West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a 1% permanent partial disability award for a worker’s knee injury. Case: Sesco v. Brooks Run South Mining LLC, No. 24-ICA-138, 09/04/2024, unpublished. Facts: Granville…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals overturned the closure of a worker’s claim and ordered that additional evidence be developed as to his preexisting conditions and whether they contributed to his…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits to the widow of a worker suffering from chronic myelomonocytic leukemia before contracting COVID-19 and dying. Case: PPG Industries Inc.

A federal appellate court upheld an award of black lung benefits for a longtime coal miner. Case: Consol PA Coal Co. v. OWCP, No. 23-1892, 09/17/2024, unpublished. Facts: Stephen Hela worked as an…

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld an award of occupational disease-dependent death benefits to a worker’s widow. Case: Appalachian Boiler & Fab LLC v. Caruthers, No. 23-345, 09/23/2024, published. Facts: Johnny A.

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld an increase in a worker’s permanent partial disability award for a shoulder injury. Case: ACNR Resources Inc. v. Martie, No. 23-386, 09/23/2024, published. Facts: Patrick Martie…

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a finding that a roofer’s rare blood disorder was linked to his occupational exposure to benzene. Case: Lindy & Fred Seco General Revokable Trust v.

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was not entitled to an increase in his permanent partial disability award. Case: Alban v. West Virginia Division of…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that an injured worker was entitled to a 0% permanent partial disability award. Case: Gibson v. Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, No. 24-ICA-160,…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a 1% permanent partial disability award for a worker’s knee injury. Case: Davis v. Charleston Area Medical Center Inc., No. 24-ICA-131, 10/01/2024, published. Facts: Thomas…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was not entitled to an increase in his permanent partial disability award for occupational pneumoconiosis. Case: Lucey v. Murray…

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry announced that starting Aug. 1, a new penalty of $500 can be assessed to health care provider agents who violate certain laws relating…

The Alaska Court of Appeals upheld the restitution order against a convicted workers’ compensation fraudster. Scott Abraham Groom was convicted of taking more than $10,000 in state funds by “false or fraudulent pretense,…

The Maryland Appellate Court overturned an award of benefits to a financial adviser for his alleged occupational disease from mold exposure. Case: In the Matter of Morgan Stanley and Co. Inc.,…

The Appellate Court of Maryland overturned an $8.7 million jury verdict in favor of an injured worker against the owner of a vessel that also happened to be his employer. Case: Corman Marine…

The U.S. Department of Energy picked a new company to administer workers’ compensation claims from the Hanford nuclear storage facility in Washington state, according to a report by the Tri-City…

The Washington Court of Appeals upheld the denial of an injured worker’s request to reopen her claim due to her failure to timely perfect her appeal of the decision of…

A trial court erred when it granted a motion in limine to preclude an injured worker from presenting to a jury the question of eligibility for a permanent partial disability…

The Washington Court of Appeals held that a law prohibiting injured workers from posting to social media recordings of their independent medical examinations is an unconstitutional prior restraint on free…

The Washington Court of Appeals overturned a jury verdict finding that a flight attendant was entitled to benefits for her COVID-19 infection, since the jury had been erroneously instructed on…

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries fined a cabinet maker $187,000 after finding that the company did not fix safety violations that led to similar citations in 2019. L&I…

The California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board is moving lien claims to the Oxnard district office to cut down on the amount of claims that have piled up at Los Angeles,…

This week on Work Comp Matters, Steve, Mike & Robert discuss Donald Trump, Gavin Newsom, the LA School Board Strike, Strippers in the Bay Area and much more. An…

A New York appellate court upheld an award of benefits to the widow of a worker who died from COVID-19. Case: Miller v. Transdev Bus on Demand LLC, No. CV-23-0661, 10/10/2024,…

A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for an extreme hardship redetermination. Case: Matter of Brown v. Plans Plus Ltd., No. CV-23-0250, 10/10/2024, published. Facts and procedural…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a worker was entitled to benefits for a back injury, and that he was entitled to a magnetic resonance imaging…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award for a worker’s elbow injury from an on-the-job fall. Case: West Virginia United Health System Inc. v. DeWitt, No. 24-ICA-74, 10/28/2024, published. Facts:…

The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld an award of death benefits for a fatal prescription drug overdose saying evidence in the record was equivocal regarding whether the death was accidental…

The Appellate Court of Maryland ruled that a jury’s award of temporary total disability benefits was inconsistent with its finding that a worker’s hip condition was not related to her…

A petition was filed with the California Supreme Court requesting a writ of mandate directing the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board to render final decisions on cases in which it granted…

Orders taking a matter off calendar are not final orders for the purposes of seeking reconsideration, the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board said in a what it designated as a…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of 0% permanent partial disability for a worker’s occupational pneumoconiosis. Case: Foster v. Kingston Mining Inc., No. 24-ICA-172, 10/28/2024, published. Facts: Nelson Foster…

A New York appellate court ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Board applied the wrong standard of proof to a social worker seeking benefits for physical and psychological injuries from being…

A New York appellate court overturned an award of permanent total disability benefits for an injured pharmacy technician. Case: Matter of Thakkar v. Walmart Associates Inc., No. CV-23-0356, 10/24/2024, published. Facts: Purvi…

Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court will be weighing in on the proper allocation of the burden of proving the existence of available positions for an injured worker, and the suitability of those…

A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law claim, and that a third-party defendant should have been granted summary…

A Texas appellate court upheld the denial of a self-represented worker’s claim due to his failure to ensure there was a record of the administrative proceedings that resulted in the…

A New York appeals court said a law created nearly 50 years ago to ensure serial killer David Berkowitz couldn't profit from his murder spree supersedes work comp law and…

A New York appellate court overturned an award of damages after a defendant’s default in a Labor Law case, finding the award inadequate. Case: Sharif v. Pritam Property Inc., Nos. 2021-09103…

Designed for California workers compensation attorneys providing seven (7) hours of "Special Requirement" training towards the 25 hours of total MCLE credit required for the California State Bar education needed…

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals ruled that a circuit court lacked jurisdiction over a worker’s claim for compensation for a work-related injury and that an individual member of the…

The Utah Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a former Walmart’s worker’s claim for permanent total disability benefits. Darlene Rouse worked for Walmart. She had physical limitations related to a…

A federal appellate court ruled that a coal miner was entitled to a presumption that he was totally disabled due to pneumoconiosis, and it upheld an award of black lung…

The Utah Court of Appeals ruled that a worker can receive benefits for injuries she sustained from an idiopathic fall while she was working — if the injuries were made more…

The Wyoming Supreme Court ruled that the state's Workers’ Compensation Division has the authority to order reimbursement of an employee’s reasonably incurred medical expert witness fees. Case: Leal v. State ex…

An Ohio appellate court issued a limited writ of mandamus overturning an enhanced award of benefits against a borrowing employer for a worker’s chemical burns. Case: State ex rel. Liberty Steel…

A divided Ohio appellate court rejected the recommendation of a magistrate and issued a writ of mandate compelling the Industrial Commission to overturn its denial of an injured worker’s claim…

An Ohio appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted an enhanced award of benefits for his employer’s violation of a specific safety requirement for shoring trenches. Curtis Berry…

The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation awarded $9.4 million in grants for workplace safety projects. The Workforce Safety Innovation Grants disbursed this year are funding four proof-of-concept projects and four prototype…

An Ohio appellate court rejected an employer’s challenge to a loss-of-use award to a worker who underwent a partial surgical amputation of his foot. Case: State ex rel. Randstad North America…