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 Rhode Island Superior Court upheld a denial of accidental disability retirement benefits to a former Department of Motor Vehicles employee. Case: Williams v. Employees’ Retirement System of Rhode Island, No.

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.

The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that the Public Employee Disability Act does not prohibit an employer from withholding taxes from a worker’s benefits. Case: Bitner v. City of Pekin, No. 4-23-0718,…

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ruled that an injured firefighter was not entitled to reinstatement of his benefits. Case: Marinack v. City of Pittsburgh (WCAB), City of Pittsburgh v. Marinack (WCAB),…

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 the termination of a worker’s benefits for her injuries from a slip-and-fall accident. Case: Tarawallie v. Magee Memorial Hospital for Convalescents (WCAB), No. 717 C.D.

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 upheld an employer’s entitlement to terminate its payment of benefits to an injured worker. Case: Carter-Zimmitt v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 1597 C.D. 2022, 09/10/2024,…

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 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 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…

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…

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 Workers' Compensation Institute said certain benefits will increase by about 3.8% next year because of an increase in the state's average weekly wage. The average wage in California increased…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a man with a rapid-repetitive-motion injury and that he did not forfeit his entitlement to benefits by lying about his medical…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was not permanently and totally disabled by the loss of her left eye. Case: Murphy v. Arkansas Department of Correction,…

The U.S. Department of Labor's federal Black Lung Program has set outreach events for current and former coal miners with disabilities related to black lung disease in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky. Miners' families and…

A federal appellate court ruled that an administrative law judge did not err in relying on a regulatory preamble to support an award of black lung benefits to a veteran…

A federal appellate court upheld an award of black lung benefits to a coal industry employee despite the administrative law judge’s evidentiary error. Case: Coastal Coal Co. LLC v. Harrison, No.

The U.S. Department of Labor will host an informational session in Lisle, Illinois, to discuss benefits available under the Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Act. The program provides lump-sum payments and…

A federal appellate court upheld an award of compensation under the Black Lung Benefits Act to a worker, finding that the time he spent as a truck driver was “substantially…

A federal appellate court created a split among the circuits on whether the parent company of a self-insuring coal mine operator can be held liable for black lung benefits owed…

A federal appellate court upheld the denial of a coal miner’s third claim for black lung benefits. Case: Hitt v. OWCP, No. 23-1916, 08/15/2024, unpublished. Facts: Robert Hitt worked in the coal…

The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld an award of permanent total disability benefits for a worker who experienced issues on his left side after a back injury before symptoms shifted to…

The Connecticut Appellate Court decided that a city was no longer liable for benefits to its former fire chief under a pension offset and that its appeal regarding benefits, interest and…

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a poultry processing plant worker’s claim for injuries from an unexplained fall. Case: Gutierrez v. Perdue Farms Inc., No. 0176-23-2, 05/21/2024, unpublished. Facts:…

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for an injury from falling as she turned to speak to a colleague. Case: O’Brien v. Northern Virginia Community…

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 Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a worker suffered an injury to his shoulder when he slipped and fell on a patch of ice. Case: Uninsured Employer’s Fund…

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was entitled to benefits for his injuries from being struck by a car while attempting to aid a motorist…

The Intermediate Court of Appeals of West Virginia upheld the denial of benefits to a widow, finding she failed to prove that her husband's death was caused by his occupational exposure…

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of additional treatment and temporary total disability benefits for an injured mine worker. Case: Polinski v. Consol Bailey Mine WV, No.

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Board of Review erred in finding that a worker who lost part of his leg was not entitled…

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for injuries allegedly suffered while assisting a colleague having a medical emergency. Case: Hollandsworth v. Workforce West…

The West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits to a worker for an alleged back injury. Case: Cecil v. Pepsi-Cola Metropolitan Bottling Co., No. 24-ICA-53, 07/30/2024, unpublished. Facts:…

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker's request for additional benefits and the expansion of her claim. Case: Martin v. Wal-Mart Associates Inc., No. 23-115, 08/01/2024, published. Facts: Irene Martin…

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for additional treatment and benefits, and the expansion of his claim. Case: Hankins v. Sprouting Farms Corp., No. 22-919,…

The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a denial of permanent partial disability benefits to an injured worker. Case: Underwood v. West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, No. 23-118, 08/01/2024,…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a widow’s claim for benefits, finding her late husband’s occupational pneumoconiosis had not materially contributed to his death. Sherman Bailey received…

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 a denial of benefits for a hospital maintenance worker’s COVID-19 infection. Case: Morrill v. Lifepoint Hospitals Inc., No. 23-461, 09/23/2024, published. Facts: Curtis Morrill was a…

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis enacted a bill that will increase the cap on combined temporary disability and permanent partial disability benefits by 100% or more. Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada Polis on…

The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that an administrative law judge had jurisdiction to determine whether an employer made an overpayment after it issued an admission of liability for a specific…

A divided Texas appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment finding that an injured police officer was entitled to uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under her own policy for an accident…

A Texas appellate court ruled that a worker’s death in a motorcycle accident while retrieving his company-issued laptop from home was not compensable. Michael Evans was a safety consultant for Xcel…

The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation posted proposed changes to its pharmacy benefit rules that remove obsolete provisions and update reference language for consistency with other regulations. “When the rules were originally adopted,…