The Delaware Superior Court overturned a determination that an injured worker failed to exhaust reasonable conservative measures to treat his knee injury before opting for surgery. Case: Baxter v. Verizon Communications,…

Large language model does better than human mathematicians trying to solve combinatorics problems inspired by the card game Set

Squaring numbers can have surprising consequences

Mathematicians cannot determine whether multiplying pi by itself repeatedly might produce a whole number

Researchers are racing to create codes so complex that even quantum computers can’t break them

The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled that an insurance carrier did not have to treat a worker as having a combined condition when none of her impairment was related to her compensable…

The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division's rulemaking advisory committee will review medical treatment regulations during a Nov. 5 meeting. The division said a preliminary list of topics that the committee will discuss…

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 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…

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 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’…

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…

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 Occupational Safety and Health cited a farm labor contractor $17,550 for violating heat illness prevention standards. Cal/OSHA said it opened an investigation into Ruiz Farm Labor in…

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that an employer may not contractually create common-law negligence liability by setting additional nonemployer roles or capacities when the liability is based on the same physical…

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to additional treatment for a foot injury, as well as the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s calculation of her…

The Workers Compensation Research Institute is holding a 30-minute webinar on June 6 to discuss the impact of excessive heat on workplace injuries. WCRI recently released a study measuring the extent…

The U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule that would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards in workplaces affected by excessive…

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…

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…

Federal workplace safety investigators fined a Massachusetts waterproofing contractor $283,115 for safety violations they say led to a worker's death. Gerceir Osvaldo DeFaria, 51, was killed in February 2024 when part…

The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that an employer could not relitigate the reasonableness of a worker’s mileage expenses from traveling to see a chiropractor 78 miles from his home. John Edelblute…

The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a worker’s mental health treatment after her on-the-job injury. Case: Virginia Commonwealth University v. Miller, No. 1859-23-2, 08/20/2024, unpublished. Facts: Sabrina…

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 a denial of authorization for nerve block treatments for an injured worker. Case: Cooper v. Lowe’s Home Centers Inc., No. 24-ICA-55, 07/30/2024, unpublished. Facts:…

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 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,…

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.

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 Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that an injured employee’s right to assert a direct claim for unpaid medical expenses is not precluded by a medical provider’s failure to intervene in…

A Texas appellate court ruled that a nonsignatory to an agreement could not compel arbitration of a family’s wrongful death claims despite its purported adoption of an occupational injury benefit…

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 is hosting a free webinar Nov. 7 to cover how to become a treating doctor. The program will teach attendees the requirements to become a…

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries fined the state wildlife department $200,400 for two incidents that killed one worker and hospitalized another. Mary Valentine, a 48-year-old Department of Fish…

The Washington Court of Appeals upheld a decision closing a worker’s claim and denying her further treatment. Case: Creighton v. United Airlines Inc., No. 58293-7-II, 08/27/2024, unpublished. Facts: Tamra Creighton worked for…

Musculoskeletal injuries constitute the majority of industrial claims. Claims professionals will review many medical reports written by physicians who report their findings as they treat and evaluate injured workers. This…

Join us for "A Brief History and the State of Medical Treatment".

David DePaolo will moderate a discussion on the topic of Opioids based on a WorkCompCentral Special Report authored by Peter Rousmaniere. The report looks at how the workers’ compensation industry…

The New Paradigm of Providing Medical Treatment for Injured Workers.

"Work Comp Matters" - the central location for all your workers' compensation, employment and labor law matters. Steve Appell hosts this weekly podcast from sunny southern California - presenting some…

During this episode of Work Comp Matters Steve, Robert, Mike & Ted talk about governor Gavin Newsom placing a stay on the death penalty, the Nationwide college admissions scandal regarding…

Whether you are an employer, claims examiner, medical provider or attorney, this program will provide you with a clear understanding and practical approach of how the MTUS and Formulary to…

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,…

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…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the closure of a worker’s claim, the denial of his requests for additional treatment and the denial of his request to expand the…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was not entitled to reopen his claim or to receive additional benefits even though he received treatments and expanded the…

West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the closure of an injured law enforcement officer’s claim and the denial of authorization for further treatment. Case: Robertson v. Brooks County Commission, No. 24-ICA-185,…

The Alabama Supreme Court overturned a $3 million judgment in a wrongful death case, finding that a worker’s failure to realize a safety device was missing from a machine was…

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals upheld the denial of a widower’s claim for benefits for a nursing home worker’s death after her COVID-19 infection. Rose Harrison worked for the Marion Regional…

The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld the denial of additional treatment and benefits to a field engineer for her left foot and ankle complaints. Case: Zheng v. Wyoming, No. S-23-0277, 07/19/2024, published. Facts…