Case Law Updates & Trending News
The 2022 Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation College
> Combined Barney Materials [PDF] > Combined Gomer Materials [PDF]
JANUARY – MARCH 2020 WORKERS COMPENSATION CASE LAW UPDATE
By: Attorney Hayley Clark Paez v. Mayville Engineering, Co., Claim No. 2017-019553 (LIRC Jan. 22, 2020) Rule: In order to be found credible, the treating physician must have a near-accurate understanding of the applicant’s past medical history. Facts: Thomas Paez worked for Mayville Engineering Company for three months before he allegedly injured his low back. He […]
Court of Appeals Rules that Voluntary Retirement Bars TTD/TPD Benefits
By Atty. Ken J. Kucinski In a decision dated August 27, 2019, the Court of Appeals of Wisconsin held that an employee who chose to voluntarily retire while undergoing treatment for a conceded work injury was not entitled to any temporary disability benefits because she had chosen to retire for reasons completely unrelated to the […]
The Consequences for Failing to Appear at Hearing
By Atty. Ken J. Kucinski There are a few important procedural deadlines that need to be met in Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation cases. These include the deadline to file an Answer to a Hearing Application, the deadline to object to a Certification of Readiness, and the deadline to file certified medical records and expert reports. But […]
November 2018 Worker’s Compensation Case Law Update
By Attorney Hayley Clark Labor and Industry Review Commission Bretl v. Marinette Marine Corp., Claim No. 2016-004518 (LIRC Nov. 20, 2018). Rule: To be credible, physicians need to “provide a credible medical explanation in support of their respective causation opinions.” Facts: Richard Bretl worked 18 years with the insured as welder. On September 12, 2006, […]
August 2018 Worker’s Compensation Case Law Update
By Attorney Jennifer Augustin The month of August was a slow one for the Wisconsin worker’s compensation courts. The single LIRC case published from August is summarized below. As always, please feel free to reach out to your Aplin & Ringsmuth attorneys with any questions you may have about this case, or about any of […]
Wisconsin’s Skyrocketing Medical Costs
By Atty. Ken J. Kucinski Medical providers in Wisconsin continue to charge extraordinarily high prices to treat Wisconsin workers who are injured on the job. This phenomenon has been consistently documented by yearly studies performed by an independent, not-for-profit organization known as the Worker’s Compensation Research Institute. The numbers collected for the year 2017 show […]
June 2018 Worker’s Compensation Case Law Update
By Attorney Hayley Clark Wisconsin Supreme Court I. Tetra Tech EC, Inc., v. Wisconsin Dep’t of Revenue, 2018 WI 75, ___ Wis. 2d. ___, ___ N.W.2d ___. *Disclaimer: This is not a worker’s compensation case, but it does affect our cases* Rule: Courts now afford statutory “due weight”—opposed to “great weight deference”—to administrative agencies (i.e., […]
Commission Rules in Favor of Aplin & Ringsmuth Attorneys: Individuals in Pre-Hire Observation Period are not Employees under the Act; Filing a “Reverse” Hearing Application Does Not Change Who Holds Burden of Proof
By Jennifer Augustin The Labor and Industry Review Commission recently considered the case of Wade Opperman against Let Mikey Do It, LLC, a client of Aplin & Ringsmuth. Opperman alleged that he was an employee of Let Mikey Do It at the time of his May 13, 2015 injury and was therefore entitled to benefits […]
May 2018 Worker’s Compensation Case Law Update
By Attorney Hayley Clark Labor and Industry Review Commission I. Felber v. GKN Sinter Metals, Inc., WC Claim No. 2013-015981 (LIRC May 2, 2018) Rule: Compromise agreements are extremely difficult to re-open. Fearing having a claim barred due to an attorney’s (potential) failure to file a timely hearing application does not rise to the level […]