FL - Employer Gets Dismissal of Worker's Breach Claim
07/24/2026 | 0
A Florida appellate court ruled that a municipal employer should have been granted summary judgment dismissing a disabled former police officer’s claims that it had breached the terms of its agreement resolving a dispute over the settlement of his workers’ compensation claim.
Joseph Viera began working for the City of Lake Worth Police Department in April 2000. In December 2000, he was injured while responding to an emergency call.
The city approved Viera’s disability retirement in June 2001.
Viera also filed a workers’ compensation claim, which the city settled in 2
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The California Division of Workers' Compensation updated sections of the Official Medical Fee Schedule covering hospital departments and ambulatory surgical centers to conform to the latest changes made by Medicare.
The division said the order updating the hospital outpatient department and ASC section of the fee schedule adopts the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services ASC Payment Rates Addenda and CMS Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System Addendum A and Addendum B.
CMS revised both files July 13, after the division had already announced quarterly fee schedule adjust
The California Division of Workers' Compensation on Thursday announced that the reimbursement rate for medical and medical-legal travel expenses increased to 76 cents per mile, effective July 1, from 72.5 cents per mile.
The division said the new rate must be paid for all travel on or after July 1, regardless of the date of injury.
The California Workers' Compensation Institute said the Internal Revenue Service typically adjusts the standard mileage rate in the fall for the next calendar year, but mid-year adjustments are possible when costs surge.
"With gas prices up sharply i
The National Council on Compensation Insurance said claim frequency in the health care, office and private education sectors is not following the same trend as it is in other industries.
Most industries had average annual frequency declines of at least 5% from 2021 to 2024, NCCI said.
Over the same period, the average annual decrease was 3.2% for office workers. NCCI said this could reflect return-to-office mandates as well as an increase in motor vehicle accidents in sales jobs.
Frequency fell by 2.9% per year on average for healthcare workers, which NCCI said could be the result of
Jacksonville, FL – July 10, 2026 – PhysNet welcomes Michelle Despres, PT, EMBA as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership team as the company enters its next stage of national growth.
A licensed physical therapist and seasoned healthcare executive, Michelle brings a strong blend of clinical insight, operational leadership, and people-centered strategy. S
At a June 26 meeting of California’s Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation, daisyBill co-founder and CEO Catherine Montgomery detailed some of the serious administrative obstacles providers face when treating injured workers.
DaisyBill’s testimony left commissioners with “their jaws open,” in the words of CHSWC chair Nicholas Roxborough.
CHSWC recommends improvements to the workers’ comp system, reporting directly to the Department of Insurance and the governor. With hard evidence and verifiable data, w
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker who fell due to the failure of his safety device was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim.
Case: Vargas v. 250 West 43 Owner LLC, No. 26446/19, 07/09/2026, published.
Facts: Juan Vargas was using a chipping hammer to remove concrete on the first floor at a construction project when the floor collapsed, causing him to fall approximately 25 feet to the basement.
Vargas had tied off to a beam on the first floor, using the harness and rope that were provided to him. As he lay on the basement floor after his fall, he saw that the rope
The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals granted writ relief to an employer, finding that a trial court erred in compelling it to provide a referral to an injured employee when no determination had been made as to the compensability of her injuries.
Case: Ex parte Waterville USA Inc., No. CL-2026-0390, 07/17/2026, published.
Facts: Isabell Norton Altamira worked for Waterville USA Inc. She allegedly suffered injuries to her head, left shoulder and back in a June 2021 workplace accident.
Procedural history: In February 2025, Altamira filed a civil action in Mobile Circuit Court, seeking
Workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for the negligence claims of a worker who was fired after getting into a fight with a supervisor over personal protective equipment, a Texas appeals court ruled.
Separately, the court held that reporting the altercation and participating in the employer's investigation is not the sort of protected activity that gives rise to a retaliation claim under the state's Human Rights Act.
Francisco Garza was a hydroblast technician for USA DeBusk LLC who reported to different crew leaders as he was assigned to different jobsites. On the day in
A divided District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that it lacked jurisdiction over a widow’s challenge to the denial of her request for an enhanced survivor benefit after the death of her husband, a police officer.
Case: Eckenrode v. District of Columbia Police and Firefighters Retirement and Relief Board, No. 20-AA-0759, 07/16/2026, published.
Facts: Mark Eckenrode served as a Metropolitan Police Department officer for more than 20 years.
In 2006, he injured his left knee while on duty. Eckenrode underwent two knee surgeries as a result of that injury.
After his left knee buckle
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld an award of benefits to a worker struck by a car as she was jaywalking across a street to get food on her break.
Case: Giant Eagle Inc. v. Baker, No. 1684 C.D. 2024, 07/15/2026, published.
Facts: Tierra Baker worked for Giant Eagle Inc. as a pharmacy tech at a store in Pittsburgh’s Greenfield neighborhood.
On Aug. 30, 2021, Baker punched out and left her workplace to get food at a restaurant along Murray Avenue during one of her mandatory 15-minute breaks.
She was struck by a vehicle while trying to cross Murray Avenue directly in f
The Delaware Superior Court upheld a denial of benefits to a third-grade teacher who suffered a spinal stroke at work, leaving her paraplegic.
Case: Johnson v. Christiana School District, No. N25A-05-005 KMM, 07/16/2026, published.
Facts: Angela Johnson worked for Christiana School District as a third-grade teacher.
The School District conducts teacher performance evaluations twice a year, involving two classroom observations.
Johnson was told that Principal Rella Reynolds would be observing her classroom on Jan. 6, 2022. Reynolds had conducted prior observations of Johnson,
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim and reinstated some of the indemnification claims by the defendants.
Case: Williams v. RXR Construction & Development LLC, No. 150936/18, 595067/19, 595834/19, 595173/21, 595554/21, 07/09/2026, published.
Facts: Erick Williams suffered injuries while working on a construction project when an unsecured stack of windows fell on him.
Procedural history: Williams filed suit against RXR SL Owner LLC and RXR Construction & Development LLC, asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law S
The U.S. House Education and Workforce Committee narrowly passed a bill that would prohibit the Occupational Safety and Health Administration from adopting indoor and outdoor heat protection standards proposed in 2024.
The committee on Tuesday voted 18-15 to pass HR 6213, which would prohibit OSHA from adopting the heat protection standards proposed in the Federal Register in August 2024 or any other rules that are substantially similar.
Rules OSHA proposed would require employers to develop an injury and illness prevention plan to control heat hazards. Employers would be required to provide
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill that would authorize the Department of Labor to stop payments to medical providers convicted of fraud involving the workers' compensation program for federal workers.
The House on Monday voted 396-0 to pass HR 8823.
The bill allows the Labor Department to terminate payments to providers convicted of fraud involving the Federal Employees' Compensation Act, similar state programs and all other federal health care programs.
Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Michigan, said in a statement that injured federal workers deserve timely care and s
Travelers Cos. reported that 37% of workplace injuries occurred during a worker's first year on the job and that first-year injuries made up roughly 34% of costs in a study of 1.2 million workers' compensation claims from 2021 to 2025.
Restaurants were most affected by the trend, with first-year injuries representing 51% of all claims in the sector during the study period. Travelers reports that 44% of construction injuries involved first-year workers, as did 39% of retail claims and 38% of claims in both the services and wholesale sectors. About 36% of claims in both the transportati
An employer's knowledge that a worker holds a second job is enough to establish concurrent employment for average weekly wage calculations, even if the worker is furloughed at the time, an Illinois appellate court ruled.
The fact that Kathleen Collins was furloughed from her other job and not earning wages at the time of her injury does not disturb the finding of concurrent employment.
Collins injured her wrist in October 2020 working for J-H Alliance, which does business as the UPS Store.
An arbitrator in September 2022 found her injury arose out of and in the course of employmen
