Even in the chaotic world of Ohio workers’ compensation, crime still doesn’t pay – at least not for one enterprising Ohio claimant. Finding that the sale of crack cocaine over a three-year timeframe amounted to an exchange of labor for pay over a sustained period, the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the Industrial Commission’s determination that an injured worker was not entitled to permanent total disability compensation. In reaching this rather obvious conclusion in State ex rel. Lynch v. Indus. Comm., 2007-Ohio-6668, the Ohio Supreme Court rejected the injured worker’s inspired argument that his activity could not be considered sustained remunerative employment because it was illegal.
