by Keith Kasper, Esq.
Top Ten Vermont Workers’ Compensation
Decisions Over the Past Century
At many centennial events participants
desire to look back and see where we have
come from and evaluate some of the pivotal
developments over the course of the past
hundred years. Paul Gillies’ concurrent piece
in this edition of the Vermont Bar Journal
amply examines both the historical context
surrounding the origins of Vermont’s Workers’ Compensation Act and its development
over time. However, Paul’s viewpoint is that
of a historian, rather than that of a practitioner or litigator in the workers’ compensation system. Workers’ compensation litigators have a distinctly different viewpoint
of the Act and its history. That viewpoint is
focused on legal precedent. Accordingly, to
mark the Act’s centennial, the following is
a list, compiled with the help of other litigators, of the top ten most important decisions to workers’ compensation litigation in
Vermont over the past century.1
10. McKearney v. Miguel’s
Stowaway Lodge2
This decision, from the Department of
Labor, adopted the last injurious exposure
rule. That rule, which pertains to gradually
developing injuries, places responsibility for
benefits on the last employer in time before
the injury becomes disabling. The rule ensures prompt payment of benefits to the injured employee and provides an easy point
of demarcation for the employer/insurance
carrier to determine responsibility for gradually developing injuries. The Comm