Workplace Injuries | InjuryBoard Topeka

The Kansas Court of Appeals recently held that some injuries compensable under the Kansas Workers Compensation Act are hybrid conditions that have elements of both a work-related injury and an occupational disease. In Casey v. Dillon Companies, Inc., Docket No. 93,302 (July 1, 2005), the claimant developed allergic reactions while employed at Dillons. Testing revealed that she was allergic to...

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The Kansas Court of Appeals has found that a worker who was injured in a auto accident, after he had left his job to retrive a set of work keys at home, has suffered an injury compensable under the Kansas Workers Compensation Act. In Ridenour v. Kenneth R. Johnson, Inc., Docket No. 94,149 (December 16, 2005), the Court of Appeals addressed the work-related errand/special-purpose trip exception...

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The Kansas Workers Compensation Appeals Board has changed the way injured workers, seeking a work disabilty, will look for jobs. Essentially, the Appeals Board has placed a burden on the injured worker to show that a good faith effort has been made to find employment within their given work restrictions. In the case of Thomas v. Dollar General Corp., W.C.A.B. 1,008,265 (February 2005), the...

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Workplace injuries result in the loss of millions of dollars to Kansans and their employers, both from medical costs and from work absenteeism.Most businesses have workplace safety rules in place, even those businesses that don't seem like they are at high risk for injuries, such as offices.Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, being in the insurance business, is particularly aware of how much...

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Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius has signed a bill aimed to keep businesses from paying workers' compensation benefits to employees for drug or alcohol-related accidents.The change was spearheaded by business groups looking and should clear up what rules apply when an employer suspects alcohol or drug played a part in a worker's injury.Current Kansas law states that an employer doesn't have to...

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The city has minimized the risk to Topekans building or remodeling homes of being preyed upon by fly-by-night or fraudulent contractors.Since December 2004, the city of Topeka has required general contractors to have a minimum of $300,000 in liability insurance, a general contractor certification and workers compensation insurance, if they have employees."Before December of 2004, anyone walking...

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Sen. Karin Brownlee and Doug Allen sharply differed Wednesday on merits of proposed changes to the Kansas workers' compensation law.Brownlee, R-Olathe, supports a bill sponsored by the Kansas Chamber of Commerce that relieves companies of part of their financial obligation to employees hurt at work. Allen, of Spring Hill, takes a view that compensation for Kansans in job-related accidents --...

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Recently, the Kansas Court of Appeals addressed the premises exception to the going and coming rule and found in favor of the employer. In Rinke v. Bank of America, Docket No. 93, 868 (October 21, 2005), an employee was injured in the parking lot outside the building where she worked. The building and the parking lot were owned by a third party and the employer leased 727 of the 747 parking...

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Things are really heating up in Missouri over their new workers' compensation law. Over 70 labor groups have filed suit challenging whether the law is constitutional. The new law, which changed our neighboring state's nearly 80 year old workers' compensation system, essentially makes it harder for workers to prove their injuries are work-related and was a top priority for Republican governor...

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