CA - Handful of Comp Bills Likely Dead for Remainder of Session
08/17/2026 | 0
California lawmakers have effectively closed the door on several workers' compensation proposals for the year, failing to advance bills addressing premium fraud, medical provider contracts and benefits eligibility for workers with subsequent injuries before a key Friday deadline.
Fiscal committees were required to pass all bills by Friday, with any measure not moved ahead of the deadline generally being out of consideration for the session that ends Aug. 31.
The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Thursday held a premium fraud bill under submission, while the Senate Appropriations
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The Utah Supreme Court upheld an award of permanent total disability benefits to a former special education teacher and denied Granite School District's request to offset its liability for benefits to account for a settlement the teacher received from the debt collectors who had hounded her for payment of bills that the district refused to pay.
Case: Granite School District v. Young, No. 20240646, 08/13/2026, published.
Facts: Robin Young, a special education teacher for the Granite School District, suffered a head injury in 2013 when a student head-butted her in the face three
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an increase in a mine worker’s occupational pneumoconiosis award.
Case: Alliance Coal LLC v. Bettinazzi, No. 26-ICA-49, 08/06/2026, published.
Facts: Joseph J. Bettinazzi worked for Alliance Coal LLC.
The Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board examined Bettinazzi in September 2017. By this time, Bettinazzi had a 36-year history of exposure to dust in underground coal mines.
Bettinazzi reported shortness of breath for eight to nine years, chronic cough for 10 years and wheezing for eight to nine years.
The OP Board noted
A New York appellate court upheld a denial of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim against the lessee of the property where his alleged accident occurred.
Case: Cano v. 57-51 57th Road LLC, No. 2024-09930, 08/12/2026, published.
Facts: Oscar Cano worked as a diesel technician for Maverick Enterprise Services Inc. He suffered injuries from a fall while building a carport.
Procedural history: Cano filed suit against 57-51 57th Road LLC, 57-55 57th Road LLC, and Phantom Carting Inc., asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law Section 240(1).
Section 240(1) imposes absolute
New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board will host the next installment of its "What Providers Need to Know" webinar series from noon to 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday.
The session is free and includes time for live Q&A.
WCB Medical Director Dr. James Tacci and colleagues will share the latest on fee schedule increases, improvements to the deposition process, and universal provider authorization to treat injured workers, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2028.
That is what it looks like when a state regulatory agency treats providers
California workers' compensation providers have received orders for more than $2 million in additional reimbursement through independent bill review during the first six months of 2026, prevailing in about 87% of decided cases.
Data from the Division of Workers' Compensation also shows that the total number of applications filed through June exceeds the total number filed in all of 2024 and is approaching the total for 2023, the last two years for which data is readily available.
Independent bill review was created with the SB 863 reforms as an administrative process for providers to
The Oregon Workers' Compensation Board updated its rules governing the submission of cost bills.
Claimants who prevail against a denied claim can recover reasonable expenses and costs for records, expert opinions and witness fees from the insurer or self-insured employer. System users requested that the board consider amendments that would streamline and standardize the process of submitting bills to recover these costs.
The board empaneled an advisory committee that recommended amendments that will go into effect Oct. 1.
The new rules will give claimants 60 days instead of 30 to s
The Ohio Supreme Court said an appeals court erred when it vacated a jury verdict based on a finding that there was no genuine issue of material fact about whether a dairy worker was entitled to the rebuttable presumption that his employer deliberately removed a safety guard.
Revised Code Section 2745.01 allows an injured worker to proceed with an intentional tort claim only after proving that the employer acted with deliberate and specific intent to cause injury or death. If an employer intentionally removes safety guards, and a worker is injured as a result, RC 2745.01(C) rebuttably presume
Seven suspects have been charged with participating in a sophisticated payroll scheme to defraud workers' compensation insurers, the Florida attorney general announced.
The alleged operation used shell construction corporations and an unlicensed money service business to process nearly $100 million in payroll, the state said. Law enforcement also seized more than $2.4 million in connection with the case.
The defendants are identified as:
Marlen Suazo Gutierrez, West Palm Beach.
Gustavo Lara Suazo, Lake Worth.
Eduardo Blandon Martinez, West Palm Beach.
Alejandra
The National Council on Compensation Insurance said in a research brief that fee schedule changes made by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are not likely to put upward pressure on medical costs.
CMS in 2026 increased the conversion factor for physician services to $33.40 from $32.35, the first increase following five years of declines.
NCCI said the 3.3% conversion factor increase was driven by a one-time 2.5% increase required by Congress.
The increase in the physician conversion factor will impact the majority of physician services in states that incorporate it into the
The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Labor and Workforce Development has reported a new draft combining two bills that would create protections for workers in extreme temperatures that, among other things, require "temperature hazard pay."
The committee on Monday reported S.3240, which consolidates provisions from a pair of bills introduced last year to create protections for a range of employees that would include anyone providing labor or services for remuneration, including independent contractors, app-based delivery drivers, seasonal workers and day laborers.
S.3240 would creat
The reimbursement rate for injured workers who travel to medical appointments is increasing to 72.5 cents per mile from 70 cents per mile, effective Jan. 1, the Oregon Workers' Compensation Division announced.
The standard lodging reimbursement rate of $110 per night and the standard meal reimbursement rate of $68 per day are not changing. County-specific daily maximums for lodging and meals are also unchanged.
Carriers must include a form to request reimbursement with each independent medical examination notice they send to injured workers. Insurance companies can create their own form
A federal appeals court ruled that a prison worker in Michigan was not seized under the Fourth Amendment and could not proceed with her excessive force claim against colleagues for injuries sustained during a hostage-training exercise.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday said workers' compensation was the most obvious source of relief for Danielle Arthur in a decision that affirmed summary judgment in favor of corrections officers who participated in the exercise. The court noted that Arthur successfully pursued a workers' compensation claim for injuries she sustained dur
The Virginia Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a school teacher had suffered a compensable back injury, but her hand and wrist injuries resulted from repetitive trauma that was not compensable.
Case: Sairafianpour v. Loudoun County Public Schools, No. 1459-25-4, 08/11/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Farzaneh Sairafianpour worked as a teacher for Loudoun County Public Schools. She tendered her resignation on May 9, 2024, effective June 18, 2024.
On May 31, 2024, between those two dates, Sairafianpour reported sustaining injuries to her left hand, left wrist and back while work
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a retail clerk suffered a compensable injury when he fainted and fell at work.
Case: Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area Inc. v. Stowell, No. 26-ICA-55, 08/06/2026, published.
Facts: Larry Stowell worked for Goodwill Industries of KYOWVA Area Inc. as a retail clerk.
He went to a hospital emergency room in July 2025 with complaints of left elbow pain, right arm pain and a possible head injury after blacking out and falling at work.
Stowell filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting he injured his he
The Delaware Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker’s claim that he suffered a back injury while mixing mortar.
Case: Parker v. The Borsello Cos. Inc., No. 507, 2025, 08/10/2026, published.
Facts: Prince Parker began working for The Borsello Cos. Inc. in 2020. His job duties included operating a forklift and mixing mortar.
On Feb. 19, 2024, Parker lifted and emptied more than 100 buckets of water to mix mortar. He claimed he suffered a back injury that day.
Parker’s foreman, Johnny Arebalo, later denied that Parker reported any injury that day.
On Feb. 29, 2024
