If an employee fails to fulfill some of the fundamental requirements and duties of their job and they are terminated for those deficiencies, shouldn’t that be enough to constitute voluntary abandonment? In order for an employment discharge to qualify as voluntary abandonment, the law requires proof that: (1) there is a written work rule that […]
Recently, the Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned a jury award of more than $700,000 to a plaintiff involved in a car accident at work. Bungard v. Jeffers (Ohio App. 4 Dist., January 28, 2014, 2014-Ohio-334). In Bungard, the plaintiff filed a negligence suit against his coworker, Steven Jeffers, after his car was rear-ended in
Court of Appeals Overturns Jury Award of Over $700,000 Based on Fellow Employee Immunity Read More »
Charles D. Smith & Associates is pleased to announce that Charles D. Smith has again been named to the Ohio Super Lawyers list by Ohio Super Lawyers magazine as one of the top attorneys in Ohio for 2014 in the area of employment litigation (defense). No more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the
Charles Smith and Ryan Bonina Again Included in Ohio Super Lawyers Magazine Lists Read More »
Three recent Ohio Supreme Court cases have addressed the effect of voluntary retirement or job market abandonment on eligibility for disability compensation. State ex rel. Hoffman v. Rexam Beverage Can Co. (October 16, 2013, No. 2013-Ohio-4538); State ex rel. Black v. Indus. Comm. (October 17, 2013, No. 2013-Ohio-4550); State ex rel. Kelsey Hayes Co. v. Grashel (November 14, 2013, No. 2013-Ohio-4959).
In a recent opinion, the Tenth District Court of Appeals emphasized again how important it is for employers to make sure that their company policies and disciplinary actions are applied consistently and fairly to all employees. Bowditch v. Mettler Toledo International, Inc. (Ohio App 10th Dist. 2013), 2013-Ohio-4206. In the Bowditch case, an employee in his 50’s was terminated when
Under the defense of voluntary abandonment, an employer can block a claimant’s eligibility for future temporary total disability benefits if the employer can show that the claimant was terminated for violating a written work rule or policy. The job abandonment is deemed to be voluntary if three main tests for the use of this defense
Termination for Criminal Conduct May Not Bar Recovery of Workers’ Compensation Benefits Read More »
On September 18, 2013, the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed a court of appeals decision finding that the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) was not required to award scheduled loss of use benefits during an injured worker’s lifetime when no application was filed. Additionally, the Court ruled that after the injured worker’s death, scheduled loss benefits
The fact that an examining doctor does not list all of the allowed conditions in the header of his or her report does not necessarily mean that the report will be rejected by the Industrial Commission. To the contrary, the Tenth District Court of Appeals has now held that so long as the doctor indicated
The Ohio Supreme Court recently limited the opportunity under Ohio’s workers’ compensation laws for the allowance of psychiatric conditions. Armstrong v. John R. Jurgensen Co. (June 14, 2013), 2011-Ohio-708. In order to recover for a psychiatric condition in Ohio, the Supreme Court held that there must be proof of a direct and proximate causal relationship between the
Even with the significant protections set forth in Ohio Revised Code Section 2745.01, employers still face potential liability in an intentional tort action if a safety device malfunctions or is disconnected. Subsections (A) and (B) of the statute establish that an employer can only be held liable for an intentional tort if it acted with
Defective Safety Devices Can Lead to Liability Under an Employer Intentional Tort Claim Read More »
Governor Kasich and the Administrator of the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC), Steve Buehrer, recently announced a proposal to pay $1 billion in rebates to private employers and public-taxing districts that pay into Ohio’s workers’ compensation system. Under this proposal, about 210,000 private businesses and public entities would receive approximately 56% of their annual premium
Governor and BWC Announce Proposal to Pay $1 Billion Back Read More »
If an employer is going to require an employee to travel as part of his or her regular job duties and is compensating that individual for their travel time, then the employer can expect to see expanded workers’ compensation liability for that employee. For instance, if the employee is injured while traveling to see a