cannabisnews.com: S.D. Court Rejects Company's Pot Claim





S.D. Court Rejects Company's Pot Claim
Posted by CN Staff on April 12, 2007 at 14:42:56 PT
By  The Associated Press 
Source: Associated Press
Pierre, S.D. -- A man injured while working for a Sioux Falls landscaping company can get workers' compensation benefits because the company failed to show the accident was caused by his off-duty use of marijuana, the South Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday.The high court unanimously upheld the state Labor Department's decision to allow workers' compensation insurance to pay benefits for Thomas VanSteenwyk, who was hurt while working for Baumgartner Trees and Landscaping.
Baumgartner had argued that VanSteenwyk should not get workers' compensation benefits because his use of marijuana the night before the accident was a substantial factor in causing his injuries.But the Supreme Court agreed with the Labor Department's ruling that Baumgartner's expert witnesses failed to prove that marijuana was a cause of the April 30, 2004, mishap.VanSteenwyk's leg was injured when he was attempting to connect the bucket to a skid-steer loader. His leg was caught between the cab and a hydraulic arm as he stood to kick a locking lever that would not engage, according to court records.VanSteenwyk acknowledged that he had smoked marijuana daily for 15-20 years before the accident. He never smoked marijuana in the morning or at work, but he routinely used pot in the evening after work, according to testimony in the case.The evening before the accident, VanSteenwyk went to his supervisor's home to smoke marijuana after work, just as the two had done for the past year. VanSteenwyk said he then went to his home in Canistota, spent the evening with his family, and smoked another joint before going to bed around midnight.The next day about 11:30 a.m., VanSteenwyk removed the fork attachment from the front of the loader and tried to replace it with a bucket. The bucket was difficult to attach because it had been damaged, so company owner Brian Baumgartner had instructed employees operating the skid loader to stand up and kick a lever to lock the bucket in place on the hydraulic arm, according to court records.When VanSteenwyk stood to kick the locking lever with his right leg, his left foot accidentally hit a pedal that lowered the hydraulic arm. He required medical care because his right leg was caught between the cab and the hydraulic arm.A hospital test revealed marijuana in VanSteenwyk's body.Baumgartner had not instructed employees to use locking pins that prevented the hydraulic arm from lowering during the changing of attachments, and Baumgartner did not use the pins himself, according to court documents. A safety feature that shut down the hydraulic system when the seat belt was unbuckled also had been altered.Baumgartner contended that VanSteenwyk should not be covered by workers' compensation insurance because the injury was caused by his impairment from marijuana use.At a Labor Department hearing, an expert for Baumgartner testified that the high level of drug in VanSteenwyk's body meant he was impaired at the time of the accident. But the expert also said he could not say that the marijuana use caused the accident.None of Baumgartner's expert witnesses could offer an opinion on what role, if any, VanSteenwyk's marijuana use played in the accident, the Supreme Court said.State law provides that workers' compensation benefits are not allowed for any injury or death due to the worker's willful misconduct, which can include illegal drug use, the high court said.However, workers' compensation benefits can be denied only if an employer shows that a worker's willful misconduct caused an injury, the Supreme Court said. The justices upheld the Labor Department's ruling that Baumgartner failed to prove that VanSteenwyk's marijuana use caused the accident.Source: Associated Press (Wire)Published:  April 12, 2007 Copyright: 2007 Associated Press CannabisNews Justice Archiveshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/list/justice.shtml
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Comment #19 posted by FoM on April 13, 2007 at 21:42:06 PT
Off Topic: What Inspires Obama
I read most of the articles on Google about Obama and this really impressed me as to what inspires him.Senator Obama said he is inspired by God and Civil Rights Activists.URL: http://tinyurl.com/2leuop
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Comment #18 posted by museman on April 13, 2007 at 09:22:58 PT
toke
I love you brother. Power to the people!
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Comment #17 posted by whig on April 13, 2007 at 09:19:51 PT
Hope
Maybe I didn't see Bob Barr. I could have been mistaken.Totally off-topic, but I want to show you something...http://tinyurl.com/2x8axw
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Comment #16 posted by FoM on April 13, 2007 at 08:54:52 PT
Off Topic
I am sure we have heard more then enough about Imus but as we watch this all evolve maybe just maybe some of the right wing radio and tv programs might think twice before showing so much hatred towards people who don't think like they do. This could be a new beginning for tolerance in our country. I will be back later tonight after we get back from the VA hospital. Have a great day everyone.
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Comment #15 posted by Hope on April 13, 2007 at 08:06:26 PT
Comment 9
Bob Barr? I looked but didn't notice his face in there. I did see Irv Rosenfield and Ethan Nadalman and some Drugsense people. I think one of the pics is Angel Raich.
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Comment #14 posted by dongenero on April 13, 2007 at 07:34:42 PT
court made the right call here
VanSteenwyk has been a nightly cannabis user for 15 - 20 years but, apparently he does not have serious accidents on a daily basis.Then he is injured on machinery at work, carrying out a procedure for which there is systematic, corporate promoted disregard for machine safety protocols, and his boss says cannabis is the problem?Good call on the part of the courts. This business owner is lucky if he is not sued for his culpability.
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Comment #13 posted by FoM on April 13, 2007 at 06:29:34 PT
Had Enough
Thank you. That was the best video I have seen in a long time. Obama voted for the Industrial Hemp Bill in 2000! Go Obama and thank you, thank you, thank you! 
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Comment #12 posted by Had Enough on April 13, 2007 at 06:13:44 PT
Woody Harrelson
Willie Nelson, Obama, others,and a wonderful girl, Julia Butterfly Hillhttp://youtube.com/watch?v=vLcBHzEEicEHemp for Victory!!!
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Comment #11 posted by Toker00 on April 13, 2007 at 03:15:40 PT
Sorry guys.
Hope, that is so cool. We have the support for Cannabis Liberation AND Truth Liberation. We must now find the courage and leadership to turn this support into momentum. We can do it, and we're GOING to do it.Toke.
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Comment #10 posted by Toker00 on April 13, 2007 at 03:09:50 PT
TREASON TREASON TREASON TREASON TREASON
NINE-ELEVEN TRUTH? NINE ELEVEN TREASON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ACCELLERATE THE MOVEMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I had someone who I thought was a community leader tell me that, although he has seen the evidence of all the DVD's about 9-11 being an inside job, that even if it were true, it wouldn't change anything because we would still have Capitalism. Then I discovered his hidden agenda. Let's just say it has to do with Israel and Hierarchy. He's made a few hundred thousand suing the government over civil rights issues that affect minorities. The last settlement, for $300,000, was off the back of thousands of local activists, including mine. We saw nothing of the settlement. He lives in a New House. When the economy collapses because of these NEOCON MFs, he is offering COMMUNISM to replace CAPITALISM. A man of his Degrees would fit quite well in a communist society where you are told what you will be and do. Losing friends is not something I take lightly, but I don't mind kicking this piece of shit out the door. One less Communist in my life, one less Non-Believer (Or not) in 9-11 Treason. And that's ok. For every person who disbelieved in the beginning, at least 80% are now BELIEVERS. My next step will be in motivating them. We have to take chances in order to break the back of Evil. Sometimes confronting it head on is not an alternative, but a necessity. It's time to hit 'em HEADON. It's time to apply Truth directly to the forehead where the numbers 666 are so prominently displayed by these Satanists.Toke.  
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Comment #9 posted by whig on April 13, 2007 at 02:48:21 PT
more
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Jack Herer, Marc Emery, Yoko Ono, John Conyers, Bob Barr, ...
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Comment #8 posted by whig on April 13, 2007 at 02:44:22 PT
Hope
I see Bob Marley.
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Comment #7 posted by Sinsemilla Jones on April 13, 2007 at 02:22:57 PT
Cool Hope!
I see sweet Loretta!
[ Post Comment ]


Comment #6 posted by Hope on April 12, 2007 at 22:36:11 PT
What a neat cover!
I see Gary, and Cheryl and Jim, and Weedman....
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Comment #5 posted by Hope on April 12, 2007 at 22:28:47 PT
Wow! Who all do you see?
http://www.mapinc.org/images/cc_cover.jpg
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Comment #4 posted by afterburner on April 12, 2007 at 22:11:23 PT
Employer Coverup Uncovered
This employer Baumgartner seems to hate our friend VanSteenwyk because of his cannabis medication. Why is an employer trying to take away a worker's rights to medicate in his own home?
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Comment #3 posted by Sam Adams on April 12, 2007 at 21:07:39 PT
this case
classic example of why MJ is really illegal. Remember they tried to ban alcohol as well. Because MJ is stigmatized, company owners can use it to avoid paying injury claims. If they had succeeded in alcohol prohibition, nearly all workers' injury could have been claimed to be caused by alcohol or cannabis the night before.Meaning that any company could avoid paying an injury claim any time. Now, why is MJ illegal again?
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Comment #2 posted by mayan on April 12, 2007 at 18:17:54 PT
Hazardous Work Environment
Baumgartner had not instructed employees to use locking pins that prevented the hydraulic arm from lowering during the changing of attachments, and Baumgartner did not use the pins himself, according to court documents. A safety feature that shut down the hydraulic system when the seat belt was unbuckled also had been altered.Why isn't this guy's operation being shut down until he gets his machinery fixed? If he doesn't get fined by OSHA he's pretty damned lucky. It seems to me the accident was due to his negligence but he has the nerve to say it was because of cannabis!?! What a piece of sh*t cheapskate!THE WAY OUT IS THE WAY IN...Three Cheers For Rosie! 
http://www.etherzone.com/2007/rose041107.shtmlThe Great American Catalyzing Event:
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17518.htmWas Kurt Vonnegut A 9/11 Truther?
http://prisonplanet.com/articles/april2007/120407kurtvonnegut.htmUpdate: Proves Micro Nukes in the WTC:
http://www.thepriceofliberty.org/07/04/16/ward.htmGOP insider: 9/11 fit White House plan:
http://911blogger.com/node/7818
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Comment #1 posted by Wayne on April 12, 2007 at 18:03:31 PT
so what do the experts have to say about perjury?
"At a Labor Department hearing, an expert for Baumgartner testified that the high level of drug in VanSteenwyk's body meant he was impaired at the time of the accident. But the expert also said he could not say that the marijuana use caused the accident."Well call me crazy, but doesn't one of those statements have to be a lie? I don't think any of us 'non-experts' could get away with doubletalk like that in a court of law. I bet the defense ate that one up like a pack of wolves."None of Baumgartner's expert witnesses could offer an opinion on what role, if any, VanSteenwyk's marijuana use played in the accident..."Ummm, then what makes them EXPERTS?? Why don't they call up people who actually smoke the stuff, they're WAY more qualified to discuss someone's f***ked-upedness.
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