TN - Carrier Not Entitled to Summary Judgment in Premium Dispute
07/31/2026 | 0
The Tennessee Court of Appeals overturned a grant of summary judgment in favor of a carrier in a premium dispute involving an assigned risk workers’ compensation insurance policy.
Gilley Construction Inc. is a Tennessee corporation that installed steel reinforcement for bridges as a subcontractor during the reconstruction of Interstate 59/20 through downtown Birmingham, Alabama.
Under Tennessee law, Gilley was required to maintain workers’ compensation insurance for its employees or meet the statutory requirements for self-insurance.
Gilley purchased two workers’ compensat
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A California appellate court upheld the suspension of a State Compensation Insurance Fund attorney from her position due to her repeated failure of internal cybersecurity tests.
Case: Bedrossian v. California State Personnel Board (State Compensation Insurance Fund), No. B349445, 07/28/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Sylvia Bedrossian worked as a staff attorney for State Compensation Insurance Fund, litigating workers’ compensation cases. Her position required that she work with confidential and sensitive information.
SCIF requires that all employees take cybersecurity awareness and privacy
The Washington Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim as untimely.
Case: Kelifa v. Department of Labor & Industries, No. 89233-9-I, 07/20/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Samrawit Kelifa worked for Blanton Turner, a property-management company that manages on-campus student housing at Shoreline Community College.
Kelifa was pregnant when she started the job in May 2022.
In August 2022, Kelifa alleged that she experienced a sharp pain in her back after lifting two mail bins weighing 20 to 30 pounds, but she did not file a workers’ compensation claim at the time.
In
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a determination that a coal miner was entitled to benefits for a knee injury.
Case: ACNR Resources Inc. v. Asturi, No. 26-180, 07/30/2026, published.
Facts: Joseph Asturi worked for ACNR Resources Inc. as an underground coal miner. He allegedly twisted his knee when he stepped into a hole at work in July 2024.
Asturi claimed that he aggravated the knee injury in September 2024 when he tripped over a screen.
Before these incidents, Asturi suffered a medial meniscal tear in his left knee. He underwent surgery in August 2018 and returned to work two mont
Jacksonville, FL – July 10, 2026 – PhysNet welcomes Michelle Despres, PT, EMBA as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company enters its next stage of national growth.
A licensed physical therapist and seasoned healthcare executive, Michelle brings a strong blend of clinical insight, operational leadership, and people-centered strategy. S
At a meeting of California’s Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, a payer and network advocate argued that the state’s chaotic medical provider network system is a sterling success, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
The American Association of Payers, Administrators and Networks claimed that a general provider shortage, not a broken system riddled with pitfalls for providers, is the reason injured workers struggle to find doctors willing to treat them.
AAPAN shared findings from its white paper&n
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is once again asking the board of directors for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation to approve a $1 billion dividend.
If adopted, the dividend would bring to $10.2 billion the total amount the BWC paid to policyholders since DeWine took office in 2018.
"The total dividend payments would exceed the premiums employers have paid since 2019, meaning the typical employer will have received more back in workers’ compensation dividends than they have paid in premiums during Gov. DeWine’s two terms in office," the governor's office said in a s
The Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear a bill Wednesday that would require carriers to report data related to possible premium fraud to the California Employment Development Department.
SB 536, by Sen. Bob Archuletta, D-Pico Rivera, would authorize insurers to submit employers' wage records and employee-count information to EDD.
The department would be required to identify and report any discrepancies to the carrier and, upon request, provide carriers with detailed payroll information.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee is scheduled to hear the bill during a heari
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration proposed nearly $800,000 in penalties following an investigation into the release of a deadly gas at a Maine wood pulp mill that exposed workers to safety and health hazards that resulted in deaths.
Kasie Malcolm, 20, and Allen Hornberger, 26, died Jan. 27 while working at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville, according to a report by WABI.
OSHA said Malcolm, Hornberger and others were performing a cold weather shutdown at the facility, resulting in exposure to high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide gas. Hydrogen sulfide is a colorless
The Texas Division of Workers' Compensation is accepting feedback on the proposed Topical Analgesic Plan-Based Audit through Thursday.
The audit will evaluate healthcare practitioners who prescribe topical analgesics to ensure the prescriptions are medically necessary, reasonable and appropriately documented, the division said.
Additionally, the division said the audit will evaluate compliance with the Official Disability Guidelines by reviewing applicable treatment guidelines.
The audit will review prescriptions written between Dec. 1, 2024, and Nov. 30, 2025. The division said i
The Supreme Court of Maryland this week suspended a workers’ compensation attorney for effectively abandoning three of her clients.
Sara Mohamed Samy El-Shall was admitted to the Maryland Bar in June 2013. El-Shall maintained an office in Baltimore, and her area of practice was workers’ compensation.
In November 2022, Stacey Wisniewski retained El-Shall after terminating her prior attorney due to communication concerns.
El-Shall maintained communication with Wisniewski up until January 2023, when she stopped responding to emails and phone calls.
El-Shall and Wisniewski met in p
The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a child’s civil suit against various defendants who participated in a well-drilling project that resulted in the death of his father.
Case: Garciduenas v. Matrix New World Engineering Inc., No. 1 CA-CV 25-0212, 07/23/2026, unpublished.
Facts: In 2017, the Maricopa Mountain Domestic Water Improvement District hired Westland Resources Inc. to serve as an engineer and assist with upgrades to its water system infrastructure, including the construction of new wells.
Westland entered a subconsultant agreement with Southwest Groundwa
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a determination that a worker had suffered a work-related aggravation of a preexisting condition that had resolved.
Case: Sewell v. United Parcel Service (WCAB), No. 1086 C.D. 2022 and 1087 C.D. 2022, 07/24/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Alvin Sewell suffered an injury to his foot as a child when a car ran over and crushed it. He had a skin graft on his foot after the injury.
Sewell began working for United Parcel Service in 1997 in a position that required significant walking.
In 2012, Sewell began having issues with his right foot. His d
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a Labor Law claim for a worker who was struck by a falling grate.
Case: Hippert v. J. Rettenmaier USA LP, No. 478 CA 25-01336, 07/24/2026, published.
Facts: Robert F. Hippert suffered injuries while working on a construction project when a steel grate fell 5 to 5 feet from a catwalk and struck him.
At the time the grate fell, Hippert's co-worker was hoisting the catwalk with an aerial lift so Hippert could secure it to a dust collector.
Procedural history: Hippert filed suit against J. Rettenmaier USA LP, asserting a
Healthcare and social assistance are the "center of gravity for workplace violence," the National Council on Compensation Insurance said in a new analysis.
The share of days away from work due to assault doubled to 9.6% in 2019 from 4.8% in 2011. While the share fell during the pandemic, NCCI said that was the result of a surge in COVID-19 claims rather than a meaningful reduction in assaults.
"When viewed through rates instead of shares, the long-run pattern is even clearer: Assault rates rose from 6.4 per 10,000 (full-time employee) workers in 2011 to 9.8 in 2021-22, indicat
New Jersey officials announced a $2.775 million settlement with a trucking company accused of misclassifying hundreds of drivers as independent contractors.
Attorney General Jennifer Davenport and Kevin D. Jarvis, acting commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, jointly announced a settlement with STF Logistics Inc., STG Drayage LLC and other subsidiaries resolving the first-ever lawsuit filed under the 2021 law allowing the state to sue employers for misclassification.
Under the settlement agreement, truck drivers and the state will receive at least $2.77
The Texas Division of Workers' Compensation announced several updates regarding its organizational structure and leadership, including the launch of a new program area.
The division said its new AI Innovation and Integration unit will focus on the responsible use of artificial intelligence to modernize processes and reduce administrative burdens. The unit will also evaluate how system users are using the emerging technology.
Allen Craddock, formerly DWC's chief administrative law judge, will serve as deputy commissioner for this new area. Craddock brings a strong record of operat
