Adoption of expedited rules governing treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, Minnesota Rules part 5221.6700

"An emergency room doctor in Miami has temporarily lost custody of her 4-year-old daughter while she treats patients during the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Theresa Greene told CNN's "New Day" that she was appealing the emergency order that granted her ex-husband full custody of their daughter. "I think it's not fair, it's cruel to ask me to choose between my child and the oath I took as a physician," Greene said. "I won't abandon my team at work or the patients who will increasingly look to me to save their lives in the coming weeks, but it's torture."" Read the full…

"First Things First If you believe you've contracted COVID-19 at work, the first step in pursuing a workers comp claim is to notify your employer of that belief. Failure to timely notify your employer could result in the claim being permanently extinguished. After notifying your employer, the workers comp carrier will be contacted, and will need to investigate the claim and make a decision to accept, deny, or provisionally accept (accepted, but still needs to be verified) the claim, within 21 days. After this is done, it's might be prudent to consult with a workers comp lawyer near you." Read…

"If workers have access to medical marijuana, they could be less likely to file a worker’s compensation claim. That’s the finding from a new research article published in Health Economics, exploring the link between medical marijuana laws and worker’s compensation claims. Researchers found about a 7 percent drop in worker’s comp claims in states that allow medical marijuana, Reuters reports, and claims made were for shorter lengths of time, on average. Worker’s compensation programs cost U.S. employers an estimated $103 billion annually, researchers note. Last year, the Pew Research Center discovered 91 percent of Americans are in favor of at…

"Hanna Knapke, 18, is now facing a murder charge in the death of Shea Briar. According to court documents, Knapke loaned her car to be used in the murder and was there when it happened. Court documents show Esther Stephen, 29, and Shelby Hiestand, 18, admitted to plotting and then killing Briar. They allegedly drove him out to a bridge on County Road 125 W near County Road 850 N in Jay County. Stephen then distracted Briar while Hiestand got a rifle out of the car and shot Briar in the back." Read more on this incident here. Such a…

"After two days of deliberations, the Georgia jury in the trial of the wrongful death of The Walking Dead stuntman John Bernecker returned with a verdict this afternoon. AMC Networks were found “not to be negligent” in the death of the stuntman, said the juror foreperson in an unanimous decision just read out in court. However, the estate of Bernecker, as represented by his mother, was awarded $8.6 million in civil damages. There were no additional punitive damages. Any appeal looks unlikely as the nearly $9 million the jury deemed in damages will be covered by insurance, a source close…

One of our recent cases, Fish v. Ramler Trucking, was featured in detail on The Minnesota Lawyer. Read about the complexities of this case by going here: https://minnlawyer.com/2019/12/06/employer-third-party-not-severally-liable-for-injury

"A 73-year-old motorcyclist is dead after troopers say a semi-truck driver failed to stop at a stop sign. On Sunday afternoon, emergency crews were called to an accident near Banner Rd. and Hwy 66 in El Reno. Troopers say the driver of the semi-truck was heading north on Banner Rd. when he failed to stop at a stop sign at Hwy 66. According to an accident report, investigators say 73-year-old Ray Lee Davis, who did not have a stop sign, crashed into the driver’s side of the semi-truck while on his motorcycle." Read about this story here. Even though it…

"A onetime U.S. Postal Service employee in western Minnesota has admitted to vigorously participating in dog agility events while cheating the government out of more than $100,000 in federal disability benefits by falsely claiming that a workplace injury sharply limited her time on the job. Lisa A. Schafer, 57, of Glenwood, pleaded guilty in federal court in St. Paul last week to theft of government funds in connection with the thefts that spanned more than 3½ years until May 2019. In exchange for her guilty plea, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said it would ask the court to spare Schafer a…

"Jason Hunt, 41, was in the wrong place at the wrong time when a man police were chasing hit and killed him on Douglas Avenue in August 2016. A passenger in Hunt's car was hurt in the chase but survived. Police had been chasing 34-year-old Darnell Browder after an officer tried to stop him for driving without license plates. In March of 2017, Browder pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide. Later that October, Hunt's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Des Moines and a Des Moines police officer." Read about this story here. In situations like these,…

"Kevin O'Leary's boat was involved in a crash in Ontario, Canada that left one man dead, and a woman critically injured ... TMZ has learned. The accident happened on Lake Joseph late Saturday, around 11:30 PM when a smaller boat -- owned by O'Leary -- rammed into a larger boat ... going directly over its bow and striking a male passenger in the head, killing him instantly. Sources connected to Kevin tell TMZ, the "Shark Tank" star says there is video that captures the area of the lake where the collision occurred, and he is looking to get the video…