IN - Ship Painter Gets PPD Award, Fees Under LHWCA for Respiratory Ailments
07/10/2026 | 0
A federal appellate court upheld an award of partial disability benefits and attorney fees to a ship painter under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for his respiratory ailments.
Calvin Chaffers worked as a ship painter for Jeffboat Inc. at a shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana. According to Chaffers, his work exposed him to fumes and particles from toxic paints, paint thinner, antifreeze, welding, gouging, sandblasting and charcoal slag abrasive products.
After he was laid off in 2017, Chaffers filed a claim with the Department of Labor, seeking benefits under th
Read More
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a worker’s impairment rating for a distal clavicle excision should not have been reduced.
Case: Klein v. Whirlpool Corp., No. 25-0458, 06/26/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Brian Klein injured his right shoulder while working for Whirlpool Corp. He underwent shoulder surgery that included a distal clavicle excision.
After surgery, Dr. Matthew Bollier assigned Klein a 4% upper extremity impairment based on loss of range of motion.
Dr. Robert Broghammer assigned a 2% upper extremity impairment, also based on loss of range of motion.
Dr. Mark Taylor assigned
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to summary judgment in his Labor Law action for his alleged injuries from a fall from a ladder, and that the defendant was entitled to partial summary judgment dismissing his claims.
Case: Bunay v. One City Block LLC, No. 152975/19, 595684/21, 06/25/2026, published.
Facts: Darwin S. Bunay allegedly suffered injuries while working on a construction project when a piece of ductwork he was cutting for removal fell onto the ladder on which he stood. According to Bunay, the ductwork moved the ladder and caused him to fall.
Buna
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a worker for his bladder and kidney urothelial cancer.
Case: West Virginia Department of Transportation v. Thorn, No. 25-ICA-458, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: Dennis Thorn worked for the West Virginia Department of Transportation for 36 years. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he developed bladder cancer and kidney urothelial cancer as a result of his workplace exposure to chemicals, including paint, toluene, weed killer, diesel fuel and diesel exhaust fumes, gasoline and gasoline
The single most important thing a workers’ compensation program can do to reduce costs and improve outcomes for injured workers is also the simplest: Report claims promptly.
Prompt reporting enables prompt determination of compensability. Prompt compensability determination enables prompt provision of quality medical care. Prompt care shortens recovery. Shorter recovery reduces litigation. And litigation — not medical costs, not indemnity, not administrative expense — is the largest cost driver in the system.
Every other intervention operates downstream of that chain. T
The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously upheld a determination that a worker’s condition had worsened to the point that he was entitled to permanent total disability benefits.
Case: Muhlenberg County Coal Co. LLC v. Rodgers, No. 2025-SC-0336-WC, 06/25/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Gregory Rodgers worked for Muhlenberg County Coal Co. LLC. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, seeking benefits for an injury to his left hip and for cumulative trauma to his spine.
Procedural history: In January 2021, an administrative law judge found that Rodgers was entitled to permanent partial
NY - Comp Exclusivity Bars Negligence Claims Against Manufacturer
A New York appeals court on Wednesday ruled that workers' compensation exclusivity bars negligence claims against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. arising from alleged sexual abuse after an employee turned 18, while allowing a hostile work environment claim to proceed.
In Case No. 2025-03300, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2nd Department, modified a lower court ruling in a lawsuit brought in part under the state Adult Survivors Act. The employee alleged that a supervisor sexually abused the employee for more than nine years while working at Goodyear retail stores.
The a
A New York appeals court on Wednesday refused to dismiss claims arising from alleged sexual abuse against a public school district and school board on workers' compensation exclusivity grounds because they failed to establish workers' comp coverage during the relevant period.
In Case No. 2025-08146, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2nd Department, considered an Adult Survivors Act lawsuit alleging that a former White Plains Public School District employee was sexually abused by the district’s then-superintendent during the employee’s tenure.
The d
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has released its report on 2025 California Workers’ Compensation Losses and Expenses, providing an overview of statewide insurer spending for the 2025 calendar year.
WCIRB found that incurred losses and expenses in 2025 were $15.7 billion, or 102% of earned premium. That's compared to the 99% of premium earned in the previous year.
The report is published annually in accordance with Section 11759.1 of the California Insurance Code.
The full report is available here.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Employers are gearing up for negotiations over permanent disability benefits and broader reforms next year, the chief lobbyist for the California Coalition on Workers' Compensation said Wednesday.
The goal of the reforms is to balance any increase in benefits with potential changes to medical delivery processes and savings on medical-legal costs and cumulative trauma claims, Jason Schmelzer said during the CCWC 22nd Annual Conference and Legislative and Educational Forum at Disney's Grand Californian Hotel.
Schmelzer said he was hopeful that SB 555, which
The Colorado Court of Appeals ruled that once the Industrial Claim Appeals Office receives the certified record in a workers’ compensation benefits appeal, it cannot extend the 60-day time frame for issuing an order.
Case: Aragon v. ICAO, No. 25CA1303, 07/02/2026, published.
Facts: Philip Aragon worked for Waste Management of Colorado. He allegedly fell while stepping down from a truck at work in July 2020.
Aragon initially told Waste Management that he did not believe he was seriously injured, and he declined medical treatment. Waste Management still reported the accident to its insu
The Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a district court has equitable jurisdiction to vacate an order of the compensation court.
Case:1 Cono Contracting LLC v. Lopez, No. S-25-859, 07/02/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: The Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court entered an award against Mauro Rubio and 1 Cono Contracting LLC, in favor of Catarino Lopez.
After the award was filed in the district court, Rubio asked it to vacate. Rubio filed his complaint to vacate as a new case, rather than the case in which the award had been made.
He alleged that the award was pr
An Ohio appellate court upheld an award of permanent total disability benefits for a healthcare worker’s back injury.
Case: State ex rel. HCR ManorCare Inc. v. Industrial Commission, No. 24AP-729, 06/16/2026, published.
Facts: Patricia R. Baese worked for HCR ManorCare Inc. She suffered injuries at work in November 2011.
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation accepted Baese’s claim for lumbosacral strain, herniated disc L5-S1 and bilateral sacroiliitis.
Dr. Rohn T. Kennington examined Baese in October 2023. Kennington opined that she was permanently and totally di
A New York appellate court ruled that part of a worker’s Labor Law action should have been dismissed on summary judgment, and that the third-party defendants were both entitled to partial summary judgment on the claims against them as well.
Case: Santacruz v. 58 Gerry Street LLC, No. 23434/19, 06/25/2026, published.
Facts: Jose Orlando Estela Santacruz worked as a carpenter for Capital Concrete NY Inc. and Great Maintenance NY Inc.
While he was removing concrete forms from an elevator space, a long metal jack/post used to shore up decking for ceiling concrete forms fell against h
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the expansion of a worker’s claim to include additional injuries from being struck by an excavator.
Case: Rob Juszczak Construction v. Juszczak, No. 26-ICA-16, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: John Juszczak worked for Rob Juszczak Construction. He suffered injuries at work in January 2020 when he was struck by an excavator.
Juszczak went to the hospital that day. A computed tomography angiograph of his neck revealed no evidence of traumatic arterial injury involving the major cervical arteries; two focal areas of severe
New York City and Colorado are moving ahead with workplace heat protections as employers face an increasingly fragmented patchwork of state and local requirements, while a federal heat standard remains unfinished.
With nine states now having policies in place, the moves are a sign that employers everywhere should take notice of the heat dangers facing workers, experts say.
“Heat illness prevention is moving from a seasonal workplace safety issue to a more formal compliance and enforcement issue,” said Joy Chin, principal in the Melville, New York, office of law firm Jackson Lewis
