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.

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 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 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 Case: Perilli v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1110 C.D. 2023, 08/01/2024, unpublished.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 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 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 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 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 ordered a workers’ compensation judge to reconsider an agreement providing for a 20% contingency fee from a worker’s medical and indemnity benefits. Case: Elder v. Crane…

Pennsylvania Rep. Lindsay Powell introduced legislation that would require that the same eligibility standards apply when awarding death benefits to widows and widowers while also exempting spouses of first responders…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of a railway worker’s claim of injury to his ear and hearing loss. Case: Patrick v. Velocity Rail Solutions Inc. (WCAB), No. 652…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania continues to reject repetitive challenges to the constitutionality of the state's new impairment rating evaluation process. Case: Kittles v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1058 C.D.

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an employer’s challenges to orders reinstating a worker’s benefits, the expansion of his claim and the imposition of penalties. Case: Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board v. Berardi (WCAB),…

Goldberg Segalla announced the addition of attorneys to its workers’ compensation defense practice groups in San Francisco and Orange County, California. Lynet’ D. Shigg  joined the firm’s San Francisco practice group,…

The California Assembly unanimously passed a bill that would allow county park rangers to receive salary continuation benefits in lieu of temporary disability. Sen. Angelique Ashby The Assembly on Thursday voted…

The California Senate unanimously passed a bill that would allow carriers to continue using debit cards to pay benefits for another two years. The Senate on Monday voted 38-0 to pass…

California’s 2nd District Court of Appeals published its July decision finding that the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund is required to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that it…

California lawmakers passed a bill that, if approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would allow county park rangers to collect full salary-continuation benefits in lieu of temporary disability for up to…

A California appellate court ruled that some claims in a dispute between the founding partners of a factoring company should have been dismissed. In 2010, Ari Resnick and Dr. Ismael Silva Jr.

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 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 trial court did not abuse its discretion when it reviewed new medical reports finding that a man was unable to return to work and in ordering San Francisco’s retirement system to…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation said it is closing a virtual district office in Eureka on Oct. 18 and shifting cases to Santa Rosa. Beginning Oct. 1, all hearing requests…

The Governing Committee for the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau will review pending legislative, regulatory and judicial actions during a Sept. 25 meeting. Committee members will hear reports on the annual…

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 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 Workers’ Compensation Institute reported that a nearly eightfold increase in migraine drug prescriptions coincided with the emergence of several high-cost drugs that are not included in the formulary. “Although…

The California Division of Workers' Compensation posted an order updating the hospital outpatient department and ambulatory surgical centers section of the Official Medical Fee Schedule. The division in October posted an…

The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was partially disabled by carpal tunnel syndrome and the Workers’ Disability Compensation Appeals Commission should address whether she received an overpayment…

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 upheld the dismissal of a widow’s challenge to the denial of her claim for death benefits as time-barred. Case: Coffman v. Barnsley Consulting Group, No. A24A0740,…

The owner of a Georgia tax preparation business was charged with 23 counts of insurance fraud and two counts of deceptive practices for allegedly selling workers’ compensation insurance without being…

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.

The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court of Existing Claims is implementing a preliminary review docket for active cases pending as of July 1. The court’s preliminary review docket will be held at…

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…

California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau and the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission on Wednesday announced plans to launch new websites. The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission announced that it will unveil its…

A federal appellate court ruled that an administrative law judge did not err in relying on a regulatory preamble to support an award of black lung benefits to a veteran…

A federal appellate court upheld an award of black lung benefits to a coal industry employee despite the administrative law judge’s evidentiary error. Case: Coastal Coal Co. LLC v. Harrison, No.

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…

A federal appellate court upheld an award of compensation under the Black Lung Benefits Act to a worker, finding that the time he spent as a truck driver was “substantially…

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed an employer’s challenge to a decision of the Benefits Review Board remanding a worker’s motion to modify his partial disability award under…

The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals denied review of a railway worker’s challenge to the dismissal of his claim he had been terminated in retaliation for his successful pursuit…

The Workers’ Compensation Division of Berkshire Hathaway Homestate Cos. appointed Marj Hutchings as its chief information officer. Marj Hutchings Hutchings brings 35 years of technology experience, 27 of which are in…

Shipping giant Maersk Line Ltd. agreed to end a policy requiring workers to notify the company of any safety concerns before contacting the Coast Guard, the U.S. Department of Labor announced. Maersk…