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:…

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 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 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 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 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 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 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:…

Pennsylvania’s Superior Court upheld a jury’s $15.5 million award to a worker for his electric shock injuries. Case: Feldman v. CP Acquisitions 25 LP, No. 501 EDA 2023, 09/12/2024, published. Facts: The…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for penalties for his employer’s failure to pay for his prescribed medications. Case: Benedict v. Hard Chrome Specialists Inc.

A Missouri appellate court ruled that an employer was entitled to direct a worker’s future medical care even though it had refused to pay for her treatment for more than a…

The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a determination that the Second Injury Fund was not liable for a worker’s permanent total disability benefits for a claimed psychological injury. Norma Huffman worked…

The Missouri Court of Appeals reinstated a jury’s verdicts in favor of an injured worker on his disability discrimination claim. Scott Caldwell worked for the UniFirst Corp. as a district sales…

The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for benefits for a knee injury allegedly caused by his misstep while descending a flight of stairs. Case: Fernandez…

The Missouri Court of Appeals overturned a denial of Second Injury Fund benefits to a long-time aircraft mechanic with a multitude of injuries. James Eckardt spent over 40 years working as…

The California Highway Patrol announced that a former officer was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of workers’ compensation fraud. Jordan Lester, 44, filed a work comp claim in July 2021 and was…

California employers could deny an injured worker’s request for time off to get medical treatment for business necessity, under a recently amended bill. Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, on Monday amended…

A bill that would require some doctors performing utilization review to be licensed in the state was brought back to life after spending roughly a year on the California Assembly’s…

A California appellate court ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board lacks jurisdiction to act on a petition for reconsideration more than 60 days after it was filed. Joseph Mayor worked…

The California Legislature passed a bill that would increase salaries for Insurance Department fraud investigators. The Senate on Aug. 26 voted 32-7 to pass AB 2872, which had not been amended…

The California Assembly passed a bill that would require some doctors who perform utilization reviews to be licensed in the state. The Assembly on Thursday voted 54-13 to pass SB 636,…

California lawmakers closed out the 2024 legislative session by passing a bill that would allow electronic signatures on all work comp documents, and a bill requiring that doctors who do utilization review on claims…

A California appellate court ruled that a subcontractor on a construction project was not entitled to pursue payment for its work because it failed to maintain workers’ compensation coverage. Case: American Building Innovation LP…

The California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation opened registration for its 21st annual Conference, Legislative and Educational Forum. The three-day event will feature four general sessions and 15 breakout discussions about issues…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation opened registration for its 32nd annual Educational Conference that will be held in March. The conference is the largest work comp training event in the…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed bills that would have required some utilization review doctors to be licensed in the state and would have increased salaries for fraud investigators at the…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill delaying by two years the implementation of a universal workers’ compensation coverage requirement for all contractors. The bill Newsom signed Sunday also includes a…

A California appellate court revived a worker’s claims against his employer for harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Jose Rivera worked for FSC Corp. at Il Pastaio restaurant in Beverly…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed over potential cost concerns a bill that would have allowed county and special district park rangers to receive full-pay salary continuation benefits in lieu of…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation announced that its Workers’ Compensation Information System will undergo an upgrade in October. The division said WCIS will receive an internal system update and secure…

For the second time, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said a Southern California judge failed to consider the fair market value of services provided in ordering restitution or…

A California appellate court overturned a jury verdict in favor of a railway, finding that the trial judge prejudicially erred in excluding the testimony of an injured worker’s expert witness. Terrence Richard…

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited a farm labor contractor $17,550 for violating heat illness prevention standards. Cal/OSHA said it opened an investigation into Ruiz Farm Labor in…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation opened a second 15-day comment period on a proposal to incorporate Medi-Cal’s reimbursement rules into its pharmacy fee schedule. In addition to technical corrections, the…

The California Applicants’ Attorneys Association opened registration for its annual winter convention, which will be held in Las Vegas Jan. 23-26. Panelists speaking during the conference will cover a variety of…

The California Workers' Compensation Institute said certain benefits will increase by about 3.8% next year because of an increase in the state's average weekly wage. The average wage in California increased…

The California Highway Patrol announced that a former captain was arrested on suspicion of workers' compensation insurance fraud and theft. Matthew Stover, 51, was arrested without incident in Folsom Thursday on…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation announced that the minimum and maximum temporary total disability rates are increasing Jan. 1. The minimum TTD rate will increase to $252.03 per week from…

The Georgia Court of Appeals upheld a finding that the state Insurers Insolvency Pool did not have a right to reimbursement from the insurer of a business using a staffing…

The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that an employer can face civil liability for the death of an employee who was shot at work by a colleague. Solo Cup Operating Corp.

Federal workplace safety inspectors fined a tire maker in Georgia $271,930 for safety violations allegedly uncovered during the investigation of a fatal accident. Steven Brookins, 57, died April 10 at a…

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that an employer may not contractually create common-law negligence liability by setting additional nonemployer roles or capacities when the liability is based on the same physical…

The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission provided contact information for the newly created court that will hear legacy claims from before the 2014 reforms that created the state’s administrative program. Gov. Kevin…

The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission announced personnel updates and changes in contact information within the Court of Existing Claims. The commission said Katrina Stephenson, who will become judicial liaison and order…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a man with a rapid-repetitive-motion injury and that he did not forfeit his entitlement to benefits by lying about his medical…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was not permanently and totally disabled by the loss of her left eye. Case: Murphy v. Arkansas Department of Correction,…

The U.S. Department of Labor's federal Black Lung Program has set outreach events for current and former coal miners with disabilities related to black lung disease in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Miners' families and…

A federal appellate court upheld a worker’s convictions and sentence to embezzlement and workers’ compensation fraud. Case: U.S. v. Holmes, No. 23-4700, 06/21/2024, unpublished. Facts and procedural history: Federal prosecutors in South…

A divided federal appellate court overturned an award of black lung benefits to a coal miner based on an administrative law judge’s misapplication of the burden of proof for a legal…