Wage Loss Cases: Miscellaneous
(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.
Receipt of social security disability compensation does not bar wage loss compensation.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Wage
loss is appropriate method of compensation for an injured worker who
cannot return to former position of employment, and earns less at a
different job.
Vote: 6-1
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Wage
loss compensation is paid on a weekly basis, by comparison of the
pre-injury average weekly wage with the actual earnings for the week in
question, rather than by a comparison with the post-injury average
weekly wage.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Provision of wage loss rule does not apply to period of wage loss before effective date of wage loss rule.
Vote: 6-1
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Rehabilitation
wage loss provision does not apply to injured worker who had a date of
injury before the statute's effective date, even though the injured
worker underwent rehabilitation after the statute's effective date.
Vote: 4-3
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Injured
worker had held two jobs. The injury prevented his returning to one of
those jobs. The Commission denied wage loss compensation because it
found that the injured worker had a voluntary restriction of
income because the injured worker had not sought additional work to
make up for the income lost by the inability to perform the other job.
The Court held that the injured worker was entitled to wage loss
compensation because the injured worker was working the maximum hours
permitted by his doctor.
Vote: 4-3
Opinion by: Per Curiam
If
allowed condition does not prevent injured worker from returning to
former position of employment, injured worker is not entitled to wage
loss compensation. Where injured worker has been laid off, but was
capable of performing their former position of employment, the injured
worker is not entitled to wage loss. If allowed condition does prevent
injured worker from returning to former position of employment, injured
worker can be entitled to wage loss compensation, regardless of whether
the job has been abolished.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Court holds that wage loss is a weekly calculation, and determination of the amount paid should be made on a week-by-week basis.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Lack of overtime can be basis of wage loss claim if lack of overtime is causally related to injury.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Injured
workers who suffer an R.C. 4123.68(W) occupational disease [a police or
fire fighter's respiratory disease claim] are not entitled to wage loss
compensation.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Commission
did not abuse its discretion in calculating wage loss compensation by
apportioning bonus payments to specific weeks for which bonus was
earned.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Wage loss compensation in a claim is payable only for a total of 200 weeks.
Vote: 7-0
Opinion by: Per Curiam
To
be eligible for wage loss compensation, injured worker must show that
the industrial condition prevents them from continuing their former
employment and prevented them from getting comparably paying work;
where the injured worker is engaged in part-time work, they must also
show that wage loss is caused by allowed condition, not lack of desire
to work full time.
Vote: 6-1
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Payment
of wage loss compensation by self-insurer did not bar Commission from
terminating wage loss compensation on any date supported by some
evidence, even if self-insurer had paid wage loss compensation after
that date.
Vote: 5-2
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
properly awarded wage loss to employee who accepted lower paying job
with previous employer. Job search was not required because of
time invested with employer. Claimant was not disqualified because of
alleged refusal of higher paying job because (1) job offer was not in
writing, as required, and (2) job offer did not comply with
claimant's medical restrictions.
Vote: 6-1
Opinion by: Per Curiam
An
injured worker who resigned from the employment he was doing when
injured because he was eligible for retirement remains eligible for
temporary total when they have not abandoned the job market, even
though the reason for leaving their job was unrelated to the
injury. Wage loss is properly denied where evidence demonstrates
that injury did not force injured worker to take lower paying job.
Vote: 5-1, 1 concurs in part and dissents in part
Opinion by: Per Curiam
Where
injured worker needed medical treatment due to injury, had to miss work
to receive such treatment, and could only receive such treatment during
work hours, injured worker is entitled to wage loss compensation.
Vote: 3-2, 2 concur in judgement only
Opinion by: Justice Lundberg Stratton
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.
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LPA | Attorneys at Law
306 E. Gay St. | Columbus, OH 43215
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