IL - Court Overturns Denial of Benefits to Son of Fatal Heart Attack Victim
05/15/2024 | 0
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...
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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...
You know the case should settle. Why won’t the other side agree to your offer?
Here are some tips for creating the perfect offer. I’m going to refer to both offers and demands as offers to settle in this article.
When
As long as you’ve done your homework, there’s no bad time to make an offer. Professionals on both sides of the table have been evaluating the case since it started. The attorney for the plaintiff/claimant made a judgment call about whether to accept the case. The defense set up reserves based on early information. The unique facts of the case will d...
NATL. - NCCI: 2023 Workers' Comp Financial Results 'Stunning'
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...
The California Supreme Court has been asked to weigh in on the compensability of a worker’s injuries after he left his job at a remote fire camp without his employer’s knowledge, and in violation of its rules.
Last month, the Court of Appeal for the 3rd District of California ruled that Braden Nanez was entitled to benefits in an unpublished opinion. The California Lawyers Association and California Applicant Attorneys' Association separately petitioned the court to order the decision for 3 Stonedeggs Inc. v. WCAB to be published. Nanez’s counsel also filed a publication...
The Delaware Superior Court ruled that the attorney for an injured worker was not entitled to demand a fee from a settlement that did not provide a payment to him.
Case: Webb v. State, No. N23A-09-009 CEB, 05/09/2024, published.
Facts: James Webb worked for the State of Delaware as a mechanic. He was out for two periods of work due to a back injury.
As a state employee, Webb received short-term disability benefits through the state’s disability insurance program. The program is administered by a benefits committee through the insurance office.
Short-term disability benefits are avail...
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...
A New York appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment for a worker on his Labor Law claim, finding triable issues remained as to the circumstances of his alleged accident.
Case: Simpertegui v. Carlyle House Inc., No. 27911/17, 05/09/2024, published.
Facts: Eyder Simpertegui was allegedly injured while removing and replacing bricks on a building at a construction site.
According to Simpertegui, he had climbed an extension ladder to retrieve materials when the ladder suddenly moved, causing him to fall.
Procedural history: Simpertegui filed suit against Carlyle House Inc., a...
The Iowa Supreme Court overturned a finding that the Second Injury Fund was not liable for a worker’s permanent total disability after she suffered two different leg injuries.
Case: Delaney v. Second Injury Fund, No. 23–0182, 05/10/2024, published.
Facts: In 1986, Dee Delaney suffered an injury to her lower left leg. In 2019, she suffered an injury to her lower right leg in the course of her employment with Nordstrom Inc.
The right leg injury required knee surgery, which caused lymphedema in Delaney’s lower right leg and foot.
Procedural history: Delaney filed a claim for...
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Thursday signed into law a measure that makes line-of-duty mental injuries compensable for first responders.
Beginning in 2025, S.B. 1457 will allow for workers' compensation benefits for police officers, professional and volunteer firefighters, and emergency medical technicians diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder whose mental injury is connected to “responding to an emergency.”
The bill defines PTSD as that which is connected to witnessing or experiencing death, near death or a threat to the “physical integrity of others” an...
The Texas Workers' Compensation Research and Evaluation Group released a new report on access to care in the Lone Star State's workers' compensation system between 2017 and 2022.
This report measures the availability and accessibility of care by the rate of physician participation in treating work injuries, the rate of physician retention and the timeliness of first treatment for nonemergency cases.
Key findings of the report include:
17,659 physicians participated in the workers' comp system in 2022.
The workers' comp physician retention rate in 2...
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry's Compliance, Records and Training (CRT) unit has created a new training video to assist administrators who file denials of primary liability.
The video provides information about:
The filing deadline for injuries that must be reported.
Good-faith investigation.
Determination of compensability.
Tips to formulate denials that are legal, factual, specific and not frivolous.
Submission of denial transaction via electronic data interchange.
Distribution to required parties.
CRT aims to improve the quality of den...
The U.S. Department of Labor's federal Black Lung Program has set outreach events for current and former coal miners with disabilities related to black lung disease in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
Miners' families and survivors are invited to attend as well.
The Labor Department's Division of Coal Mine Workers' Compensation provides benefits for about 5,000 people in Kentucky, 200 in Indiana and 300 in Illinois. The outreach events are meant to ensure timely benefits through assistance in determining eligibility, filing claims and receiving information ...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected a worker’s constitutional challenges to the state’s new impairment rating evaluation scheme but declined to impose costs and fees on him for raising the same challenges it has already rejected.
Louis Kober Jr. was a police officer for the City of Philadelphia. He suffered injuries in a work-related motor vehicle accident in August 2016.
Kober collected temporary total disability benefits via the Heart and Lung Act after the accident.
In September 2021, Kober underwent an impairment rating evaluation by Dr. Michael B. Fischer, who a...
