Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Reporter, the premier name in workers’ compensation legal reporters, has issued their list of the top ten most bizarre or unusual workers compensation cases in 2009.  Among the highlights:

An Illinois man was awarded benefits for a displaced fracture through the right femoral neck when he attempted to dislodge a bag of potato chips from a vending machine for a female worker by giving the machine a “shoulder block.”

A Missouri court upheld a denial of death benefits to the beneficiaries of a workers comp fraud investigator who was killed in a car wreck on the job. Alcohol and speeding were determined to be the causes.

Its important to remember that these lists are sensational by nature and not indicative of most workers compensation claims. Nevertheless, they do make for interesting reading, especially for those of us in the field of workers’ compensation law.