A federal appellate court upheld the dismissal of an insurance carrier’s garnishment claim against another carrier seeking to collect a default judgment against an employer for a workers’ compensation claim. Case:…

Workers’ compensation defense firm Gilson Daub opened a new office in Chicago that it said was part of its expansion efforts in the Midwest. Elizabeth Vicars At the same time, the…

A federal appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a widow’s wrongful death claim against the parent company of her late-husband’s employer. Case: Mesenbring v. Rollins Inc., No. 23-2473, 06/28/2024, published. Facts:…

An Illinois appeals court overturned the denial of death benefits to a deceased worker’s adult son, finding that the father's fatal heart attack was compensable and that the son was an…

A federal appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a worker’s claim of retaliation for pursuing workers’ compensation benefits. Paula Emerson began working for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office in 2008.

Chicago’s Office of Inspector General said in its latest audit that contracting with a third-party administrator represented a “major improvement” in running the city’s work comp program compared to the…

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Self Insurers’ Association opened registration for their Workers’ Compensation and Safety Conference scheduled for Oct. 9 in Lisle. The conference will feature a case law…

The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the Public Employee Disability Act does not prohibit an employer from withholding taxes from a worker’s benefits. Case: Bitner v. City of Pekin, No. 4-23-0718,…

Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday announced several arbitrator reappointments to the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission. The reappointed arbitrators are: Joseph Amarilio. Crystal Caison. Paul Cellini. Ana Vazquez Diaz. Gerald Granada. Jessica Hegarty. Adam Hinrichs. Jeffrey Huebsch. Nina Mariano. Maureen Pulia. Pritzker has also appointed…

A federal appellate court ruled that a worker’s claim that his employer’s health plan administrator violated Illinois law was preempted by federal law. Case: Carnes v. HMO Louisiana Inc., No. 4:22-cv-04179,…

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday appointed Magda Derisma-Oyewole as an arbitrator for the state Workers’ Compensation Commission. Magda Derisma-Oyewole Derisma-Oyewole has been a practicing attorney since 2015 and focused on…

Long-tenured Illinois workers’ compensation attorney James K. Keefe Sr. died at the age of 68. James K. Keefe Sr. (kasslyfuneral.com) Keefe died at his home Sept. 9, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission said…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an injured police officer’s constitutional challenges to the state’s new impairment rating evaluation scheme. Case: Powell v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No.  406 C.D. 2023,…

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide whether general contractors can be denied statutory employer status if they have not paid benefits to a subcontractor’s injured employee and whether the statutory employer defense is…

A Pennsylvania appellate court on Monday ordered a workers’ compensation judge to determine whether an employer should be penalized for failing to reimburse an injured worker for medical cannabis. The Commonwealth…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of a widow’s claim for a truck driver’s fatal heart attack. Case: Dnistranskiy v. Brite Logistics Inc. (WCAB), No. 414 C.D. 2023, 05/10/2024,…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that when an injured worker is a sole proprietor, he must report a work-related injury to the insurance carrier for the business within 120…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for benefits based on his industrial lead exposure. Case: Mercer v. Active Radiator MPN Inc., No. 1326 C.D. 2023,…

The Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee on Tuesday held an informational meeting to hear testimony from industry experts on the harmful effects of worker misclassification. Christopher Hallock, deputy secretary of…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld an administrative decision finding that an employer could not join another entity and its insurance carrier as liable parties for a worker’s fatal accident. Case:…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the dismissal of a worker’s untimely appeal of the denial of his workers’ compensation claim. Case: Oldfield v. Popcorn Alley Inc., No. 233 C.D. 2023,…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that Amazon.com was not entitled to join an injured employee’s prior employer as a defendant in her claim and that she was entitled to…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an injured municipal employee’s constitutional challenges to the state's new impairment rating process. Case: Epps v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 835 C.D. 2023, 07/08/2024,…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that an injured worker was precluded from trying to challenge the validity of his settlement agreements with his employer. Case: May v. Dana Corp., No.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that an injured firefighter was not entitled to reinstatement of his benefits. Case: Marinack v. City of Pittsburgh (WCAB), City of Pittsburgh v. Marinack (WCAB),…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a determination that a worker was required to pay the full amount of her employer’s lien against her third-party recovery, even though the estimate…

Billing agents can pursue payments for workers' comp prescriptions outside of the fee-review process, under a recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision. The high court on Tuesday published a split decision in…

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court split on whether a physician should be limited to assigning an impairment rating only for accepted work-related injuries, but it doesn't change a decision allowing the doctor to consider…

Pennsylvania employers would be allowed to make adverse employment decisions against employees and job applicants who legally use medical cannabis, under recently introduced legislation. Senate Bill 1290, introduced Wednesday by Sen. Patrick…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the modification of an injured worker’s benefits from wage loss to a specific loss based on the partial amputation of a toe. Case: Perkins v.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that a worker was not entitled to set aside the workers’ compensation settlement she reached with her employer. Case: Clarius v. Rite Aid Corp. (WCAB),…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that an employer should have been allowed to set aside its stipulation of facts agreeing to the enlargement of an employee’s claim. Case: VNA of…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld an award of benefits to the widow of a paramedic who died of a heart attack. Case: Prospect Medical Holdings Inc. v. Reeder (WCAB), No.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected a worker’s constitutional challenges to the state's new impairment rating evaluation process. Douglas Bellamy worked for the City of Philadelphia. He suffered injuries in a…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the termination of a worker’s benefits for her injuries from a slip-and-fall accident. Case: Tarawallie v. Magee Memorial Hospital for Convalescents (WCAB), No. 717 C.D.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected yet another constitutional challenge to the state's new impairment rating evaluation procedure. Case: Perilli v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1110 C.D. 2023, 08/01/2024, unpublished. Facts:…

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh in on the applicability of the “no-fixed-place-of-work” exception to the “going-and-coming rule” for a tree-trimming supervisor. In February, the Commonwealth Court issued a decision finding that Jorge Martinez…

The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld the dismissal of an insurance carrier’s breach-of-contract claim against a third-party claims administrator and a malpractice action against the former attorney for the carrier. Case: Pyramid…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a determination that a union painter’s direct employer was liable for his benefits but was entitled to a pension offset — and that the worker had…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected another constitutional challenge to the state's new impairment rating evaluation procedure and scolded the attorney responsible for bringing the repetitive claims. Case: Bernard v. City…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that a pension offset is not available when the retiree returns to work for a former employer on a part-time basis and suffers an…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected another repetitive challenge to the constitutionality of the state's new impairment rating evaluation process. Case: Miles v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1111 C.D. 2023,…

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has granted review of disagreement over the proper prescription drug fee schedule for resolving workers’ compensation disputes. In January, the Commonwealth Court held that Red Book values…

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department announced that it will accept requests for refunds of 2009 work comp security fund assessments through Feb. 24. A provision in the budget bill lawmakers passed this…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the modification of a worker’s status from totally to partially disabled. Case: Hines v. Aria Health (WCAB), No. 708 C.D. 2023, 08/22/2024, unpublished. Facts and procedural…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld an award to an injured worker but sent the case back to the judge to provide a more specific description of the compensable conditions. Case:…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a finding that a worker sustained a compensable aggravation of his preexisting lumbar spine degenerative disease and lumbar radiculopathy. Case: Chester Water Authority v. Swiggett,…

The Workers Compensation Research Institute is holding a webinar on Oct. 2 to cover key findings from the latest editions of its CompScope Benchmarks and Medical Benchmarks for Pennsylvania, as…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected yet another constitutional challenge to the state's new impairment rating evaluation process. Pamela Barrett Walker worked for the City of Philadelphia. She suffered injuries at…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld an employer’s entitlement to terminate its payment of benefits to an injured worker. Case: Carter-Zimmitt v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1597 C.D. 2022, 09/10/2024,…