Wage Loss Cases: Job Search, Good Faith
(Supreme Court)
Click on the case name to read the decision on the
Ohio Supreme Court's web site. Decisions which adopt the
decision of a lower court or
Magistrate, or which decide a case based on a previous decision, are
excluded.
Injured
worker who took a job as a teacher after she could no longer work as a
nurse due to her injury did not forfeit right to wage loss by failure
to continue to look for higher paying work. Work as teacher was a
legitimate use of worker's education and involved future prospects
(such as raises and job security) which justified worker's decision to
take job.
Vote: 6-1
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Eligibility
for non-working wage loss compensation requires good faith job search.
Commission must provide explanation of why it finds job-search not to
be in good faith because, absent explanation of reasoning, job search
which involved one job search a day appeared to be a good faith job
search.
Vote: 4-3
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Wage
loss denied where there was no evidence that claimant who was working
at much lower paying job than job of injury had conducted a good faith
job search.
Vote: 4-3
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Injured worker is not entitled to wage loss compensation unless the injured worker provides evidence of good-faith job search.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Commission did not improperly deny wage loss compensation based on failure to perform good faith job search.
Vote: 4-3
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Claimant
doctor's failure to provide any information about job or job search
supported Commission decision denying wage loss for failure to engage
in good faith job search.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Wage
loss is not barred just because injured worker has left the employer
they were working at when injured. The reason why the injured worker
left the employer does not matter, the injured worker is eligible for
wage loss compensation as long as the medical limitations caused by the
injury prevent the injured worker from doing the job they were doing
when injured. Good faith job search is required, but where Commission
does not explain why the employee's job search was not in good faith,
the order denying wage loss compensation is invalid.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Commission
can not ignore good faith job contacts, even if some contacts were made
in bad faith. Nor can Commission determine that job contacts were made
in bad faith just because the job exceeded the injured worker's
physical capabilities. An injured worker may not be able to know what
the job requires, or even if there is a job, if making a cold
employer contact, and should not be penalized for such contacts.
Vote: 6-1
Opinion by: Per Curiam
In
some situations, Commission can require a claimant who is working full
time to engage in a job search to be eligible for wage loss.
Vote: 4-0, 2 concur in part and dissent in part
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Injured at Work?
Stewart Jaffy &
Associates can help you receive the workers’ compensation
benefits you
are entitled to. We are based in Columbus and represent
injured
workers throughout Ohio before the BWC, Industrial Commission
and
in court.
We also represent people who have social security
disability claims or who have a disability claim before another state
administrative agency (PERS, STRS, SERS or police and fire fighters
disability).
Initial consultations with potential clients are
free. If you are interested in talking with us about a
potential
case, call us at (614) 228-6148.
Stewart Jaffy &
Associates Co.,
LPA | Attorneys at Law
306 E. Gay St. | Columbus, OH 43215
Telephone: (614) 228-6148 | Fax: (614) 228-6140
http://www.jaffylaw.com
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