CO - Corporate Officer Not Subject to Statutory Cap on Damages for Work-Related Injuries
01/07/2026 | 0
In a case of first impression, the Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that a corporate officer of a single-member corporation who rejects workers’ compensation insurance coverage is subject to a statutory damages cap if he is a “principal party” to the agreement for services.
The case was Ramirez v. KLM Construction, No. 25CA0061, 12/31/2025, published.
KLM Construction was hired as the general contractor to construct a residential duplex in Denver. KLM entered into an oral contract with All City Plumbing and Sewers Inc. to install plumbing for the project.
Juan M. Ramirez Jr...
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The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the ability of an insurance carrier to rescind its acceptance of a worker’s claim and deny liability after discovering he had failed to disclose he had fallen off the roof of his home on the same day he allegedly suffered an injury at work.
Case: Alvarez v. SAIF Corp., No. 1077, 12/17/2025, published.
Facts: Juan Alvarez worked for D&R Masonry Restoration. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, alleging that he had suffered injuries in a fall from a ladder on Aug. 9, 2021.
SAIF Corp. accepted liability for the claim in October 2021.
SAIF ...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a paramedic suffered a compensable injury and that the record supported a compensable diagnosis of cervical radiculopathy.
Case: Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency v. Wilson, No. 25-ICA-205, 12/04/2025, published.
Facts: George Wilson worked for the Jefferson County Emergency Services Agency as a paramedic.
Wilson filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he injured his back and shoulders while training at work on Feb. 17, 2024.
Nurse practitioner Theresa Triggs stated that the injury ag...
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request to expand the scope of his claim to include bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.
Case: Matter of Howard v. New York City Department of Education, No. CV-24-1279, 12/11/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Michael Howard worked for the New York City Department of Education.
In May 2018, Howard was attacked at work. He established a workers’ compensation claim for a right inguinal hernia as well as injuries to his neck, back, face, nose, right shoulder, chest, right thigh, right knee, left shoulder and left ...
Workers' compensation is a system designed to protect employers and employees from "unexpected events happening suddenly." That phrase, or one like it, is featured in various statutes across the country.
The Florida version is:
“Accident" means only an unexpected or unusual event or result that happens suddenly.
But what if the event is neither unexpected nor particularly unusual? What if the event is even intentional?
I had thoughts on this recently as a news story evolved around workplace hazing. The event resulted in criminal charges of kidnappin...
The New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled that the statutory cap on fee awards does not violate the separation-of-powers doctrine.
Case: Trujillo v. Luna Community College, No. A-1-CA-39842, 12/18/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Eugene W. Trujillo filed a workers’ compensation claim with the assistance of counsel. The Workers’ Compensation Administration issued him benefits and the maximum amount of attorney fees allowed under New Mexico law.
Analysis: The New Mexico Court of Appeals rejected Trujillo’s challenge to the constitutionality of the $22,500 fee cap.
...
TN - Appeals Board Rejects Expanded Comp Benefits for Worker
The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board on Monday affirmed a ruling denying additional medical and temporary disability benefits to a public employee who sought compensation for a range of conditions after a fall.
Bennie Anderson, a truck driver for Knoxville’s Department of Recreation, slipped and fell from his truck in June 2022, landing on his feet before hitting the ground. The city accepted the claim as compensable and provided medical care and temporary disability benefits for injuries to his neck, back and shoulders, according to Anderson, Bennie v. City...
A bill introduced in the Virginia House of Representatives on Friday would broaden workers' compensation presumptions for certain cancers to include sheriffs and deputies, extending benefits long afforded to firefighters and other public safety employees.
HB 130 would amend state law to presume that specified cancers are occupational diseases for sheriffs and deputy sheriffs who have completed at least five years of service.
Under current law, Virginia presumes job-related causation for respiratory disease, heart disease, hypertension and a range of cancers affecting firefighte...
The Idaho Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for benefits for a herniated nucleus pulposus.
The case was Proulx v. Saveway Market Inc., No. 51856-2024.
Shasta Proulx worked at a Saveway Market. She suffered injuries at work in December 2019 while lifting a box of potatoes. She sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a shoulder strain.
In January 2020, Proulx underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan and, for the first time, reported slight numbness and tingling in her extremities.
She began physical therapy and reported improvement. Proulx returned t...
Sacramento, CA [December 10, 2025] Today, POWER proudly announced its official launch as a laser-focused non-profit organized to take direct action against fraud and criminal activity in California's temporary staffing industry.
"One of the biggest crimes taking place in California's workforce is hiding in plain sight. The temporary staffing industry has become a largely unregulated playground for cri...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to reinstatement of his indemnity benefits without evidence that he had reattached to the labor market.
Case: Matter of Ryan v. City of Albany Water Department, No. CV-25-0250, 12/11/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Alex Ryan worked for the City of Albany Water Department. He established a workers' compensation claim for a back injury resulting from a 2018 work-related accident and was awarded indemnity benefits for periods of temporary total and temporary partial disability.
In December 2019, a workers’...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a 13% permanent partial impairment for an injured health care worker.
Case: Hospice of Southern West Virginia Inc. v. Whitney, No. 25-ICA-184, 12/04/2025, published.
Facts: Melissa Whitney worked for Hospice of Southern West Virginia Inc. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that she had injured her back in September 2022 while catching a falling patient.
Whitney was diagnosed with a lumbar strain and lumbar radiculopathy.
A claims administrator for Hospice’s insurance carrier acce...
The Delaware Superior Court upheld the denial of a home health aide’s claim for benefits for her injuries from being hit by a patient with an iPad.
Case: Shaw-Hicks v. Bayada Home Health Care, No. K25A-06-001 JJC, 12/16/2025, published.
Facts: Shaneeda Shaw-Hicks worked for Bayada Home Health Care. In April 2023, a patient threw an iPad at her head, striking her in the right eye.
Shaw-Hicks saw Dr. Kristen Semenick, who reported that her retina appeared undamaged. Shaw-Hicks continued to have vision complaints, though, so Semenick referred her to Dr. John Butler.
After Shaw-Hicks fil...
A former City of San Francisco employee was sentenced to three years in state prison for defrauding the city out of more than $627,000, the District Attorney's Office announced.
Stanley Ellicott, 40, pleaded guilty last month to seven felony counts of public corruption in connection with a complex fraud scheme in which he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the city, where he worked as the assistant director of finance and technology for San Francisco's Workers' Compensation Division.
Ellicott enlisted a friend to register a fake busine...
A bill in Washington state would broaden who can be recognized as an “attending provider” under its workers' compensation system.
H.B. 2243 would amend current law to include physical and occupational therapists among the health professionals eligible as attending providers for injured workers.
Under current law, “attending provider” status in Washington’s workers' compensation system is limited to licensed physicians, chiropractic practitioners, dentists, nurse practitioners and a handful of other health professionals.
H.B. 2243, prefile...
A California appellate court upheld the dismissal of an insurance carrier’s claims against an attorney and his firm for representing a widow who fraudulently sought benefits under the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
Veronica McRae filed a claim against the U.S. Department of Labor, seeking benefits under the Longshore & Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for the death of her alleged husband following an injury he suffered during his employment at the Port of Oakland.
The parties participated in mediation and reached a settlement resolving McRae’s c...
A Louisiana appellate court ruled that an automobile liability insurance provider had no duty to cover an insured’s employee for his alleged injuries from a motor vehicle accident.
Case: Carter v. Blue Hill Specialty Insurance Co., No. 2025 CA 0515, 12/17/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Deshun Carter filed a personal injury action against Forward Loads LLC and its automobile liability provider, Blue Hill Specialty Insurance Co. He also named Jamar Hooker, Talish Josie Watts and USAA General Indemnity Co. as defendants.
Carter alleged that on Jan. 11, 2023, he was a pass...
