SC - Denial of Worker's Occupational Asthma Claim Not Supported by Evidence
09/18/2025 | 0
The South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Commission denying a worker’s claim for occupational asthma was unsupported by substantial evidence.
Case: Freshley v. Conbraco Industries Inc., No. 2025-UP-310, 09/10/2025, unpublished.
Facts: James Freshley worked for Conbraco Industries Inc. from 2007 until 2010. For most of this time, Freshley worked on the "zinc line," which required bathing manufactured parts in a variety of chemicals, a process that emitted visible fumes.
The zinc line was located in the shipping department al...
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An Ohio appellate court ruled that the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation policyholder dividends disbursed to the operator of a group of nursing homes were excluded assets under the terms of a transfer agreement between the company and its successor.
Case: Cambridge Health Leasing LLC v. Embassy Cambridge LLC, No. 114523, 09/11/2025, published.
Facts: In February 2020, Cambridge Health Leasing LLC and Embassy Cambridge LLC entered into an operations transfer agreement under which Embassy was to assume the operation of six skilled nursing facilities previously leased by Cambridge.&nbs...
The Washington Court of Appeals last week ordered publication of a decision that upheld a jury’s determination that a flight attendant was entitled to surgery to treat a back injury from a hard landing.
The court’s decision in Alaska Airlines v. Spanjer, No. 86738-5-I, was initially released on Aug. 4 as an unpublished opinion. Only published decisions are binding precedent in Washington.
Hillary Spanjer and two nonparties requested publication of the decision, and the court granted their request Sept. 9.
Spanjer worked for Alaska Airlines as a flight attendant. She suffere...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a restaurant worker was not entitled to expand the scope of her claim for a back injury.
Case: Casto v. Peppermint Creek LLC, No. 24-ICA-480, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: Cari Casto worked for Peppermint Creek LLC, managing a restaurant. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that she had injured her back at work in November 2020.
The physicians’ section of the claim form, completed at Jackson General Hospital on the day of the injury, listed the diagnoses of lumbar strain and lumba...
The Ventura County District Attorney's Office announced that a Southern California man was arrested on felony work comp fraud charges for allegedly claiming that an arm injury he suffered in 2022 occurred at work.
Gonzalo Robles Zurita, 36, was also charged with one count of perjury for deposition statements regarding his arm injury.
He pleaded not guilty to all charges at a Sept. 11 court appearance and was released on his own recognizance.
The DA's office said State Compensation Insurance Fund paid more than $20,000 on Zurita's allegedly fraudulent claim.
"The State Comp...
Prosecutors in New York announced that the owner of several concrete construction companies was indicted for multiple acts of suspected fraud, including allegedly underreporting the size of his staff.
The Manhattan District Attorney's Office announced that Benedetto Cupo, 66, is charged with grand larceny, criminal tax fraud, falsifying business records and scheme to defraud. Cupo owns Eastland Assoc. Corp., Eastland Services Corp. and IMN Group Inc.
Cupo allegedly reported that Eastland Assoc. Corp. had fewer than 10 employees when purchasing comp policies from New York State Insurance ...
The South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission announced that it will implement magnetic screening to increase security at its Columbia office.
Starting Oct. 1, visitors will enter the main lobby through a metal detector and will be scanned for concealed weapons and other unauthorized items, the commission said.
Those who have a medical condition that prohibits them from passing through a magnetic metal detector will be screened with a hand-held magnetic wand.
Bags, briefcases and purses will also be inspected.
The WCC said in a policy statement that it "has noticed an increa...
The Hawaii Supreme Court vacated an award and recommended that the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board weigh whether a lack of concrete factors to consider when awarding permanent partial disability benefits causes disparate outcomes.
While the board has discretion to determine the amount of an award, linking the decision to the evidence is necessary.
“We do not require agencies to state whether each and every piece of evidence helps or hurts a claimant or petitioner’s cause,” the court said. “But merely listing facts without basic analysis of their im...
GREENWICH, CT, UNITED STATES, September 8, 2025 -- Business Insurance announced today that Gina Balog-Sartario has been appointed Genera...
Workers' compensation exclusivity bars a pharmacist's lawsuit that alleged intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery, a California appeals court ruled.
The 5th District Court of Appeal said workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for injuries arising from alleged harassment that occurs in the normal course of business, such as a supervisor scrutinizing the work of a subordinate. The court also said the worker couldn't escape exclusivity because she failed to prove that an intent to cause physical injury motivated an alleged a...
The South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a staffing company employee’s injuries from a single-vehicle accident on a private road were compensable because he had been instructed to use the road to access his worksite.
Case: Cook v. Condustrial Inc., No. 2020-001236, 09/10/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Ryan Cook worked for Condustrial Inc., a specialized staffing company providing skilled labor for a variety of clients. Condustrial assigned Cook to work for Phillips Industrial, which had a contract for work at the British Petroleum plant.
According to Cook, at the end of each wor...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits for a deputy sheriff’s heart attack.
Case: Willis v. Fayette County Commission, No. 25-ICA-46, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: William Willis worked for the Fayette County Commission as a deputy sheriff. He went to the hospital on Oct. 29, 2023, with complaints of chest pain.
A cardiac catheterization was performed, which revealed a 90% thrombotic lesion in the mid-right coronary artery.
Procedural history: Willis filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he had suffered a heart attack while...
The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was not entitled to benefits for her injuries from falling while using a crosswalk on a public street to move from a public parking lot to her workplace.
Case: Poole v. Quest Diagnostics Inc., No. 0701-24-3, 09/09/2025, published.
Facts: Audra Poole worked for Quest Diagnostics as a phlebotomist at the laboratory inside Carilion’s Roanoke Memorial Hospital.
While on her way to work on Feb. 2, 2022, Poole fell while traversing a crosswalk on a public street that separated the laboratory building from a public parking lot.
Procedur...
The U.S. Department of Labor fined a Florida roofing contractor $752,846 for allegedly exposing workers to fall hazards by not requiring them to wear fall protection.
The department said it initiated an investigation into Elo Restoration LLC, operating as Elo Roofing, after learning that a worker at a site in St. Johns was hospitalized after falling through a residential roof while removing skylight fixtures.
The agency said the worksite lacked guardrails, fall arrest systems or safety nets, and employees were not given alternative fall protection methods.
The department cited Elo for four ...
The California Workers' Compensation Institute reported that claims involving functional restoration programs were almost 60% more expensive than common claims, with average medical costs twice as high and indemnity costs 28% higher.
Functional restoration programs are a multi-disciplinary approach to treat chronic pain and improve patient function when injuries don't respond to traditional therapies.
CWCI said these claims averaged $234,003, about 59.3% more than the control group. Medical spending averaged $127,816, nearly twice the $64,062 for controls, while outpatient cost...
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is proposing to increase the average hourly rate employers and workers pay for workers' compensation coverage by 4.9%.
The department is recommending an average rate of $1.37 per full-time employee.
The increase is less than what the department said it would need to cover 2026 claim costs, but it plans to use its contingency reserve to cover the difference.
"By maintaining a healthy contingency reserve through consistent, careful management of the premiums paid by workers and employers, L&I can cover some of the costs inst...
