Justia Labor & Employment Law Opinion Summaries

Appellant received a low back injury during the course of his employment and sought worker's compensation benefits. The Wyoming Worker's Safety and Compensation Division denied the claim but subsequently issued a redetermination approving payment of benefits for the injury. The redetermination informed the parties that they had fifteen days to object and request a hearing with the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), but Employer did not file an objection until four days after the deadline. Without holding a contested case hearing, the OAH granted summary judgment to Appellant, concluding that Employer failed to timely file its objection and request for a hearing. The district court reversed, determining that genuine issues of material fact existed regarding whether the Division waived the objection deadline for Employer. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that no reasonable basis existed for failing timely to object to the redetermination. View "Schwab v. JTL Group, Inc." on Justia Law

Appellant sustained a second to third-degree burn to his foot while working for Employer. Appellant's injury was found to be compensable. Appellant subsequently experienced foot pain and difficulty standing and wearing work boots and therefore applied for permanent total disability (PTD) benefits. After a contested case hearing, a panel of the Medical Commission concluded that Appellant did not meet his burden of proving entitlement to PTD benefits under the odd lot doctrine. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Commission reasonably concluded Appellant was not entitled to PTD benefits under the odd lot doctrine and did not otherwise err in its decision. View "McIntosh v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law

While she was working as a nurse at a hospital, Appellant suffered a heart attack. The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division denied Appellant's claim for benefits. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the Division's denial of benefits, concluding that Appellant failed to prove her myocardial infarction was caused by exertion clearly unusual or abnormal to her position at the hospital. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the OAH did not err when it interpreted the statute governing coronary conditions to require that the causative exertion be unusual or abnormal for her position at the hospital rather than unusual or abnormal in the nursing profession generally. View "Fieseler v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law

Appellant was employed as an iron worker when he injured his neck. Appellant received temporary total disability (TTD) benefits for thirty-six months, after which he underwent shoulder surgery. Appellant subsequently filed an application with the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division for additional benefits, arguing that his shoulder surgery was a second compensable injury and, therefore, he was entitled to a separate period of benefits. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) agreed that the shoulder surgery was a second compensable injury and that the thirty-six month time limitation on Appellant's TTD benefits was inapplicable. The district court affirmed the OAH's determination that Appellant's shoulder injury constituted a second compensable injury but concluded that the time limitation did apply to Appellant's benefits. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that because Appellant's shoulder injury was a result of the same accident that caused his neck injury, he was not entitled to an additional period of benefits. View "Picozzi v. State ex rel., Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law

In 1988, Appellant injured his lower back while working for a paving company. Appellant underwent lumbar surgery in 1989 and, afterward, did not require additional treatment for his back surgery for several years. In 2007, an internist diagnosed Appellant with an arthritic hip and recommended a hip replacement. Appellant submitted a bill for the office visit to the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division, which declined to pay the bill on the grounds that the hip condition was unrelated to the original work injury. After a contested case hearing, an Office of Administrative Hearings hearing examiner found that Appellant's arthritic hip was not related to the original compensable injury, and therefore, Appellant was entitled to benefits. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that substantial evidence supported the hearing examiner's findings and conclusions. View "Little v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law

In 1996, Appellant suffered a work-related back injury and sought benefits from the Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division. In 2009, Appellant began to experience significant lower back pain after shoveling snow. Appellant attempted to reopen her 1996 worker's compensation case to obtain payment for treatment of her recent back pain. The Division refused to reopen the case and denied Appellant's claims for benefits because more than four years had passed since she last sought benefits for her 1996 injury and because she failed to show her current injury was directly related to the 1996 injury. After a contested case hearing, the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the decision. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed the district court, holding (1) the OAH's decision was not contrary to law and was supported by substantial evidence; (2) the OAH hearing examiner did not act arbitrarily and capriciously or abuse his discretion; and (3) the hearing examiner's findings of fact were sufficient. View "Leavitt v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law

Appellant, who suffered from cystic fibrosis, was employed as a police officer when he broke his hand during a training session. About a month later, Appellant was admitted to the hospital, where he was treated for "pneumonia, sinusitis with cystic fibrosis." The Workers' Safety and Compensation Division granted benefits for the medical treatment associated with Appellant's broken hand but denied benefits for his hospitalization and associated treatment on the grounds that the treatment for pneumonia and cystic fibrosis was not related to his work injury. The Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH) upheld the denial of benefits, and the district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the OAH did not err by failing to find a causal connection between Appellant's work injury and his later medical conditions. View "Hayes v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law

Appellant sued his former employer (Employer) in district court, alleging claims for fraud and wrongful termination. Employer, however, had been sold to a foreign corporation (Corporation), which was not a resident of Wyoming. Corporation filed a motion to dismiss the case for improper venue and failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The district court granted the motion on both grounds. The Supreme Court (1) affirmed the district court's dismissal for improper venue; but (2) vacated the district court's dismissal for failure to state a claim, holding that the court erred as a matter of law when it reached the merits of the case after determining that it had to be dismissed on venue grounds. Remanded for a dismissal without prejudice based upon improper venue. View "Bourke v. Grey Wolf Drilling Co., LP" on Justia Law

In 2004, Appellant suffered an injury to his lumbar spine while in the course and scope of his employment. Appellant applied for and received workers' compensation benefits for the injury. In 2005, Appellant accepted compensation for twenty-one percent whole body permanent partial impairment (PPI). After Appellant underwent additional surgery to his lumbar spine in 2010, Appellant received a final rating of seven percent whole body PPI. Because the 2010 PPI evaluation resulted in a rating that was less than the 2005 rating, the Workers' Compensation Division denied a PPI award beyond the twenty-one percent already paid. The Medical Commission upheld the Division's determination. The district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding that the Commission's decision denying Appellant's request for a higher PPI rating was in accordance with law, was supported by substantial evidence, and was not arbitrary and capricious. View "In re Worker's Comp. Claim of Green" on Justia Law

The Wyoming Workers' Safety and Compensation Division awarded benefits to Appellant after he experienced a workplace injury. The Division denied Appellant's claim for payment for prescription medication he alleged was related to his workplace injury. The Medical Commission upheld the Division's determination, and the district court affirmed. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) the Commission's decision upholding the Division's denial of benefits was supported by substantial evidence; and (2) the Commission applied the proper burden of proof for a second compensable injury when it required Appellant to establish a causal connection between his abdominal pain and his ingestion of the prescription medication at issue. View "Jacobs v. State ex rel. Wyo. Workers' Safety & Comp. Div." on Justia Law