Compensation Commission in awarding him benefits for lost wages.
Workers’ Compensation – Earning Capacity – Claimant’s Hope – Restaurant
Hutson v. South Carolina State Ports Authority In support of his request to have workers’ compensation benefits awarded to him in a lump sum, claimant testified about his hope to open and operate a restaurant. Claimant had no restaurant experience, and he testified that he did not know how much he could earn. This should not have served as the basis for a ruling that claimant had failed[...]
Injured demolition worker settles claim for $360,000
When a demolition worker was badly injured in a fall at a burned-out Moncks Corner rubber plant, the three companies that had a hand in the job began passing his compensation claim around like a hot potato.
Workers’ Compensation – Employment Relationship – Strip Club – Exotic Dancer – Independent Contractor
Lewis v. L.B. Dynasty, Inc. Where claimant was an itinerant artistic performer who decided which strip club she wanted to perform at each night, agreed to that club’s rules, and paid the club a portion of her tips for the privilege of performing, claimant was not an employee of the respondent-strip club when she was hit by a stray bullet during an altercation at the club.
Business Law
- Economy forces attorneys to get down to business
- Business Court judges trawl for customers
- Va. company's Web site did not subject business to personal jurisdiction in S.C., appeals panel rules
- Former running back from S.C. wins courtroom victory in contract dispute
- Contract – Government Contract – Qui Tam – False Claims Act
- Licenses & Permits – Beer & Wine Permit – Restrictive Covenant – Suitable Location
- Consumer Protection – FCRA – Auto Loan – Bank Accounting Errors
- Licenses & Permits – Veterinarian – Vaccine Maintenance
- Tort – Business Tort – Va. Computer Crimes Act – Trade Secrets
- Textile firm, railroad settle Graniteville train wreck lawsuit
- State regulators look at car dealer accused of lying to customers
- Subprime mortgage meltdown hits securities law
Commentary
- Stericycle decision forces evaluation of policies, practices
- Are workplace DEI policies still legal after SCOTUS decisions?
- Court cases add new twists to legal language
- It’s all business, especially the busyness
- Virginia Tech student got due process in hearing
- High court justices cross the line of propriety
- High court’s term was rough on big business
- The flip side of generative AI in law and how to address it
- The fight for equal educational opportunity continues
- Letter From The Editor – Working from Home
- NLRB joins FTC in taking aim at non-competes
- Supreme Court leaves key internet protection untouched
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