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 Case: Perilli v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1110 C.D. 2023, 08/01/2024, unpublished.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 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 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 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 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…

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),…

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.

The Pennsylvania General Assembly passed a bill that would make direct deposit the default method for paying workers' compensation benefits, and the Senate signed off on a measure that would make…

Pennsylvania lawmakers sent Gov. Josh Shapiro bills that would make direct deposit the default way to pay work comp benefits and make it easier for first responders to receive benefits…

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 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…

Missouri Employers Mutual announced a new brand identity, MEM, that unites the work comp carrier and its subsidiary, Previsor, under a single banner. The rebranding coincides with the carrier’s transition to…

The Idaho Supreme Court ruled that an employer is not required to use only one physician to evaluate a discrete injury, but it has the burden of proving the reasonableness of…

Although the Idaho Industrial Commission erred in several credibility findings, the remainder of its determinations finding that an injured worker was not a reliable witness were supported by substantial and…

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’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…

The California Assembly Appropriations Committee passed bills that would create a presumption that heat injuries are compensable for agricultural workers and would expose employers to penalties for denying injured workers’…

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 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's Division of Occupational Safety and Health, commonly known as Cal/OSHA, has increased staffing in its Bureau of Investigations Unit to take on more probes into serious workplace injuries across the…

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…

Electronic signatures would be allowed for all California workers’ compensation documents, under a recently amended bill. Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach, last week amended AB 2337 to strike a provision that…

The California Workers’ Compensation Institute published a report on trends in average benefit payments valued 24 months from the date of injury. CWCI reports average medical payments started declining two years…

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…

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…

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 Occupational Safety and Health reminds employers of the requirement to protect their workers from unhealthy air as wildfires in the southern part of the state fill…

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…

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 Chamber of Commerce on Thursday issued a statement urging Gov. Gavin Newsom to veto a bill that would create a presumption of compensability for certain heat-related injuries suffered…

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…

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 allowing electronic signatures in the state’s workers’ compensation system. Newsom on Sunday signed AB 2337, by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach. As introduced, the…