We use iNaturalist data to help find the sandhills cellophane bee. Researchers are looking for nesting sites for the rare bee.

At the Ryan-Harley site, archeologists reconstruct the ice age landscape of the Wacissa River, where early Floridians left artifacts.

The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits for a university employee with significant preexisting health problems for her alleged injuries from walking to her workplace. Case: Ostrowski v.

The District of Columbia’s highest court ruled that the Office of Administrative Hearings lacks authority to review penalty calculations by the Office of Risk Management. Luigi Buitrago injured his back in…

A federal appellate court upheld the imposition of liability for a coal miner’s Black Lung Benefits Act claim on the self-insured parent of his final employer. David Howard spent 17 years…

The Illinois Appellate Court overturned a denial of benefits for the son of a worker who died of a heart attack. Richard Cronk worked for Kimball Hill Homes as a construction manager.

A federal appellate court scolded an insured for its frivolous defense during arbitration with its carrier and threatened to sanction the insured for its frivolous challenge to the arbitration award. Case: American…

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:…

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.

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…

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…

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 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:…

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 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 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 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 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 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 upheld a utilization review determination that a worker’s ongoing treatments were neither reasonable nor necessary. Michael Perry worked for the Mid Atlantic Hose Center LLC. He…

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 Idaho Department of Insurance on Wednesday announced that it accepted the National Council on Compensation Insurance's rate filing for an average 6.7% reduction in workers’ compensation rates. Dean L. Cameron The…

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…

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…

The owner of a vocational school in Los Angeles was charged with fraud for billing carriers for services not provided and allegedly paying illegal kickbacks to vocational counselors for referrals,…

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…

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.

Kids’ Chance of California awarded $225,115 in scholarships to 42 students for the upcoming academic year. The nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to children of those who were seriously injured or killed…

The California Assembly voted to send Gov. Gavin Newsom a bill that would create the presumption that heat injuries and illnesses arose out of employment for agricultural workers whose employers…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation on Tuesday announced that it reopened its district office in San Bernardino, which had been closed since late July to fix an inoperable air conditioner. The…

An injured worker’s 2023 medical malpractice action was time-barred because more than three years had passed since she underwent the physical therapy that allegedly caused the additional injuries, a California…

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California’s Actuarial Committee will review insurer experience reports during a meeting Tuesday. Committee members will discuss the report evaluating insurer experience as of June 30,…

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California on Thursday announced the promotion of Tony Milano to executive vice president and chief actuary. Tony Milano “Tony’s promotion to our Senior Leadership…

California Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted legislation allowing carriers to continue using prepaid debit cards for payment of temporary and permanent disability benefits. At the same time, the governor vetoed a bill…

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 Workers’ Compensation Institute published a bulletin listing bills of interest that Gov. Gavin Newsom enacted this year. The bulletin lists bills including AB 1239, which allows carriers to continue…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation posted an order adopting the latest quarterly update to the outpatient hospital and ambulatory surgery center section of the Official Medical Fee Schedule. The division…

The California Division of Workers’ Compensation Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee is meeting virtually on Oct. 16. The 2015 bill that directed the DWC to create a prescription drug formulary also created…

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…

Average charged rates increased in the first six months of 2024, suggesting recent rate declines are flattening, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California said in its latest quarterly…

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 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…

A man convicted of fraud in two separate cases 15 years apart and who was kicked out of California's workers' compensation system seven years ago is facing new fraud charges…

The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced standards it will use for profile audit review of adjusting locations next year. The DWC said the PAR performance standard for 2025 audits is…