Greetings from the President By Sheral C. Kellar Workers’ Compensation Judge – Chief Office of Workers’ Compensation Administration Louisiana Workforce Commission I learned a jingle in elementary school. For some unknown reason, it is on auto-repeat in my head. “We’re all in our places, with smiling new faces. Oh, this is the way […]
By Kristen McRee, Esquire and J. Keith Roberts, Esquire* The existence of mental illness as a condition can be traced back as far as written records.[1] Early on, it was thought that an individual who suffered from mental illness was either possessed by demons or had angered the gods.[2] For a brief moment in […]
By Hon. Jennifer Hopens Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation and Hon. Sharon Reeves Georgia State Board of Workers’ Compensation Chattanooga, TN As in years past, the 2023 NAWCJ Judiciary College in Orlando did not disappoint. We enjoyed every presentation we attended, but, in the spirit of (judicial) economy, we will focus […]
Read More… from Highlights from the 2023 NAWCJ Judiciary College
By Judge Suzette Carlisle Flowers, Board Member NAWCJ, Liaison to Spirit to Serve Committee GKTW Service Day 2023 brought people together throughout the workers’ compensation industry with one goal – putting a smile on the faces of critically injured children and their families through adventures at GKTW Village. This year, 561 individuals and ninety-eight […]
TEXAS Hsin-Wei Luang has joined the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) as an administrative law judge (ALJ) in the DWC’s Austin Field Office. She graduated from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with an aerospace engineering degree. She then went to St. Mary’s Law School, where she originally intended to work for […]
Greetings from the President By Pamela B. Johnson Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims Knoxville, TN As you know, the NAWCJ is an organization focused on education, collaboration, and networking opportunities. In early March, we held our New Judges’ Virtual Boot Camp, where 38 new adjudicators learned from experienced judges and legal experts on matters […]
By Thomas A. Robinson Copyright 2023. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission. As I have noted early each January for many, many years now, prior to the death of my mentor and friend, Dr. Arthur Larson, the original author of the oft-cited Larson treatises in workers’ compensation law (and in employment discrimination law, as […]
Read More… from The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2022
By Thomas Wyatt Judge, Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Chattanooga, TN SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT A poll of lawyers and judges would certainly find overwhelming support for rules of evidence. Some would say these rules promote orderly trials and decisions based on reliable documents and testimony. Others would point out that evidentiary rules keep […]
By Steven A. Minicucci Administrative/Association Judge Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court The impact of the fire was far-reaching including the horrific deaths, debilitating, and disfiguring injuries, the political and criminal fallout in diminutive Rhode Island which was likened in court to the state’s own version of a 9/11 tragedy. In the aftermath of the […]
By Douglas W. Gott Chief Administrative Law Judge Kentucky Department of Workers’ Claims I. Overview of MSAs. Congress established the Medicare program in 1965 to pay medical expenses for the elderly and disabled. It paid those expenses without regard to whether the treatment was also covered by an employer group health plan. Congress […]