ME - Supreme Court Awards Death Benefits to Worker's Ex-Wife
08/10/2026 | 0
Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled that a worker’s ex-wife was entitled to death benefits following his death from complications arising from his work-related injuries, 23 years after their divorce.
Donald Nadeau slipped and fell while working for S.D. Warren Co. in 1985, suffering multiple injuries that caused chronic pain, mobility issues and substantial weight gain.
At the time of the accident, Nadeau was married to Carol Brewster. During their marriage and until the date of his injury, Nadeau worked full time at S.D. Warren, while Brewster worked part time as a nu
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The North Carolina Court of Appeals overturned a trial judge’s determination that an employer’s lien against a worker’s proposed settlement was $0.
Case: Saunders v. Woolard, No. COA25-182, 08/05/2026, published.
Facts: Richard Saunders worked for Orano USA LLC. He suffered injuries while working on a jobsite for Orano, allegedly because of the negligence of Phillip E. Woolard and Woolard’s Welding Service.
Woolard’s Welding Service is a contractor, not affiliated with Orano, which was working on the same jobsite.
Saunders received workers’ compensation
A New York appellate court partially revived a worker’s Labor Law and negligence claims for his alleged injuries from being struck by a delivery gate.
Case: Vasquez v. 1719 27 ST LLC, No. 2021-08595, 08/05/2026, published.
Facts: Hector Vasquez allegedly suffered injuries when a delivery gate struck him at a construction site at which he was working.
Procedural history: Vasquez filed suit against 1719 27 ST LLC, 27 ST CON LLC, J. Petrocelli & Sons Construction Inc. and J. Petrocelli Construction Inc., asserting claims for negligence and a violation of Labor Law Sect
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker’s Labor Law claims were properly dismissed because of the homeowner exemption from liability.
Case: Palma v. Cheer Hall LLC, No. 2023-10915, 08/05/2026, published.
Facts: Jose Figueroa Palma allegedly sustained injuries while performing work on property owned by Cheer Hall LLC.
Procedural history: Palma filed suit against Cheer Hall, asserting claims for violations of the Labor Law.
Cheer Hall moved for summary judgment dismissing the claims.
Rockland County Supreme Court Justice Sherri L. Eisenpress granted the motion.
Analy
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
DISCLAIMER: The article is for the 2027 edition of "Lawyer’s Guide to the AMA Guides and California Workers' Compensation" and is excerpted from the manuscript. The opinions expressed in this document are those of the authors and not of the Department of Industrial Relations, Division of Workers’ Compensation, or the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.
Introduction
The en banc decision in Vigil v. County of Kern has generated substantial discussion among physicians and attorneys regarding when permanent impairments should be added and when they should be
A U.S. Senate committee passed a bill that would allow physician assistants and nurse practitioners to certify injuries and oversee treatment of injured federal workers.
The voice vote by the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs Thursday sends the bipartisan "Improving Access to Workers' Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act" to the floor of the Senate for consideration by the full body.
The Federal Employees' Compensation Act allows only physicians to treat injured workers and defines the term to mean only medical doctors and doctors of
North Carolina Commissioner of Labor Luke Farley designated Tyler Younts as chairman of the Industrial Commission.
Younts was appointed to the commission by the North Carolina General Assembly earlier this year. He previously served a six-year term as a deputy commissioner and has also worked as a law clerk for the Industrial Commission.
Most recently, Younts was deputy general counsel for litigation at the North Carolina Department of Labor, where he represented the agency in occupational safety and health, wage and hour, and retaliatory employment discrimination matters.
As chair
A California appeals court on Thursday held that a workers’ compensation insurer properly canceled an employer’s policy after the employer failed to respond to repeated requests for payroll records needed for a premium audit, reversing a Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board ruling to the contrary.
Although the exact phrase "failure to permit an audit" is not defined in the Insurance Code and was not defined in the policy, the Court of Appeal for the 3rd District of California said provisions in the policy imposed a clear obligation to provide payroll records upon re
The Washington Court of Appeals upheld an offset against a worker’s temporary total disability benefits based on her receipt of Social Security disability insurance benefits.
Case: Smith-Gill v. Department of Labor & Industries, No. 60535-0-II. 08/04/2026, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Kimberly Smith-Gill contracted bacterial meningitis as a young child. It caused brain damage that resulted in difficulties with reading, writing and comprehending paperwork.
In 1994, Smith-Gill began receiving Social Security disability benefits for her condition.
In 2018, she sus
An Ohio appellate court partially revived a Bureau of Workers' Compensation employee’s claim of disability discrimination against his employer.
Case: O’Brien v. BWC, No. 25AP-608, 08/04/2026, published.
Facts: Hagen O’Brien worked for the Bureau of Workers' Compensation as a specialist handling cases involving interstate jurisdiction.
In 2020, O’Brien’s workload allegedly increased because some CSS employees were reassigned to COVID-19 occupational disease claims, which exacerbated his stress and anxiety.
In April 2021, Melody Dials became O&rsquo
A federal appellate court ruled that an insurance carrier did not have a duty to defend an employer from a lawsuit by the estate of a worker who was killed on the job.
Case: Insurance Co. of the West v. High Performance Alloys Inc., No. 25-1327, 08/04/2026, published.
Facts: Insurance Co. of the West issued a workers’ compensation and employers’ liability insurance policy to High Performance Alloys Inc. that was effective from October 2021 to October 2022.
The employer’s liability portion of the policy applied to “bodily injury by accident” and excluded
A federal appellate court denied an employer’s petition for review of an award of black lung benefits to its employee.
Case: Bluff Spur Coal Corp. v. OWCP, No. 24-2181, 08/04/2026, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: An administrative law judge awarded black lung benefits to Frederick Bateman, payable by Bluff Spur Coal Corp.
The ALJ premised the award on findings that Bateman was totally disabled and had never smoked.
The Benefits Review Board affirmed the award.
Bluff Spur petitioned the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals for review.
Analysis: The U.S. 4th Circuit Court of
PA - Insurer Can't Deny Comp Coverage After Agent's False Certificate for Dish Network
A Pennsylvania appeals court on Tuesday ruled that a satellite dish installer was an employee, not an independent contractor, but that Dish Network should not have been held liable as his statutory employer because an insurer’s agent falsely certified that workers' compensation coverage was in place.
According to the ruling in J&S Technology Solutions Inc. v. Gonzalez, Wilben Gonzalez suffered disabling injuries in October 2019 when he fell from a ladder while installing a Dish Network satellite dish, a job contracted by J&S Technology Solutions.
The Commonwealth Court
The California Assembly Appropriations Committee sent to its suspense file a bill that aims to reduce premium fraud by allowing insurers and the Employment Development Department to compare wage data.
SB 536, by Sen. Bob Archuletta, D-Pico Rivera, would allow carriers to submit wage records and employee counts and require EDD to identify discrepancies in the submitted information as compared to information maintained by the department.
EDD would also be required to report any discrepancies to the submitting carrier.
The bill would also allow EDD to provide carriers with detailed payro
The California Supreme Court rejected a strict exhaustion requirement as a prerequisite for insureds to bring claims against excess carriers.
"We conclude that an insured may state a viable cause of action for declaratory relief regarding coverage and liability under an excess insurance policy even if all the underlying insurance coverage has not yet been exhausted," the high court said in Fox Paine & Company LLC et al. v. Twin City Fire Insurance Co. et al. "While insureds in this position must adequately plead their covered losses, the relevant principles governing the av