John R. Emerson

John Emerson has practiced law since graduating from The University of Kansas Law School in 1996. After prosecuting felony criminal cases ranging from murder to involuntary manslaughter, he joined McAnany, Van Cleave & Phillips, P.A. in 1999. Since that time, Mr. Emerson has devoted his practice to defending employers and their insurance companies in workers’ compensation cases.

Mr. Emerson’s experience and success is in defending work disability claims, cases involving intoxication from drugs or alcohol, cases resulting in an amputation and cases involving permanent total disability in noteworthy. In the cases of Smith v. Premier Technologies and Voorhies v. Cobalt Boats, he convinced the Court to limit an injured workers ability to receive work disability benefits in Kansas. In Cox v. Collins Construction, he successfully argued that the permanent total disability benefits at issue were the responsibility of the state and not the employer where the catastrophic injury occurred.

Frequently, employers and insurance carriers ask Mr. Emerson to render compensability opinions and to assess exposure of claims. He works closely with employment lawyers in the firm on termination issues that arise in work disability cases. Mr. Emerson has been a guest speaker for the paralegal program at Johnson County Community College, as well as for the Kansas City Legal Secretaries Association.

He is involved in charities that benefit children and is active in coaching children at the YMCA.