OR - Staffing Agency Liable for Benefits After Worker's Fatal Accident
09/11/2025 | 0
The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a staffing agency was liable for the payment of benefits for a worker’s fatal accident.
Employer Solutions Staffing Group LLC, a national staffing agency, contracted with Atlas Leasing, a staffing recruiting agent, to recruit and place employees with third parties. The agreement required ESSG to furnish and keep workers’ compensation insurance covering all recruited employees.
Peter Billeter owned and operated two companies: Billeter Marine LLC, and Billeter Roads and Forestry LLC.
BM’s work included marine services, ...
Read More
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania rejected an attorney’s assertion that he was entitled to additional fees for successfully defeating an employer’s intoxication defense to a worker’s claim.
Case: Prim v. Har Jehuda Cemetery (WCAB), No. 1443 C.D. 2023, 09/04/2025, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Michael Shields worked as a landscaper for Har Jehuda Cemetery. He suffered injuries when a lawnmower ran over his foot.
Shields filed a workers’ compensation claim, which the cemetery contested. Attorney Joseph A. Prim represented Shields from July 2020 throug...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a judge did not suffer a compensable knee injury while descending a flight of stairs.
Case: Harper v. City of Elkins, No. 25-ICA-101, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: Rebecca Harper worked for the City of Elkins as a municipal court judge. She allegedly injured her right knee while descending stairs at work in August 2014.
Harper testified that she did not slip or trip while descending the stairs; the only thing she was carrying at the time of the incident was her phone and her office keys in her left hand, an...
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that an employer was entitled to the dismissal of a worker’s claim based on her failure to receive or seek benefits, including medical treatment, for a period of six months after her claim was filed.
Case: OBI Holding Co. v. Schultz-Butzbach, No. 122347, 09/09/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Shaneese Schultz-Butzbach worked for OBI Holding Co. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting she had injured her knee at work.
Upon an order of an administrative law judge, Schultz-Butzbach had her knee examined by Dr. Kevin Hargrove...
Every month, I bring you a new slant on how to negotiate better and how to succeed at mediation. Sometimes, I call a book to your attention. And sometimes, the compelling message is simply, “Shape up.”
Here is a reminder of some of those classic messages.
Mediation misconceptions
Misconceptions about how mediation works persist. Clients are afraid of a bad outcome. It is up to counsel to explain that there can be no result that the client does not agree to.
Mediation can save time, money and stress. Unfortunately, some attorneys also shy away from the mediation process...
The California Senate passed bills that would extend the heart trouble presumption to certain state hospital workers and presume that heat injuries are compensable for agricultural workers, sending the measures back to the Assembly for concurrence with recent amendments.
AB 1125, by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, would extend the heart trouble presumption to certain state hospital workers.
The presumption would cover peace officers for the Department of State Hospitals as well as officers and employees with custodial duties for the Department of Corrections.
Nguyen on Sept. 4...
The California Senate unanimously approved Assembly amendments to bills dealing with contractor coverage requirements and safety standards for silica exposure and manufactured stone.
The Senate on Tuesday concurred with amendments to SB 20 that eliminated a proposal to have the Department of Industrial Relations develop a training program for businesses cutting stone slab products.
The amended bill, by Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-Van Nuys, would require slab shop owners to attest in writing that they've provided appropriate training to employees crushing, cutting or machining artificial st...
The Actuarial Committee for the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California will discuss strategies for more quickly identifying trends with cumulative trauma claims during a meeting on Tuesday.
The WCIRB said preliminary data from 2024 shows that the share of indemnity claims involving cumulative trauma increased significantly.
"However, as CT claims are typically identified using the type of loss and injury type codes from unit statistical report data, which is summarized more than two years after the policy year completes, more recent trends in CT claim ...
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services said employers will pay an average of 3.3% less for workers’ compensation coverage next year.
The department said the advisory pure premium rate for 2026 will be 87 cents per $100 of payroll, down from 91 cents in 2024.
“The decline in costs marks 13 years of average decreases in the pure premium rate — the base rate insurers use to determine how much employers must pay for medical costs and lost wages,” the department said in a statement.
The department said the pure premium rate per $100 of payroll has decreas...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 26, 2025
LatinoComp to Honor Judge Daniel A. Dobrin, of the Los Angeles Workers' Compensation Appeals Board, at Annual Awards Dinner
Los Angeles, CA — LatinoComp is proud to announce that Judge Daniel A. Dobrin, a respected leader in the Workers’ Compensation community, will be honored at the upcom...
A Texas appellate court ruled that the Division of Workers’ Compensation lacked jurisdiction to alter an attorney fee award and impose it against an insurance carrier instead of having the fees paid from an injured worker’s supplemental income benefits.
The case is Law Offices of Miller & Bicklein PC v. Ace American Insurance Co., No. 03-25-00215-CV.
In January 2011, Daniel Miramontes sustained a compensable workplace injury. He received an impairment rating above 15%, entitling him to claim supplemental income benefits. The burden of proof is on the worker to establish ...
The Minnesota Court of Appeals ruled that in an action by an insured against an automobile insurance provider for underinsured motorist benefits, the carrier does not need to assert a request to reduce damages by the amount that the insured has recovered.
Case: Verros v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., No. A24-0743, 09/02/2025, published.
Facts: In June 2016, appellant Demitrius Verros was struck by a motorcycle while crossing a street in the course of his duties as a mail carrier. In addition to workers’ compensation benefits, Verros recovered $50,000, pursuant to the...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that an administrator unreasonably denied a worker’s claim for injuries from a locker falling on her.
Case: Graham Packaging Co. LP v. Barnes, No. 25-ICA-95, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: Crystal Barnes worked for Graham Packaging Co. LP. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, alleging she had injured her back and shoulder at work in February 2024.
Barnes went to the hospital two days after the alleged accident. She reported that a section of four lockers fell on her, pinning her to the floor while at w...
The North Carolina Court of Appeals upheld a finding that an independent contractor was entitled to benefits from a trucking company and a transportation broker for his injuries from a crash.
Case: Davidovic v. Allbound Carrier Inc., No. COA24-1027, 09/03/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Goran Davidovic worked as a truck driver for Allbound Carrier Inc. He owned his truck, was paid by the load instead of the mile and could choose the loads he wanted to transport.
Once Davidovic accepted a load, he could choose the route he wanted to take and plan his breaks.
Davidovic annually regi...
A federal appellate court ruled that a marine transportation provider could not enforce the indemnity provision in a master service agreement between a staffing company and the owner of an offshore platform under Louisiana law.
Case: Offshore Oil Services Inc. v. Island Operating Co., No. 24-30674, 09/04/2025, published.
Facts: Fieldwood Energy LLC is an oil and gas exploration and production company that owns and operates production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.
In 2014, Fieldwood entered into a master service agreement with Island Operating Co. Inc. to secure workers to perform oil and...
The Nevada Division of Industrial Relations announced that it has adopted the Official Disability Guidelines Drug Formulary, joining 12 states that use the tool for managing workers' compensation claims.
State Senate Bill 317, passed earlier this year, mandates the use of the ODG formulary to standardize drug prescription practices. The formulary's purpose is to promote consistency, improve patient outcomes and reduce costs. It became effective Tuesday, with a full implementation date of July 1, 2027.
To ease the transition to the formulary, the DIR has set traini...
ICW Group Insurance Cos. appointed Rob deViere to vice president and head of distribution and marketing to manage the company’s distribution strategy, brand evolution and customer engagement across its property and casualty insurance products and channels.
In the newly created role, deViere will support ICW Group’s diversification growth initiative and lead efforts to optimize partner relationships, the company said.
With more than 30 years in the insurance business, deViere began his career at ICW Group 12 years ago as a branch manager...
