In Brock v. Voith Siemen Hydro Power Generation et al., No. 0428-11-3 (Va. App. Nov. 1, 2011), the Court affirmed a decision by the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission that the claimant was barred by res judicata from litigating injuries he alleged in his initial claim but did not raise at his evidentiary hearing. As a… Read More

In Puller v. Fairfax County School Board, No. 0886-11-4 (Va. App. 2011), the Court affirmed the Commission’s denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a widow whose husband died of a heart attack while performing his job as a mail delivery truck driver. The decedent, who worked for the School Board, was found… Read More

In Ragland v. Muguruza, No. 0524-11-4 (Va. App. 2011), the Court reversed the Virginia Workers Compensation Commission’s award of benefits, on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence that Ragland, the employer, had three or more employees “regularly in service” at the time of the accident, and thu… Read More

In Muhammad v. District of Columbia Depart. Of Emp. Serv., No. 10-AA-1049 (D.C. Jan. 5, 2012), the claimant had suffered a back injury on the job and was on temporary total disability. After three years, the employer enrolled the claimant in vocational rehabilitation, in an effort to find him sedentary work. After a year of… Read More

Two recent opinions from the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia provide a refresher on D.C. law concerning negligence per se based on the violation of D.C. traffic regulations. In Mahnke v. Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, No. 10-0021 (D.D.C. Oct. 20, 2011), the plaintiff was a pedestrian who ma… Read More

In George Poole v. Coakley Williams Construction, Inc., et al., No. 130 Sept. Term 2010 (Oct. 27, 2011), and Mary Thomas v. Panco Management of Maryland, LLC, No. 133 Sept. Term 2010 (Oct. 31, 2011) the Court of Appeals overruled the Court of Special Appeals decision in Mary Thomas v. Panco Management of Maryland, LLC, et a… Read More

In a recent case before the District Court for the District of Columbia, the plaintiff unsuccessfully attempted to invoke two exceptions to the “independent contractor rule.” Andrews v. Wash. Metro. Area Transit Auth., 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119916 (D.D.C. 2011). That rule provides that a principal is generally n… Read More

On December 7, 2011, the President signed into law the Federal Courts Jurisdiction and Venue Clarification Act. 112 P.L. 63. The Act is applicable to all actions filed on or after January 6, 2012. This new law makes small but important changes to the procedure for removal to federal court and clarifies the scope of diversit… Read More