KY - Court Upholds Benefits for Worker Struck While Crossing Highway
09/28/2026 | 0
The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld an award of benefits to a worker for his injuries from being struck by a car as he was crossing a highway to head to his jobsite.
Donnell Perry worked for Safe Zone as a traffic control flagger.
On March 8, 2023, Perry reported to Safe Zone for work at 7 a.m. and was transported to three different worksites by on-site supervisors.
He was over 10 hours into his shift when he received permission from a supervisor to go to a nearby convenience store to purchase a phone charger and cigarettes.
It was important for Perry to keep his cellphone charged because he
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A New York appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment for a Labor Law defendant on its cross-claim for contractual indemnification.
Case: Martinez v. 56th Realty LLC, No. 157485/21, 09/22/2026, published.
Facts: David Martinez suffered injuries while working on a construction project at a property owned by 56th Realty LLC.
Procedural history: Martinez filed suit against 56th Realty, asserting a claim for violations of the Labor Law. The company then filed a cross-claim against Puca Construction Corp. for contractual indemnification.
New York County Supreme Court Justice Sh
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a determination that a worker had fully recovered from an aggravation of the degenerative condition of her cervical spine.
Case: Rathfon v. Rite Aid Corp. (WCAB), No. 574 C.D. 2025, 09/23/2026, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Susan Rathfon worked for Rite Aid Corp. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting she suffered an aggravation of the degenerative condition of her cervical spine in January 2019.
A workers’ compensation judge awarded Rathfon total disability benefits of $1,049 per week beginning in Febru
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation announced that a man pleaded guilty to taking disability benefits even though he was running a business.
Jovon Palmer, 47, acknowledged his fraudulent scheme and was ordered to pay $10,994.30 in restitution.
BWC’s Special Investigations Unit received a tip that Palmer had returned to work despite still collecting disability benefits.
The investigation established that he knowingly and with fraudulent intent worked in his cleaning business while continuing to receive BWC payments.
(Editor’s note: This blog is the last of a three-part series about artificial intelligence in California workers’ compensation.)
If there is one appellate decision every California claims professional should memorize this year, it’s Quinteros v. Harbor Distributing LLC.
No, it’s not a workers’ compensation case. But it is a terrifying preview of what happens when lawyers treat AI like a legal magic wand.
In Quinteros, attorneys submitted court filings packed with nonexistent appellate decisions and fabricated quotes. When caught, they attempt
California retains the nation’s largest workers’ compensation system, with some 17.8 million covered jobs and $1.55 trillion in covered payroll in 2023, according to a California Workers’ Compensation Institute review of new data from the National Academy of Social Insurance.
Comp programs in the state paid an estimated $13.88 billion in benefits in 2023, an increase of $916 million, or 7.1%, from 2022.
California’s $13.88 billion in benefit payments surpassed the combined total for New York, Florida and Washington, which ranked second, third, and fourt
The California Applicants' Attorneys Association is holding a webinar on Friday to answer questions about the state's Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund.
Presenters include Scott Ford, of Ford & Wallach; Jason Marcus, of Marcus & Pulley; Bob Sherwin, of Lewis, Marenstein, Wicke, Sherwin & Lee LLP; and Jason Wells, of Wells Law. They will address members' questions about the controversial second injury fund.
The program has been approved for 1.0 hours of minimum continuing legal education credit by the State Bar of California and costs $100 for CAAA
A Florida appellate court upheld a finding that a firefighter’s arrhythmia-based heart condition qualified as heart disease that presumptively was caused by her employment.
Chelsea Illeck joined the fire department in the Villages Community Development District as a full-time firefighter in 2014.
Illeck underwent a preemployment physical that showed no evidence of heart disease, but in 2023, she began suffering chest pain, shortness of breath and a racing heart while transporting a patient.
Doctors diagnosed supraventricular tachycardia, an abnormal heart rhythm.
SACRAMENTO, CA – The Association of Workers' Compensation Professionals (AWCP), Northern California's premier Workers' Compensation association, announces a call for nominations to fill five positions on the AWCP Board of Directors beginning January 1, 2027. The vacant positions include two Board of Directors, President, Vice President
The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld a determination that a casino employee was entitled to benefits for her injuries from a fall she sustained as she was arriving for work, but overturned her award of fees and penalties.
In Ralser v. Harrah’s New Orleans, No. 2026-C-00657, the court noted that generally, injuries sustained when an employee is traveling to and from work are not considered to have occurred within the course and scope of her employment, and thus are not compensable.
“While an exception to the ‘going and coming’ rule was found applicable here, the employer
The Connecticut Appellate Court upheld default judgment against an employer for failing to pay its workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
Case: Wesco Insurance Co. v. Martins Drywall LLC, No. AC 48000, 09/22/2026, published.
Facts: Wesco Insurance Co. is a New Hampshire corporation authorized to do business in Connecticut. It contracted with Martins Drywall LLC to provide workers’ compensation and employers' liability coverage from July 2020 to July 2021, from July 2021 to July 2022, and from July 2022 to April 2023.
Pursuant to the parties’ agreement, Martins agree
The Nevada Workers’ Compensation Section has scheduled fourth-quarter training sessions in October.
All times are Pacific. The sessions are:
11 a.m. Oct. 7 — WCS workers’ compensation and Nevada employers.
11 a.m. Oct. 14 — C-4 form healthcare provider responsibilities and coverage verification service (CVS).
11 a.m. Oct. 21 — deep dive into D-35.
11 a.m. Oct. 28 — medical billing.
WCS training sessions are conducted on Teams. Training is free, and all materials are provided.
To register, click on the desired session
The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has scheduled an in-depth web discussion on workers' compensation fraud, set for Oct. 21.
Former Orange County prosecutor Shaddi Kamiabipour and former major case investigator Teena Barton will share practical lessons from the front lines of fraud investigations, enforcement actions and prosecutions.
Professionals in claims, underwriting, premium audit, legal or compliance will gain valuable perspective on how fraud concerns are identified, evaluated and addressed across California’s workers’ comp
Rising Medical Solutions released its 13th annual Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Study Report on Thursday, revealing execution patterns that separate high-performing claims organizations.
The report explores the question: Why do organizations pursuing similar priorities achieve such varied outcomes?
Using the study's signature comparison of higher performers (organizations with claim closure ratios of 101% or greater) and lower performers (100% or below), the answer is clear: Execution makes all the difference.
The conclusions are based on a nationwi
The New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division overturned a judge’s order allowing an injured worker to pursue damages from his employer for a work-related injury as part of his claim that his employer discriminated against him because of the injury and his pursuit of workers’ compensation benefits.
Dane Haskins worked for Ekornes Inc. He filed a workers’ compensation claim for a shoulder injury from December 2020.
Ekornes settled the claim in November 2022. Under the terms of the agreement, Haskins received $85,995 in permanent disability benefits.
In January 20
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld an award of attorney fees to a worker, finding that an administrator’s failure to include a back strain as a compensable component of the claim was unreasonable.
Case: Stonerise Healthcare v. Dewitt, No. 26-208. 09/22/2026, published.
Facts: Kimberly Dewitt worked for Stonerise Healthcare. She saw Dr. Lindsay Weglinski in October 2023 with complaints of pain in her knee and back.
Dewitt reported that she had tripped at work on an uneven floor and landed on her left knee.
Weglinski diagnosed a contusion of the left knee and a back strain. She rel
