New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that a 22% drop in the workers' compensation assessment rate is projected to save state employers about $191 million in 2025. Effective Jan. 1, the…

The Colorado Division of Insurance announced a 4.3% average loss cost decrease for workers' compensation policies incepting in 2025. Loss costs are the average cost of lost wages and medical payments…

The Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice announced that a former state trooper who operated a silk-screening business while receiving temporary disability benefits pleaded guilty to two counts of larceny. Kevin Moore,…

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced that it opened rulemaking for ergonomic regulations that would apply to airline ground crews. State lawmakers in 2023 enacted Senate Bill 5217,…

A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for an extreme hardship redetermination. Case: Matter of Brown v. Plans Plus Ltd., No. CV-23-0250, 10/10/2024, published. Facts and procedural…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a worker was entitled to benefits for a back injury, and that he was entitled to a magnetic resonance imaging…

A New York appellate court upheld a determination that an injured worker was not entitled to an increase in his loss of wage-earning capacity after his claim was expanded to…

The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that two injured workers could not back out of a settlement agreement they entered with their employer’s insurance carrier to satisfy the carrier’s subrogation…

A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to summary judgment on one aspect of his Labor Law claim. Case: Urquia v. Deegan 135 Realty LLC,  No. 22340/19,…

A New York appellate court partially overturned a grant of summary judgment dismissing a defendant’s indemnification claim against an injured worker’s employer. Case: Cooper v. BLDG 7th Street LLC, Nos. 153479/18,…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award for a worker’s elbow injury from an on-the-job fall. Case: West Virginia United Health System Inc. v. DeWitt, No. 24-ICA-74, 10/28/2024, published. Facts:…

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Commission denying an employer’s successive application for a hearing as being unsupported by probable cause. In December 2022, Jessica…

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a company that supplies ingredients for compound drugs agreed to pay $21.75 million to resolve allegations that it falsely inflated average wholesale prices. The…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a finding of compensability for a worker’s back injury. Case: Toyota Motor Manufacturing WV Inc. v. Adkins, No. 24-ICA-181, 10/28/2024, unpublished. Facts: Donnie Adkins worked…

A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim based on his injuries from a fall from a cement truck. Case:…

The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation will evaluate health care providers on two measures as part of its 2025 performance-based oversight assessment process. The DWC said it will assess providers on…

The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the summary dismissal of a SAIF employee’s claim she that was terminated in retaliation for reporting unlawful conduct.   Case: Cuddigan-Placito v. SAIF, No. 760.

The New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration is seeking public comment regarding the reappointment of Judge Ned Fuller to a five-year term. Ned S. Fuller Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham appointed Fuller, the…

The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld an award of death benefits for a fatal prescription drug overdose saying evidence in the record was equivocal regarding whether the death was accidental…

The U.S. Department of Labor reported an 11% reduction in workplace fatality investigations in the most recent fiscal year. The 826 worker deaths investigated during the fiscal year that ended June…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the closure of a worker’s claim, the denial of his requests for additional treatment and the denial of his request to expand the…

A New York appellate court ruled that a worker struck by a falling panel should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law claim. Case: Macaulay v. New Line Structures…

A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment for a worker’s Labor Law claim. Case: Molina v. 114 Fifth Avenue Associates LLC, No. 156349/16, 10/15/2024, published. Facts: Jose Molina…

The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled that a jury’s award of temporary total disability benefits was inconsistent with its finding that a worker’s hip condition was not related to her…

Sedgwick on Monday announced that it named Andrea Buhl president of its casualty group. Andrea Buhl Buhl has held numerous leadership roles at Sedgwick over the last 15 years, most recently…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation updated a poster employers are required to display in the workplace to add language advising people of their right to consult an attorney following…

A New York appellate court overturned a decision deducting the schedule loss of use for a worker’s prior shoulder injury from the schedule loss of use for a later arm…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a coal miner’s claim of injury from a fall. Case: Saunders v. ACNR Resources Inc., No. 24-ICA-128, 10/28/2024, published. Facts: Stephen Saunders…

A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment for a worker’s Labor Law claim based on his fall while working in an elevator shaft. Case: De Souza v.

A divided Michigan Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a tort claim saying the injured worker agreed to a shorter statute of limitations in a contract he signed as…

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state could receive up to $122 million from Kroger through a settlement that resolves allegations that the grocery chain failed to oversee the…

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau will present the findings from its latest study on the variation of claim characteristics in different parts of California during a Dec. 4 webinar. Since…

A petition was filed with the California Supreme Court requesting a writ of mandate directing the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board to render final decisions on cases in which it granted…

Orders taking a matter off calendar are not final orders for the purposes of seeking reconsideration, the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board said in a what it designated as a…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of 0% permanent partial disability for a worker’s occupational pneumoconiosis. Case: Foster v. Kingston Mining Inc., No. 24-ICA-172, 10/28/2024, published. Facts: Nelson Foster…

A New York appellate court ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Board applied the wrong standard of proof to a social worker seeking benefits for physical and psychological injuries from being…

A New York appellate court overturned an award of permanent total disability benefits for an injured pharmacy technician. Case: Matter of Thakkar v. Walmart Associates Inc., No. CV-23-0356, 10/24/2024, published. Facts: Purvi…

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will be weighing in on the proper allocation of the burden of proving the existence of available positions for an injured worker, and the suitability of those…

The Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau announced that eligible carriers can request refunds of 2009 work comp security fund assessments through Feb. 24. Gov. Josh Shapiro in July signed HB 2310, a…

A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries while dismounting a bucket he was using as a makeshift…

A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment for the State Insurance Fund on its claim for unpaid workers’ compensation premiums. Case: Commissioners of the State Insurance Fund…

The Alaska Workers' Compensation Division is holding a public meeting Dec. 10 to discuss adopting of the 2024 update to impairment rating guides. Alaska law mandates permanent impairment ratings be assigned…

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a contractor in Crystal Lake, Illinois, for allegedly exposing workers to fall hazards. OSHA said it fined 595 Construction LLC $287,465 for one…

A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law claim, and that a third-party defendant should have been granted summary…

A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant should not have been granted summary judgment dismissing the claim against it. Case: Lopez v. Kamco Services LLC, No. 2022-05176,…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was not entitled to reopen his claim or to receive additional benefits even though he received treatments and expanded the…

A Texas appellate court upheld the denial of a self-represented worker’s claim due to his failure to ensure there was a record of the administrative proceedings that resulted in the…

A New York appeals court said a law created nearly 50 years ago to ensure serial killer David Berkowitz couldn't profit from his murder spree supersedes work comp law and…

A worker collecting benefits for a back injury is facing fraud charges after he was reportedly observed lifting weights at a gym that exceeded the five-pound restriction his physician imposed,…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the closure of an injured law enforcement officer’s claim and the denial of authorization for further treatment. Case: Robertson v. Brooks County Commission, No. 24-ICA-185,…