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A state agency's liability under the Texas Labor Code is limited to those damages authorized by the Texas Tort Claims Act.

When there is ambiguity in the law, courts typically interpret it in favor of the party the law was designed to protect.

The panel found there was insufficient evidence to establish that the employee knowingly made false statements or representations for the purpose of influencing his workers' compensation claim.

In South Carolina, a worker's AWW includes the actual pay he receives as well as "allowances of any character when they are a specified part of his employment contract."

Under Oklahoma law, if an employee sustains an injury to the cervical spine but does not undergo corrective surgery, her benefits are limited to eight weeks of temporary total disability compensation.

The fact that a treating doctor previously authorized the claimant to receive a massage chair does not necessarily mean the claimant will automatically receive a replacement chair.

The Department of Industrial Accidents will no longer impose a missed appointment fee for impartial workers' compensation medical examinations that are canceled more than 48 hours in advance of the scheduled date.

The North Carolina Industrial Commission has exclusive jurisdiction over workers' compensation claims and all ancillary matters.

In Massachusetts, an employee who refuses to submit to an IME or in any way obstructs it may have his compensation suspended.

In Iowa, there is no public policy that protects from termination an at-will employee who advocates internally for the workers' compensation claim of a fellow employee.

While workers' compensation adjudications may be given preclusive effect in some instances, the Utah Supreme Court declined to allow the third-party defendants to use the workers' compensation finding on the issue of causation to block the employee from relitigating that issue in her personal injury suit.

Once an employee presents sufficient evidence to trigger the presumption of compensability, the employer can rebut that presumption only by presenting evidence that is "specific and comprehensive enough to sever" the connection between the disability and the work-related event.

The Minnesota Workers' Compensation Act prohibits workers from obtaining benefits from their employers and initiating lawsuits against third parties for workplace injuries. However, the law does not prevent such suits when the worker is not working on the same project or performing the same work as the third party.

Where the claimant's substantial weight gain is attributed to a sedentary lifestyle linked to his compensable injuries, and the medical evidence establishes that the claimant's pain was exacerbated by his obesity, he may be entitled to reimbursement for gastric bypass surgery.

The value of an employee's health care benefits should not be included in the average weekly wage calculation unless the benefits have vested and have a real present-day value to the employee at the time of the injury.

While a settlement agreement may provide the employer a right to reopen the claim if the employee returns to work at the same or greater wages, that right is subject to the applicable four-year limitation period.