Tag Archives: employment risk

Who do rules about texting and driving really protect?

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OSHA came out with guidelines about mobile device use while driving by employees. So why do I have mixed feelings something that most people would think is a good idea?

I believe texting and emailing while driving is a terrible idea and a clear safety hazard. But, management and insurers can use rules about mobile device use while driving to deny workers’ compensation claims.

Management and insurers can use rules about mobile device use while driving to deny workers’ compensation claims. They can argue either that mobile device use by an employee by driving is a deviation from employment duties. That may be difficult to argue if a travelling employee was using a mobile device while driving for work purposes.

In the alternative the employer may affirmatively allege that mobile device used was a safety violation that would disqualify them from receiving workers’ compensation. This is a difficult burden for an employer to meet. OSHA suggests that employers set up a “disciplinary action system” for workers who violated driving safety rules. Having written rules against a practice can make it easier for an employer to defeat a workers’ compensation claim by arguing an employee was willfully negligent.

Generally, workers compensation laws are favorable to workers who are injured while travelling, this known as the travelling employee doctrine or presumption. But in fairness to the insurance industry, this legal doctrine developed before the use of mobile phones.

In fairness to OSHA, their guidance on mobile phone usage was also meant to protect workers from being forced to use mobile devices while driving. Those who work and live in relatively remote areas know the term “windshield time” to describe long car trips. There is intense pressure to use that time productively. There is a strong temptation to text or email while driving even though you know the hazards.

The guidelines may give employees some protections against retaliation if the refuse to text or email while driving. But anti-retaliation laws are only as good as the court cases that interpret them and some courts have recently began to curtail protections afforded by those laws.

I speak from first-hand experience. I do a lot of long-distance driving for work.  If areas like rural Nebraska were better served by air, rail and bus service, I wouldn’t need to drive so much. The same goes for many workers in states like Nebraska. But thanks to transportation deregulation those of us who travel to and within rural areas are stuck in our cars during business hours.

Texting and driving creates risks for other motorists in addition to the drivers who text and drive. But the law already punishes drivers who cause accidents through use of their mobile devices. Drivers who text and drive can be punished criminally and be held accountable in civil cases. Accountability for employers who create dangerous working conditions is mostly limited to state workers’ compensation laws.

I believe the risk of distracted driving is apparent to any adult. Why does OSHA need to issue guidance?  I suspect it has something to do with my point about employers using rules against cellphone usage while driving to deny workers’ compensation claims.

But while OSHA is issuing guidelines about the obvious risk of texting and driving, the United States Department of Agriculture is overlooking the obvious risk of overuse injuries to packinghouse workers. The USDA in the Trump and Obama administrations have allowed meat processors to speed up lines to the detriment of workers. I hope if there is a new presidential administration next year, that administration will use its rule-making power to make workplaces safer and not give employers ways to dodge their responsibilities under state workers’ compensation laws.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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Nebraska Supreme Court rules on employment risk, attorney fees and third party claims

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The Nebraska Supreme Court has made three recent rulings about workers’ compensation

Three important cases have recently come down from the Nebraska Supreme Court regarding workers’ compensation claims.

Probably the case with the biggest impact is Maroulakos v. Walmart case. In that case, the Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the trial court that found that an injury was not compensable when a worker was injured because of an “idiopathic” fall. What makes this case distinct from its predecessors is that it appears as though there was possibly evidence that there was an increased risk to the injured worker, which could have made the idiopathic fall compensable. However, the trial court did not explore that option and the Supreme Court found that it could not make a determination on an issue that was not at issue during the trial court. In other words, it appears that the Maroulakos case puts an extra burden on the Plaintiff to ensure that an “increased danger” analysis is overtly pled and argued at trial for idiopathic falls. The concurrence in that opinion hints that the at the trial court level, the court probably should have conducted an analysis as to whether there was an increased-danger when there was evidence presented that could contribute to that analysis of an idiopathic fall.

Another recent case was Dragon v. Cheesecake Factory. In Dragon, the work comp case reached a settlement that was accomplished via a settlement release under Section 48-139(3). The settlement was not paid, however, within the 30-day limit proscribed in 48-139(4) and thus, the Plaintiff argued that he was entitled to a 50% penalty for the late payment. The trial court denied the penalty under a theory that it did not have authority to award a penalty after the release had already been signed. The Supreme Court overturned the finding of the trial court and awarded the penalty based on the fact that the Nebraska Legislature cleared up any ambiguity in the statute in awarding penalties for settlements that are not paid within 30 days.

The final case that recently came down worth discussing is Gimple v. Student Transp of America. In Gimple, there are two take-aways. First, if there is a third-party action, along with the work comp claim, the Work Comp Court does not authority to make a determination of future credits for the employer or work comp carrier based on any monies paid in that their-party action.

Second, if there is a stipulation and no dispute as to an injury; then, there is a permanent impairment assigned to that injury, the Defendant must pay the permanent partial disability in a timely manner, within 30 days. In other words, there is no reasonable controversy.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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