| Types of workers compensation laws |
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| Applicability of the LHWCA requires that the situs and status tests be met, i.e. the injury must have occurred on United States navigable waters or adjoining area by a maritime worker as specified in the LHWCA. It appears that the LHWCA was conceived to fill a gap in workers' compensation coverage by providing benefits to those employees who were not injured on land, which would then be covered under the applicable state's Workers' Compensation Act. However, the expansion of the interpretation as to what is the "adjoining area" of navigable waters has allowed for conflicts of law questions to arise for maritime workers. Caselaw suggests that when the LHWCA does not clearly apply under the status and situs tests, each case will be examined on its own facts to determine the source of the injured employee's benefits. Notably, Louisiana denies state workers' compensation benefits to an employee who is covered by the LHWCA.More... |
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| Evidence in Workers' Compensation Administrative Proceedings |
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| Workers' compensation administrative proceedings are considered less formal than their judicial counterparts, due in large part to the treatment of evidence. Though the procedural aspects are more relaxed than in a judicial proceeding, the parties are entitled to the strict observation of procedural due process. More... |
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| Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act |
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| The Longshore and Harbor Workers' Compensation Act is a federal law that provides medical, disability, and death benefits for longshoremen, harbor workers, and other marine employees who are injured or killed in the course of their employment. The Act is administered by the Office of Workers' Compensation Programs of the Employment Standards Administration of the United States Department of Labor.More... |
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| Employee Susceptibility to Occupational Disease |
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| Every employee brings his own idiosyncrasies to his employment. This includes pre-existing weaknesses, hypersensitivities, and other susceptibilities that could impact the employee's health. The minority rule in workers' compensation coverage is that there is no recovery for an occupational disease where a pre-existing condition, such as asthma, contributed to the resulting disease. The minority states consider the disease to be the result of the employee's own innate susceptibility rather than to the peculiar conditions of his employment.More... |
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| "Dual Persona" and the Attachment of Tort Liability for a Worker's Injury |
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| Normally, given the nature of the workers' compensation system, employers are immune from an injured worker's tort action; his exclusive remedy is workers' compensation benefits. However, when the employer has such a distinct persona, separate and apart from its persona as the "employer," the employee may then pursue a tort action. The two personas of the employer are seen as separate legal entities, one of which (the employer persona) is immune from suit, and the other, distinct persona that is vulnerable to suit. More... |
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