Ohio’s Fifth District Court of Appeals issued a significant decision in Lang v. THK Manufacturing of America, Inc., reversing the trial court’s grant of summary judgment against ABKF’s client, Todd Lang.

The case arose after Mr. Lang collapsed at work and sustained severe head trauma. He sought workers’ compensation, but the trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants, concluding that Lang had not created a genuine factual dispute as to whether his injuries arose out of his employment. On appeal, the Fifth District disagreed. The court noted that Lang submitted an expert affidavit—grounded in record evidence—opining that his injuries stemmed from a work-induced seizure. That affidavit, the court held, created a genuine dispute of fact concerning the cause of Lang’s injury.

The decision creates important precedent for the proposition that, when qualified experts disagree on causation, those disputes must be resolved by a jury, not disposed of on summary judgment.

Ben Flowers argued Lang in the Fifth District Court of Appeals.