On April 11, 2018, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals issued its opinion in an appeal of a Board of Review decision denying a WV workers’ compensation meal reimbursement claim. The court determined that West Virginia workers’ compensation law allows reimbursement for meal expenses during travel for an independent medical exam (IME) located 100 miles away from the claimant’s home. The court’s decision has broad implications for workers and employers across West Virginia.

The West Virginia Supreme Court has cleared the way for the state’s right to work law to finally go into effect.  This law, called the West Virginia Workplace Freedom Act, prevents employers from entering into agreements with unions that require employees to either join a union or pay a service fee to the union.  The law was enacted early in 2016, right after the Republican party took control of the state’s legislature. On September 15, 2017, the state’s high court struck down a preliminary injunction that had prevented the enforcement of the Act, thereby paving the way for the West Virginia right to work law to go into effect.

On September 12, 2017, a group of three Jenkins Fenstermaker attorneys had the honor of presenting to the West Virginia Rural Water Association (WVRWA) at their 32nd Annual Training and Technical Conference in Charleston, West Virginia (WV).   Their presentation was entitled, “Accidents Will Happen:  Employment Issues After a Workplace Injury.”

The death of a loved one brings on a world of grief that can only be understood by those left behind. There is a flurry of personal emotions of fear, anger, guilt, sadness, and despair to cope with. And all while dealing with the confusing personal emotions of a great loss, one is also faced with dealing with the people around them, calling, sending cards, asking how you’re doing, curious about the events surrounding the final days, hearing “I’m sorry for your loss” over and over again. Wondering if you should be contacting an estate administration lawyer in WV to determine if or how you will have to go through the probate process is probably not what you want to be thinking about during such a difficult time. 

An issue that has recently become prevalent in West Virginia (WV) workers’ compensation litigation is whether a claimant has a right to compel deposition testimony of the claims adjuster. The WV Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges (OJ) recently issued a decision that bears directly on the issue of workers’ compensation claims adjuster testimony.