MO - High Court Decision on Occupational Diseases May Doom SIF Claim
06/20/2025 | 0
A Missouri appeals court said a recent decision from the state's Supreme Court holding that occupational diseases are not compensable preexisting disabilities for Second Injury Fund Claims could derail an injured worker's claim for benefits.
The decision the high court handed down in Treasurer of Missouri as Custodian of the Second Injury Fund v. Penney doesn't necessarily mean Brian White is ineligible for SIF benefits, the Eastern District Appeals Court said. But the high court's decision from April 29 does mean the Labor and Industrial Relations Commission exceeded its auth...
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A New York appellate court ruled that when a worker is receiving continuing benefits at a temporary rate, the Workers’ Compensation Board’s regulations do not mandate that a hearing be held within 20 days, and they do not provide for the worker’s benefits to be reduced or suspended after 20 days.
Case: Matter of Juncal v. Maspeth Remodeling Co., No. CV-23-2242, 05/29/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Miguel Juncal worked for Maspeth Remodeling Co. He established a workers’ compensation claim for injuries from a fall at work in November 2021...
The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a determination that the Second Injury Fund was not liable for the payment of benefits to a worker with multiple injuries.
Case: Jarvis v. Treasurer, No. ED113075, 05/27/2025, published.
Facts: Jeremy Jarvis was an ironworker. He suffered injuries to his right ankle and arms in 2001.
Jarvis filed a workers’ compensation claim against his employer and settled his claim for his right elbow at 57.75 weeks’ disability, his left wrist for 43.75 weeks’ disability and his right leg for 46.5 weeks’ disability. The award was subj...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a widower was entitled to pursue a claim for benefits based on a theory that his wife’s cancer was caused by her workplace exposure to toxins, even though she never established the link.
Case: Union Carbide Corp. v. Dearien, No. 24-ICA-269, 06/04/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Christina Dearien worked for Union Carbide Corp. In March 2019, she filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that she had developed colon cancer that was an occupational disease.
Dr. Moh...
An emergent new trend of using artificial intelligence to replace human resources employees could pose problems for workers’ compensation defendants tasked with confirming whether or not any injuries occurred on the job.
Human resources is one of the fastest-growing job sectors in the United States, according to SHRM. However, as Slate pointed out in a rather depressing piece, a new trend of AI chatbots is quickly replacing the humans in human resources. While Slate mostly focused on the use of AI bots during the job interview process, it’s hard to ignore this p...
A New York appellate court upheld the forfeiture of a worker’s benefits due to her failure to disclose prior injuries to her neck and back.
Case: Matter of Alzate v. Quality Building Services Corp., No. CV-23-0963, 05/29/2025, published.
Facts: Adriana Alzate worked for Quality Building Services Corp. She suffered injuries in October 2019 when a printer fell on her while she was vacuuming.
Alzate established a workers’ compensation claim for injuries to her back, neck and right shoulder.
Procedural history: At a hearing in December 2021, Alzate testified that she had no prior i...
A former state trooper has been arrested and charged with fraudulently collecting more than $8,000 in workers’ compensation benefits while employed by the Connecticut Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.
Jose Campos, 32, was arrested Tuesday by fraud inspectors from the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and charged with one count of first-degree larceny and making a fraudulent claim for benefits, both felonies, according to the Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice.
The arrest warrant said Campos misrepresented the circu...
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte vetoed a bill that would have allowed workers' compensation coverage for first responders diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
Gianforte said in his veto message that work comp coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder would be expensive for state taxpayers and unfair to other workers, such as nurses and social workers, who can also experience work-related PTSD.
Senate Bill 394, by Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, would have carved out an exception to the prohibition on work comp coverage for stress claims for firefighters, law enforcement and paramed...
The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission announced that the assessment for the Multiple Injury Trust Fund will drop to 6.29% from 7%, effective July 1.
The commission said this is the first assessment reduction in five years and follows a law enacted in 2019 to help the fund wrestle with solvency issues.
Lawmakers in 2019 passed a bill that restricted access to the program and limited the duration of benefit payments while also increasing the statutory cap on assessments to 7% of direct written premium. The fund had about $500 million in unfunded liabilities at the time....
Ametros on Wednesday named Andrea Mills president, effective July 1.
Mills has been a member of the company's executive team since 2018, most recently serving as the chief client officer.
As president, Mills will oversee all aspects of Amertos' operations.
Mills was also promoted to executive managing director of Webster Bank, the principal bank subsidiary for Webster Financial Corp., which bought Ametros in 2023.
Former Ametros CEO Porter Leslie will remain at Webster Bank, serving as a senior adviser to Ametros while shifting his focus to the health care financial services se...
Hawaii completed a 10-year march to become the most expensive jurisdiction for workers' compensation coverage in the semi-annual interstate rate comparison published by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.
Average rates in Hawaii, calculated based on the mix of industry in Oregon, have increased steadily over the last decade to $2.52 per $100 of payroll in 2024, which was more than double the rate in the median state, Georgia, at $1.09.
New Jersey, which topped the DCBS rankings in 2022, fell to second place with an average rate of $2.16 in the latest ...
The Texas Supreme Court said the Division of Workers' Compensation does not have exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether an injury was work-related in a dispute arising outside of the context of compensability and when the relief requested by the injured worker does not depend on entitlement to benefits.
"In sum, the Workers’ Compensation Act’s text and structure, the presumption in favor of the district court’s jurisdiction, and our precedent all point in the same direction: The division does not have exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether an injury occurr...
California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced on Monday that 55 state and territorial attorneys general have agreed to a $7.4 billion settlement with Purdue Pharma LP and its owners, the Sackler family, to resolve litigation over the creation of the national opioid crisis.
The AG's office said Purdue aggressively marketed opioid products for decades, fueling the largest drug crisis in the nation’s history. The settlement ends the Sacklers' control of Purdue and their ability to sell opioids in the United States.
"The opioid epidemic has rava...
A New York appellate court upheld an award of benefits to a pizzeria worker for his burn injuries despite his intoxication at the time of the accident.
Case: Matter of Ramales v. Frank & Nino's Pizza Corp., No. CV-24-0636, 05/29/2025, published.
Facts: Felipe Zamora Ramales worked as a dishwasher and kitchen assistant at a pizzeria. He sustained burns to 40% of his body and other physical injuries when he lost his balance and fell down the stairs to the basement as he was carrying a large pot of hot tomato sauce.
Upon being admitted to the burn unit at the hospital, Ramales had a bl...
A New York appellate court ruled that an insurance carrier did not owe coverage for an injured carpenter’s claim.
Case: Matter of Fonseca v. Platinum Carpentry Inc., No. CV-23-2290, 05/29/2025, published.
Facts: Henry Fiallos Fonseca worked as a carpenter. He established a workers’ compensation claim for injuries he sustained when part of a ceiling collapsed on him, causing him to fall from a ladder.
Fonseca alleged he was an employee of Platinum Carpentry Inc.
Platinum had a contract with Cornerstone Underwriters LLC, a professional employer organization, to provide ...
The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was not entitled to benefits for his injuries from being struck by a co-worker driving a golf cart, since he was the victim of assault and battery, not a practical joke gone wrong.
Case: Camping World RV Sales LLC v. Ocasio, No. 0439-24-4, 05/27/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Dennis Ocasio worked for Camping World RV Sales LLC. While he was at work in July 2021, he was walking in the Camping World “yard” when he spotted his colleague, Gunnar Tazelaar, driving a golf cart in his direction.
Tazelaar accelerated toward Ocasio, who...
