C&W Journal

July 23, 2016

Effort to Have Cooper Interrogatories Propounded Upon Plaintiffs' Physicians Fails

Indeed, the most frequent attack made upon physicians who perform independent medical examinations for defendants is an attack on the doctor's financial profile, i.e., how much money does the doctor earn doing IMEs? For years, plaintiffs' attorneys struggled with evasive defense doctors at trial depositions who, when asked about the compensation...

July 23, 2016

Commercial Trucking and Employment Law: The "ABCs" of...

Generally speaking, employers do not have to pay unemployment, disability, or social security taxes or workers' compensation premiums for independent contractors. Under New Jersey law, employers...

July 23, 2016

Abercrombie & Fitch, One Year Later

The Supreme Court decided EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc . one year ago on June 1, 2015. At the time it was unclear what effect it might have on employers. The facts of the case are...

May 29, 2016

Medical Provider Not Permitted to Intervene After Execution of...

In Peter Schatzberg, DC and Philadelphia Pain Management v. WCAB (Bemis Company, Inc.) , the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently denied a Penalty Petition filed by a medical provider alleging...

May 29, 2016

First Amendment Prevails in Off-Label Use Debate

In Amarin Pharmaceutical vs. FDA, a preliminary injunction granted by the Southern District of New York prohibited the FDA from taking action against Amarin over truthful, non-misleading "off...

May 28, 2016

Continued Difficulty Exposing "Professional Witnesses"

On April 14, 2016, the Honorable Robert A. Mazzoni of the Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas granted a Motion for Reconsideration, reversing an earlier decision permitting Cooper...

May 28, 2016

Digging Deep to the Rock: WV Supreme Court Solidifies Arbitration...

In Geological Assessment & Leasing v. O'Hara , 780 S.E.2d 647 (W.Va., 2015), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia considered three consolidated appeals, each arising out of a circuit...

May 28, 2016

Commercial Driving Scores Back on Public Display

On December 4, 2015, President Obama signed into law the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act), which is the first federal law in more than ten years to provide long-term funding...

May 25, 2016

New Jersey Premises Liability Update — Recent Decisions on the...

Anyone familiar with New Jersey's premises liability law is also familiar with the mode-of-operation liability principles applied to cases where a dangerous condition of the property has been...

March 04, 2016

Heart Attack Case—Circumstantial Evidence of Physical Exertion...

In the case of Robert Dietz (deceased) by Judith Dietz v. WCAB (Lower Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority ), No. 2051 C.D. 2014, 2015 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 532, the Commonwealth Court addressed the...

March 04, 2016

Complaints of Cumulative Trauma Constitute a Work Injury

On November 23, 2015, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that an employee’s notice to his employer, stating that he was experiencing back pain as a result of cumulative trauma, served as...

March 02, 2016

Retroactivity of the 2011 PIP Amendments, a Question of Legislative...

The New Jersey Automobile Insurance Freedom of Choice and Cost Containment Act of 1984, L. 1983, c. 362, provides for a statutory right of recovery of personal injury protection (PIP) benefits...

March 02, 2016

Touhy Regulations in Malpractice Actions

The Department of Health routinely inspects healthcare facilities to determine compliance with state and federal regulations, sometimes in response to complaints from an aggrieved family member....

January 06, 2016

More Flexibility Established in the Requirement to Send a Notice of...

In the case of the School District of Philadelphia v. WCAB (Hilton ), 117 A.3d 232 (2015), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court looked at the defendant’s obligation to provide the claimant with a Notice...

January 06, 2016

NJ Appellate Division Update: Off-Duty Employee’s Trip to Cash...

The Superior Court of New Jersey’s Appellate Division recently revisited the oft-argued and fact-sensitive arena of “course and scope” when it reversed the NJ WC Division’s decision in the matter...

January 06, 2016

Negligence Concepts in Strict Liability: No Longer a Small-Town...

In pursuing products liability cases, plaintiffs’ attorneys have long asserted that pursuant to Pennsylvania case law, negligence concepts have no place in strict liability cases as a means of...

January 06, 2016

Minors Now Have an Independent Right to Recover Medical Expenses

For many years prior to 2008, Pennsylvania has repeatedly refused to grant an independent right to minors for the recovery of medical expenses prior to the age of majority (18 years of age). The...

November 28, 2015

Exception to Requirement of Notice of Ability to Return to Work ...

Generally, the issuance of a Notice of Ability to Return to Work (PA Form LIBC-757) is a prerequisite to obtaining a modification or suspension of a claimant’s benefits in the context of Claim,...

November 28, 2015

Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Declares IRE Statute Unconstitutional

Section 306(a.2) requires that a claimant submit to an Impairment Rating Evaluation (IRE) after the expiration of the claimant’s receipt of 104 weeks of temporary total disability (TTD) benefits....

November 28, 2015

Authorized Knee Repair Does Not Automatically Create Compensability...

When an employer authorizes a knee repair surgery, could it be liable for an eventual total knee replacement when there is evidence of pre-existing degenerative arthritis? It has often been...

November 28, 2015

Not So Fast!—West Virginia Supreme Court Takes “Final” Out of Final...

In State ex rel. First State Bank v. Hustead , 2015 LEXIS 974 (Oct. 8, 2015), the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia found that a bank was not entitled to a writ of prohibition as to the...

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