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The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board opened registration for its 2024  conference, set for Oct. 18 in Albany. Clarissa Rodriguez The full-day program will feature a state-of-the-system report from WCB Chair…

The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board is reopening most offices for in-person services today. The board said the reopening of the Manhattan and Queens offices will be delayed because of…

The Nevada Workers’ Compensation Section is holding a basic orientation training session online on Aug. 1. The free educational program covers the basic work comp regulatory processes and a review of…

The New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration is accepting public comments on the 2025 fee schedule and billing instructions. Written public comments will be accepted until the close of business on Nov. 1 and should be…

The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed $819,417 in penalties for a New Jersey contractor that it says has a history of exposing workers to potentially deadly fall hazards. OSHA…

The Nebraska Court of Appeals upheld a finding of compensability for a worker’s knee injury, but overturned the award of permanent total disability benefits as unsupported by adequate factual findings. Case:…

The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that an employer was properly penalized for failing to make an indemnity payment to an injured worker because of a dispute over when and if…

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services said it received notice of seven fatalities accepted for workers’ compensation benefits in the first three months of 2024, one less than…

The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services reported that it received notice of 42 fatalities accepted for workers’ compensation benefits in 2023. The 42 compensable workplace fatalities represent a 40%…

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals suspended for nine months an attorney with a long disciplinary history. Nelson Gonzalez is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and New Jersey. He has been…

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…

Workers’ compensation defense firm Gilson Daub opened a new office in Chicago that it said was part of its expansion efforts in the Midwest. Elizabeth Vicars At the same time, the…

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…

The Illinois Chamber of Commerce and Illinois Self Insurers’ Association opened registration for their Workers’ Compensation and Safety Conference scheduled for Oct. 9 in Lisle. The conference will feature a case law…

A Pennsylvania appellate court on Monday ordered a workers’ compensation judge to determine whether an employer should be penalized for failing to reimburse an injured worker for medical cannabis. The Commonwealth…

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 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 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 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 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 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…

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…

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…

AppliedVR appointed Michael Marsau as its executive director of workers’ compensation. Michael Marsau Marsau is overseeing the launch of the company’s flagship RelieVRx prescription therapeutic into the workers’ compensation market, the…

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…

The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions opened registration for its 2024 Judicial Program being held Oct. 29-30. The program, presented by IAIABC with the National Association on Workers’…

The U.S. Labor Department said it received more than $350,000 in back wages for workers at a Michigan construction company who were misclassified as contractors and for a truck driver…

The Workers Compensation Research Institute opened registration for its 2025 annual Issues and Research Conference being held March 6-7 in Phoenix. Ramona Tanabe WCRI said it will present findings from its…

A federal appellate court ruled that an injured longshoreman who has hearing loss in one ear and bilateral tinnitus is properly compensated at the statutory rate. Case: Total Terminals International LLC…

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday suspended the license of a Des Moines-area sole practitioner with a long history of discipline involving the mishandling of two workers’ compensation matters. The court…

The Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission opened registration for its 2024 Education Conference and Exhibition in October. The conference provides instruction on rules, procedures, policies and forms used in the state’s comp system.

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a firefighter with an aortic aneurysm had presumptively occupational heart disease. Case: Hanover County v. Moore, No. 0715-23-2, 07/09/2024, unpublished. Facts: Scott Moore…

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits to a worker for his injuries from falling from a scaffold, finding he was an independent contractor. Case: Pineda v. Dante…

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review erred in applying the standard of compensability for occupational pneumoconiosis to a widow’s claim for…

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…

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker’s request to reopen her claim for temporary total disability benefits, additional medications and a referral to a rheumatologist. Case: Blevins…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a referral to a neurosurgeon for evaluation of a condition that had not been accepted as compensable in a worker’s claim. Case:…

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 Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry opened registration for a mandatory rehabilitation provider update webinar being held Sept. 13. The webinar will cover topics including a department update, legislative and rule…

The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry announced that it will open registration Monday for its one-day Workers’ Compensation Summit set for Oct. 29. Session topics will include a legislative update…

The Colorado Division of Workers’ Compensation is holding a meeting to discuss a preliminary draft of updated rules for the independent medical examination process. Draft rules that the division is considering…

The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation opened registration for its Workers’ Compensation Conference being held virtually in October. The conference will feature sessions covering topics that include artificial intelligence, average weekly…

A Texas appellate court dismissed an insurance carrier’s challenge to a trial judge’s finding of compensability for a worker’s death, ruling that the judgment entered had been void. Case: Texas Mutual…

The Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that an employer’s optional medical examination is not a reimbursable expense from a worker’s third-party recovery. Case: Brent v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, No. 2022-CT-00529-SCT,…

The Maryland Insurance Administration announced that penalties for certain statutory violations will increase on Oct. 1. The maximum penalty the administration can impose on an unauthorized insurer or person engaging in the…