CA - 3rd DCA Publishes Decision on Compensability of Car Accident; Defendant Petitions High Court
05/14/2024 | 0
The California Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on the compensability of a worker’s injuries after he left his job at a remote fire camp without his employer’s knowledge, and in violation of its rules.
Last month, the Court of Appeal for the 3rd District of California ruled that Braden Nanez was entitled to benefits in an unpublished opinion. The California Lawyers Association and California Applicant Attorneys' Association separately petitioned the court to order the decision for 3 Stonedeggs Inc. v. WCAB to be published. Nanez’s counsel also filed a publication...
Read More
The Delaware Superior Court ruled that the attorney for an injured worker was not entitled to demand a fee from a settlement that did not provide a payment to him.
Case: Webb v. State, No. N23A-09-009 CEB, 05/09/2024, published.
Facts: James Webb worked for the State of Delaware as a mechanic. He was out for two periods of work due to a back injury.
As a state employee, Webb received short-term disability benefits through the state’s disability insurance program. The program is administered by a benefits committee through the insurance office.
Short-term disability benefits are avail...
A New York appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment for a worker on his Labor Law claim, finding triable issues remained as to the circumstances of his alleged accident.
Case: Simpertegui v. Carlyle House Inc., No. 27911/17, 05/09/2024, published.
Facts: Eyder Simpertegui was allegedly injured while removing and replacing bricks on a building at a construction site.
According to Simpertegui, he had climbed an extension ladder to retrieve materials when the ladder suddenly moved, causing him to fall.
Procedural history: Simpertegui filed suit against Carlyle House Inc., a...
The Iowa Supreme Court overturned a finding that the Second Injury Fund was not liable for a worker’s permanent total disability after she suffered two different leg injuries.
Case: Delaney v. Second Injury Fund, No. 23–0182, 05/10/2024, published.
Facts: In 1986, Dee Delaney suffered an injury to her lower left leg. In 2019, she suffered an injury to her lower right leg in the course of her employment with Nordstrom Inc.
The right leg injury required knee surgery, which caused lymphedema in Delaney’s lower right leg and foot.
Procedural history: Delaney filed a claim for...
In the intricate realm of workers’ compensation law, where fairness and due process are paramount, a recent case before the California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board has illuminated crucial principles regarding the consideration of evidence, particularly vocational evidence, in determining permanent disability.
In Sandra Ja’Chim Scheuing v. Livermore National Laboratory, an applicant contested a decision made by a workers’ compensation administrative law judge (WCJ). The WCJ had concluded that the applicant had a permanent disability of 28%, a determination vehe...
OK - New Law Provides Comp to First Responders With PTSD
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday signed into law a measure that makes line-of-duty mental injuries compensable for first responders.
Beginning in 2025, S.B. 1457 will allow for workers' compensation benefits for police officers, professional and volunteer firefighters, and emergency medical technicians diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder whose mental injury is connected to “responding to an emergency.”
The bill defines PTSD as that which is connected to witnessing or experiencing death, near death or a threat to the “physical integrity of others” an...
The Texas Workers' Compensation Research and Evaluation Group released a new report on access to care in the Lone Star State's workers' compensation system between 2017 and 2022.
This report measures the availability and accessibility of care by the rate of physician participation in treating work injuries, the rate of physician retention and the timeliness of first treatment for nonemergency cases.
Key findings of the report include:
17,659 physicians participated in the workers' comp system in 2022.
The workers' comp physician retention rate in 2...
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's Compliance, Records and Training (CRT) unit has created a new training video to assist administrators who file denials of primary liability.
The video provides information about:
The filing deadline for injuries that must be reported.
Good-faith investigation.
Determination of compensability.
Tips to formulate denials that are legal, factual, specific and not frivolous.
Submission of denial transaction via electronic data interchange.
Distribution to required parties.
CRT aims to improve the quality of den...
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 survivors are invited to attend as well.
The Labor Department's Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation provides benefits for about 5,000 people in Kentucky, 200 in Indiana and 300 in Illinois. The outreach events are meant to ensure timely benefits through assistance in determining eligibility, filing claims and receiving information ...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected a worker’s constitutional challenges to the state’s new impairment rating evaluation scheme but declined to impose costs and fees on him for raising the same challenges it has already rejected.
Louis Kober Jr. was a police officer for the City of Philadelphia. He suffered injuries in a work-related motor vehicle accident in August 2016.
Kober collected temporary total disability benefits via the Heart and Lung Act after the accident.
In September 2021, Kober underwent an impairment rating evaluation by Dr. Michael B. Fischer, who a...
The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a worker suffered a consequential injury to her left shoulder from overuse after injuring her right shoulder at work and that they qualified as schedule injuries.
Case: Nordstrom Inc. v. Carmer, No. 23-1423, 05/08/2024, published.
Facts: Pamela Carmer worked for Nordstrom Inc. She injured her right shoulder at work in August 2018.
Dr. Brendan Patterson performed surgery on the shoulder in December 2018. He released Carmer to return to work “as tolerated” in May 2019.
In the fall of 2020, Carmer requested medical care fro...
The North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits to a truck driver with a history of chronic pain for an alleged hip injury.
Case: Hanson v. Marten Transport Ltd., No. COA23-843, 05/07/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Roger W. Hanson suffered from chronic pain in his neck, lower back and left knee. He sought medical treatment at Solas Health in October 2018, reporting low-back pain that radiated into his legs.
Hanson underwent back surgery in January 2019, and he was cleared to return to work without restrictions in November 2019.
In June 2020, Hanson began working for Marten ...
A New York appellate court ruled that the defendants in a personal injury action failed to establish they were protected by workers’ compensation exclusivity.
Case: Dolores v. Grandpa's Bus Co. Inc., No. 2021-01198, 05/08/2024, published.
Facts: Cleotilde Dolores was injured when a school bus she was driving was struck by Samuel Bercy. The bus was owned by Grandpa's Bus Co. Inc.
Procedural history: Dolores filed suit against GBC and Bercy, seeking damages. The defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint, contending that the parties had a special employment r...
A pork processing company was prematurely granted summary judgment in a lawsuit brought by an injured staffing agency employee because of lingering questions over the worker’s employee status, the Iowa Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
Emerson Dennis Saul sued Sioux City-based Seaboard Triumph Foods LLC for negligence over injuries he says he sustained in July 2019 after being “slammed” between two pallets that were struck by a forklift operated by a Seaboard Triumph worker.
Saul filed a workers compensation claim against his employer, a staffing agency that placed him in t...
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday that it cited the operator of multiple psychiatric and rehabilitation facilities for the third time in five years after workers were killed or seriously injured by violent patients.
OSHA cited Melbourne, Florida-based Circles of Care Inc. for a “repeat violation and an other-than-serious violation for various safety and health failures and issued $101,397 in proposed penalties.
The agency said Circles of Care failed to provide sufficient controls designed to prevent the “escalation of acts of aggr...
A divided Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld an award of permanent disability benefits to a former police officer who was beaten while responding to a call that she believed to have been set up by the chief of police.
Stephanie Moffett was a police officer for the City of Verona. She was the only female in the department.
On Feb. 27, 2017, Moffett was dispatched to handle a domestic dispute at an apartment building.
When she arrived, she saw Sylvester Sykes, who had previously assaulted her while she was on duty. Sykes threw what appeared to be crack cocaine on the floor and announced that...
