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CA - Court Overturns Nonsuit on Claims by Injured Dairy Worker, Comp Carrier

03/18/2024 | 0

A California appellate court overturned a grant of nonsuit against a hay delivery company for a dairy employee who was injured when bales fell on him. Ricardo Gonzalez worked for AC Enterprises, a dairy operation in Tipton. On April 28, 2017, Hettinga Transportation Inc. delivered hay to the dairy. Hettinga employees unloaded and stacked the hay upon delivery. The next morning, Gonzalez was at work, dislodging bales of hay from the stack to feed the cows when other bales toppled onto him, grievously injuring him. Gonzalez received workers’ compensation benefits from the dairy’s... Read More

CA - Court Upholds Prison Employee's Conviction for Comp Fraud

03/18/2024 | 0

A California appellate court upheld a prison employee’s conviction for insurance fraud. Case: People v. Jones, No. F085205, 03/14/2024, unpublished. Facts: Tiffinie Marvell Jones started working for a state prison in May 1995. She held various administrative positions in the years that followed, including a brief stint as the liaison between injured employees and the workers’ compensation insurance company for the prison. In 2014, Jones filed a workers’ compensation claim for injuries caused when a shelf fell on her. She filed two claims in 2016 for lifting injuries and a ... Read More

NY - Defendant Not Entitled to Summary Judgment on Labor Law Claim

03/18/2024 | 0

A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant was not entitled to summary judgment because triable issues remained as to whether it was free from fault in causing a worker’s accident. Case: Samperi v. City Safety Compliance Corp., No. 2021-06809, 03/13/2024, published. Facts: Salvatore Samperi allegedly suffered injuries while working on a construction site at premises owned by Site 5 DSA LLC when a gate swung open and hit him, causing him to fall. Site 5 hired Northeast Interior Specialists LLC to install the perimeter fencing and access gates at the construct... Read More

AR - Court Upholds Employee's Award of PPD Benefits for Carpal Tunnel

03/18/2024 | 0

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld an award of permanent partial disability benefits to a worker for her carpal tunnel syndrome. Case: Arkansas Department of Corrections v. Washington, No. CV-23-30, 03/13/2024, published. Facts: Tereasa Washington began working for the Arkansas Department of Corrections in 2017 as a mental health adviser. Her job required her to type reports, and she began experiencing numbness and tingling in her arms in 2020. She was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome, and the ADC accepted the condition as compensable. In October 2020, Dr. Sean M. Morell performed a... Read More

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Press - Centre for Neuro Skills Study Finds Differences in Sleep Patterns Between Men and Women with Post-Traumatic Brain Injury

03/05/2024 | 0

Centre for Neuro Skills Study Finds Differences in Sleep Patterns Between Men and Women with Post-Traumatic Brain Injury Incidental finding indicates Melatonin helps post-acute TBI patients achieve longer REM sleep   Bakersfield, Calif. (Mar. 5) – Centre for Neuro Skills?(CNS), a premier provider of traumatic and acquired brain injury rehabilitation services, has shared findings from a study researching sleep-wake disturbances, published in Neurotrauma Reports on January 3, 2024. They found that sleep deficits are correlated with poorer brain injury patient outcomes (verbal ... Read More

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Industry Insights

CA - Montgomery: Availity to Return Providers' Bills

By Catherine Montgomery
03/18/2024 | 0

Following the recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare, Availity, a national revenue cycle management and electronic data interchange clearinghouse vendor, has “terminated” its connections with Change Healthcare. The attack on Change, which processes a reported 50% of U.S. health care claims, crippled billing, prescriptions and other services across vast swaths of the nation’s health care system. In a message to trading partners, Availity also stated that after March 16, 2024, it will return Change bill submissi... Read More

MT - Court Won't Reconsider Calculation of Benefits for Worker With 2 Jobs

03/18/2024 | 0

The Montana Workers’ Compensation Court denied a request to reconsider a decision awarding temporary total disability benefits based on a worker missing time from one of his two jobs because he now says he missed time from both. The court on Wednesday rejected the argument that it overlooked a material fact, saying that the parties themselves never raised the issue, even after reviewing a proposed order. “For this court to have ‘overlooked’ the fact that Perea worked at Life in Bloom until just before his surgery, the parties would have had to introduce that fact... Read More

CA - Worker's Fraud Conviction Leads to Nearly $140k in Restitution

03/18/2024 | 0

A Northern California court ordered a worker convicted of fraud to pay nearly $140,000 in restitution, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced. Ahmad Z. Noori was convicted of work comp fraud in March 2023. He was charged with two counts of fraud in 2021 after officials said he misrepresented symptoms of a head injury. The Insurance Department said Noori claimed to suffer from amnesia and difficulty with activities of daily living as a result of a head injury sustained in 2019. The department said surveillance footage showed Noori speaking, walking and driving as wel... Read More

MA - Owners of Roofing Company Charged With Fraud

03/18/2024 | 0

The Internal Revenue Service announced that the owners of a Massachusetts roofing company were arrested and charged in connection with schemes to defraud workers’ compensation carriers, the Small Business Administration and their mortgage lender. A federal grand jury in Boston indicted Ronaldo Solano and Adriana Solano on one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. The indictment alleges that Ronaldo Solano and Adriana Solano underreported payroll for their Framingham company that operates under names including H&... Read More

MD - Senate Passes Bill to Expand Cancer Presumption

03/18/2024 | 0

The Maryland Senate unanimously passed a bill requested by Gov. Wes Moore that would expand the list of cancers that are presumed to be compensable for firefighters and other public safety workers. The Senate on Thursday voted 45-0 to pass SB 476, by Senate President Bill Ferguson, D-Baltimore, which would presume that thyroid, colon and ovarian cancer were caused by contact with a toxic substance in the line of duty. The presumption would apply to firefighters and firefighting instructors, rescue squad members, members of advanced life support units and fire marshals. Maryland law already ... Read More

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Press - Floyd Skeren Manukian Langevin announces George Krikes joins the Firm

03/12/2024 | 0

Floyd Skeren Manukian Langevin, LLP is pleased to announce George A. Krikes has joined our Firm. Mr. Krikes joins us with over 42 years of workers' compensation experience throughout California, and is a perfect fit as we continue to serve large numbers of entities and companies. His extensive expertise, technical knowledge, managerial skills and formidable relationships forged over his impressive career, ideally suit him as he enters his role in the continued success and growth of our Firm. George Krikes will be working in our Complex Litigation and Special Projects Unit, based out o... Read More

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AR - No Benefits for University Employee Who Fell During Overnight Stay on Campus

03/15/2024 | 0

The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits to a university employee for his injuries from a fall that occurred during an overnight stay on campus due to inclement weather. Jeffrey Harvey worked for the University of Arkansas performing maintenance and repairs for three dormitory buildings. His work hours are normally from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. On Feb. 2, 2022, Harvey stayed at one of the dorms overnight because of bad weather. Though he testified that he was not required to stay on campus and that none of his supervisors said he needed to, the roads were impassable... Read More

SC - Court Upholds PPD Award for Firefighter With Shoulder Injury

03/15/2024 | 0

The South Carolina Court of Appeals upheld an award of permanent partial disability benefits for a firefighter’s shoulder injury. Case: Contreras v. St. John’s Fire District Commission, No. 6052, 03/13/2024, published. Facts: Thomas Contreras worked as a firefighter for the St. John's Fire District Commission. He injured his right shoulder at work in October 2008. A magnetic resonance imaging scan showed supraspinatus tendinitis, a probable superior labral tear and moderate acromioclavicular joint arthrosis. Dr. David Jaskwhich performed two surgeries on Contreras’ sh... Read More

NY - Court Overturns Summary Judgment on Labor Law, Indemnification Claims

03/15/2024 | 0

A New York appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment to the defendants in a Labor Law action and on their third-party claim against the injured worker’s employer. Case: Wittenberg v. Long Island Power Authority, Nos. 2020-00876 and 2020-00877, 03/13/2024, published. Facts: William Wittenberg worked as a journeyman lineman for Haugland Energy Group LLC. He was allegedly injured in an explosion while he was working on electrical lines under a contract between Haugland and Long Island Power Authority, Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. and PSEG Long Island LLC. P... Read More

OK - House Passes Advisory Committee Measure, Fee Schedule Resolution

03/15/2024 | 0

The Oklahoma House of Representatives passed a bill removing a location requirement for appointments to a workers’ compensation advisory committee and passed a resolution that would approve changes to the medical fee schedule. The House on Wednesday voted 94-1 to pass House Joint Resolution 1035, by Rep. Dick Lowe, R-Amber, which would approve the 2024 Medical Fee Schedule. Wednesday was the last day for system users to submit written comments on the fee schedule proposed by the Workers’ Compensation Commission. The commission held a public hearing on the proposal Thursday. The ... Read More

MD - House Passes Hearing Loss Rating Bill

03/15/2024 | 0

The Maryland House of Delegates on Thursday unanimously passed a bill modifying how hearing loss must be calculated for workers’ compensation benefits. The House voted 134-0 to pass HB 669, by Del. Andrew C. Pruski, D-Anne Arundel, which would increase the number of frequencies that must be included in hearing tests and alter how age is factored into the calculation. Current law calculates hearing loss across four frequency ranges — 500 hertz to 3,000 hertz — and includes an offset based on the average amount of hearing loss from nonoccupational causes in the general popula... Read More

CA - ICW Group Names Paul Zamora Chief Underwriting Officer

03/15/2024 | 0

ICW Group Insurance Cos. on Thursday announced the promotion of Paul Zamora to chief underwriting officer. Zamora joined ICW Group about 20 years ago to oversee its workers’ compensation underwriting business. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of work comp underwriting. As chief underwriting officer, Zamora will be responsible for ICW’s property and casualty multiline underwriting strategy and business expansion. He will also continue leading the work comp underwriting and risk management teams, ICW said. Overall, Zamora has more than 30 years of experience i... Read More

MS - Split Court Denies Benefits for Traveling Employee

03/14/2024 | 0

A narrowly divided Mississippi Court of Appeals ruled that a traveling employee was not entitled to benefits for his alleged injuries from a car accident that happened while returning to a job site after an unauthorized midweek trip home. Willie Rambo worked for Kelly Natural Gas Pipelines LLC. In February 2020, Rambo was part of a crew with Rashad Crowell and Juwan Payton assigned to a job site in Greenwood, Mississippi. Rambo lived in Bay Springs, but during the workweek, he stayed in Greenwood in a motel room paid for by Kelly. This arrangement saved employees money on gas and travel... Read More