OK - Vehicle Qualifies as Uninsured if Exclusivity Prevents Worker From Recovery
05/16/2024 | 0
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that if a worker is injured as a passenger in an employer-owned vehicle, and workers’ compensation exclusivity precludes a recovery under the automobile liability policy, the vehicle qualifies as uninsured.
On March 24, 2020, Michael Brian Smith was killed in a single-car accident as a passenger in a company vehicle owned by the Fixtures & Drywall Co. of Oklahoma. Smith’s co-worker, Duane Clark, was driving.
FADCO maintained two policies with Federated Mutal Insurance Co. One provided coverage for all sums FADCO “must pay as damages...
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The New Mexico Court of Appeals overturned the denial of a hotel housekeeper’s claim for a knee injury.
Case: Moorhead v. Hyatt Regency Tamaya, No. A-1-CA-40191, 05/07/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Irene Moorhead worked as a housekeeper for the Hyatt Regency Tamaya. She had osteoarthritis and suffered a medial meniscus tear before her alleged work accident.
According to Moorhead, she had pain in her left knee on Nov. 15, 2019, and she took Advil. While running errands after work, she claimed that the pain in her knee was so severe that she was unable to get out of her vehicle.
Moorhead e...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an injured police officer’s constitutional challenges to the state’s new impairment rating evaluation scheme.
Case: Powell v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 406 C.D. 2023, 05/07/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Lawrence Powell was a police officer for the City of Philadelphia. He suffered injuries in a motor vehicle accident in September 2013 and began collecting temporary total disability benefits.
In March 2021, Powell underwent an impairment rating evaluation by Dr. Lynn Yang, who opined that Powell had an 8% impairment, which ...
A divided Texas appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment finding that an injured police officer was entitled to uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage under her own policy for an accident in her police cruiser.
Case: Progressive County Mutual Insurance Co. v. Freeman, No. 14-22-00450-CV, 05/14/2024, published.
Facts: Artemiz Freeman was a police officer for the City of Houston. She suffered injuries in February 2018 when her police cruiser was rear-ended by another vehicle.
The at-fault motorist had an insurance policy that provided $50,000 in liability coverage to Fr...
Workers comp is:
A) hugely profitable.
B) way over-priced.
C) even more profitable than it looks.
D) by far the most profitable P&C insurance line.
E) not suffering from medical cost increases.
F) a highly mature industry with all the attributes thereof.
G) shrinking as claim frequency continues the 20-year trend averaging -3.4%.
H) the financial savior of multi-line carriers.
I) all of the above.
The answer is all of the above.
NCCI’s Annual Issues Symposium provided a deep dive into the industry’s financials, and the industry is ...
The California Department of Insurance announced that the owner of a Central Valley trucking firm was charged with fraud after the death of a driver revealed he allegedly underreported payroll by more than $2.3 million.
Heigo Kubar was arraigned Wednesday on three felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud, the department said. The 84-year-old former owner of TKJ Trucking is accused of reporting $875,591 in payroll from Dec. 1, 2018, to Dec. 1, 2021. CDI said the company actually had $3.2 million in payroll for that period.
Kubar allegedly shorted insurance carriers more than $480,00...
Two companies were fined a combined $650,000 after a worker died in an apple storage facility that had a low oxygen level to prevent fruit from spoiling, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced.
An employee from Pace International LLC died Oct. 1 in a controlled atmosphere room owned by Stemilt Growers. The department said a Stemilt employee unlocked the room and allowed the worker in but didn’t point out that oxygen levels were low.
The department said its inspectors found oxygen levels ranged from 1.9% to 2.09% in the storage room. Normal oxygen at sea level...
The California Division of Workers’ Compensation said it will evaluate users of its electronic case management system over the next few months and discipline those who continually violate rules and guidelines.
“DWC’s planned corrective actions will include, but are not limited to, suspension or removal of e-filing privileges and/or sanctions aimed at users who disregard regulations, e-filing instructions and document discrepancy notifications,” the agency said. “These corrective actions have become necessary because many users continue to e-file defective ba...
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt signed bills creating a new venue for legacy claims and covering public safety workers with mental health claims that aren’t accompanied by a physical injury.
Stitt on May 6 enacted SB 1456, by Senate President Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, creating the Court of Existing Claims within the Court of Civil Appeals and giving it jurisdiction over all claims with dates of injury before Feb. 1, 2014.
On May 8, Stitt signed SB 1457, also by Treat, exempting public safety workers from the prohibition on what are sometimes called “mental-mental” clai...
LOS ANGELES, April 22, 2024 - Sullivan on Comp, the leading comprehensive digital resource on California workers' compensation law, proudly announces the launch of ChatSOC, an advanced chatbot designed to streamline workers' compensation inquiries for professionals in the field. Officially launching today, ChatSOC integrates directly with the Sullivan on Comp digital treatise, provid...
NATL. - NCCI: Comp Inpatient Stays, Pharmaceutical Prescriptions Drop
ORLANDO, Florida — The workers’ compensation system has seen a 34% drop in inpatient hospital stays for injured workers since 2012, researchers with the National Council on Compensation Insurance said Tuesday at the organization’s Annual Insights Symposium.
Inpatient stays are becoming less frequent as more injured workers who require surgery are having procedures done at ambulatory surgery centers, which have seen an influx in comp patients during the past several years.
Hospital stays have also seen significant cost increases, with the average cost for one day in the...
The Illinois Appellate Court overturned a denial of benefits for the son of a worker who died of a heart attack.
Richard Cronk worked for Kimball Hill Homes as a construction manager. He complained of difficulty breathing while shoveling snow at a build site in December 2006.
Co-workers summoned paramedics, and Cronk went into cardiac arrest in front of them. He was taken to the hospital and died.
The coroner concluded that the immediate cause of death was hypertensive cardiovascular disease with coronary atherosclerosis as a significant contributing factor.
Dr. Richard Carroll report...
A Missouri appellate court ruled that an employer was entitled to direct a worker’s future medical care even though it had refused to pay for her treatment for more than a decade.
Case: Helmig v. Springfield R-12 School District, No. SD38181, 05/10/2024, published.
Facts: Cynthia Helmig worked for the Springfield R-12 School District as a counselor. She suffered injuries in two incidents at work in October 2010.
The School District authorized medical treatment and referred Helmig to Dr. Scott Galligos.
When Galligos discharged Helmig from treatment in February 2011, she allegedl...
A Louisiana appellate court ruled that a worker injured while participating in a jousting demonstration was exempt from coverage under the state Workers’ Compensation Act as a “performer.”
Case: McKeane v. LA Renfest LLC, No. 22-04015, 05/09/2024, published.
Facts: LA Renfest LLC holds an annual Renaissance festival in Hammond, Louisiana, from the first week of November through mid-December.
LA Renfest entered into a written contract with War Horse Productions to provide the jousting portion of the festival in 2021.
The contract indicated that War Horse would provide...
A divided New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his fall from a ladder.
Case: Krause v. Industry Matrix LLC, No. 1022 CA 23-00204, 05/10/2024, published.
Facts: Chad Krause fell from a ladder while performing chimney pointing work on a residential rental building owned by Industry Matrix LLC.
He was working outdoors at night at the time of the accident.
Procedural history: Krause filed suit against Industry, asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law Section 240(1).
Section 240(1) imposes absolute liability on prop...
ORLANDO, Florida — The workers' compensation system continues to perform very strongly, as private insurers produced their 10th consecutive year of underwriting profitability and a combined ratio below 90% for the seventh year in a row, the National Council on Compensation Insurance reported during its Annual Insights Symposium Tuesday.
“Workers' compensation continues to have the strongest profitability of all the property/casualty lines,” NCCI Chief Actuary Donna Glenn said during the annual State of the Line report. “It’s pretty stunning ...
A certified therapy dog joins the list of presenters featured in the upcoming Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, set for June 12-14 in Murfreesboro.
Judy, a therapy dog, is the highlight of a breakout session focusing on unconventional recovery methods with potential in workers' compensation rehabilitation programs.
Among other featured guests is Chief Judge Kenneth M. Switzer of the Tennessee Court of Workers' Compensation Claims, who is expected to chat during conference breaks. Switzer will be available to answer questio...
