Texas Workers Compensation claimants took a big hit Friday when the Texas Supreme Court handed down a 5-4 decision in Texas Mutual Insurance Co. v. Timothy J. Ruttiger.   The Court held that Workers Comp claimants cannot seek damages for bad faith denials of claims outside the administrative Workers Comp regulatory framework. Justice Willett’s concurring opinion writes: "The continued existence of bad-faith claims will subvert the Legislature’s meticulous soup-to-nuts system, one augmented by an immense regulatory and adjudicatory framework that, taken together, now regulates virtually … [Read more...]