The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an injured police officer’s constitutional challenges to the state’s new impairment rating evaluation scheme. Case: Powell v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No.  406 C.D. 2023,…

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 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,…

Pennsylvania employers would be allowed to make adverse employment decisions against employees and job applicants who legally use medical cannabis, under recently introduced legislation. Senate Bill 1290, introduced Wednesday by Sen. Patrick…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the modification of an injured worker’s benefits from wage loss to a specific loss based on the partial amputation of a toe. Case: Perkins v.

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 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 Case: Hines v. Aria Health (WCAB), No. 708 C.D. 2023, 08/22/2024, unpublished.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…

Pennsylvania’s Superior Court upheld a jury’s $15.5 million award to a worker for his electric shock injuries. Case: Feldman v. CP Acquisitions 25 LP, No. 501 EDA 2023, 09/12/2024, published. Facts: The…

The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld the dismissal of a medical provider’s claim for damages against an insurance company executive for the carrier’s alleged failure to pay for the treatment of…

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 overturned a denial of Second Injury Fund benefits to a long-time aircraft mechanic with a multitude of injuries. James Eckardt spent over 40 years working as…

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 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…

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.

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…

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 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…

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…

Pacific Workers’ Compensation Law Center in Oakland hired Yuvanna M. Davis as a workers’ compensation attorney. Yuvanna M. Davis The firm said Davis has a strong background in workers’ rights and…

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…

For the second time, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said a Southern California judge failed to consider the fair market value of services provided in ordering restitution or…

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 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 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 Workers Compensation Research Institute reports that average medical payments per claim in California were 10% below the median of a 17-state study. California saw little change in payments per claim…

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 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 Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that if a worker is injured as a passenger in an employer-owned vehicle, and workers’ compensation exclusivity precludes a recovery under the automobile liability policy, the…

ATF Medical appointed Katherine Nelson to serve as vice president of sales. Katherine Nelson Nelson will be based in Las Vegas and oversee the company’s efforts to market mobility and accessibility…

The U.S. Department of Labor on Tuesday said it adopted a new rule updating its hazard communication standard that takes effect July 19. The revised rule requires labels on small packages…

A federal appellate court ruled that it had no jurisdiction over a petition for review of a denial of survivor’s benefits under the Black Lung Benefits Act filed one day…

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…

Physician assistants and nurse practitioners would be authorized to treat injured federal workers under a bill being debated in the U.S. House of Representatives. HR 618, by Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., would add…

The National Insurance Crime Bureau has set its Workers’ Compensation and Medical Investigations Conference for Oct. 1-4 in Chicago. The event's goal is to provide training and networking for insurance professionals, including…

Workplace safety regulators in California and Washington state proposed nearly $500,000 in penalties for 10 employers accused of exposing workers to crystalline silica dust. The California Division of Occupational Safety and…

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’…

Enlyte on Thursday announced the launch of Apricus Physical Medicine, a network for rehabilitation services, including occupational therapy and physical therapy. Enlyte said its specialty network brand will provide injured workers…

The National Council on Compensation Insurance said that after several years of ignoring broader economic patterns, medical inflation in the third quarter followed the softening trend in overall inflation. The softening…

The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents announced that employers must use and display a revised employee notice form, starting Sept. 16. Employers are required to fill out the posters by providing…

The Connecticut Appellate Court ruled that the doctrine of res judicata did not bar an employer’s claims against its former comp carrier for allegedly misleading it into believing it still…

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…