CA - WCAB Rescinds OSAs for Due Process Violations, Disqualifies Judge for Appearance of Bias
06/26/2026 | 0
The California Workers' Compensation Appeals Board issued an en banc decision that rescinded two dozen orders suspending action on settlements that it said were issued in ways that violated the parties' due process rights.
The WCAB in Calvin Gaines et al. v. AMB Aviation Inc. et al. also said the judge's statements that claimants were exploiting the workers' compensation system demonstrated bias requiring disqualification and reassignment of the cases to new judges on remand.
Van Nuys Workers' Compensation Judge Karinneh Aslanian between Jan. 23 and April 14 issued orders
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A New York appellate court upheld the denial of benefits to a correction officer who witnessed the death of an incarcerated individual whom she had known previously.
Case: Matter of Croom v. New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, No. CV-24-1886, 06/11/2026, published.
Facts: Jennifer Croom worked as a correction sergeant at the Albion Correctional Facility. One of the incarcerated individuals in the facility, who Croom had met over a decade earlier while working at a juvenile residential center, experienced a medical emergency in 2023.
Croom and the facility nur
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of benefits to a train conductor for his claimed psychological injury arising from the death of a passenger who had fallen between two cars.
Case: Matter of Williams v. New York City Transit Authority, No. CV-24-0860, 06/11/2026, published.
Facts: Charles Williams worked for the New York City Transit Authority as a conductor.
He filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits contending that he sustained post-traumatic stress disorder following an incident on March 15, 2021, when a passenger was discovered to have fallen between train cars a
The Indiana Court of Appeals upheld a determination that an automobile insurance provider was entitled to an offset for an injured worker’s recovery from the at-fault motorist’s insurance carrier.
Case: Cline v. Everest National Insurance Co., No. 25A-CT-1976, 05/28/2026, published.
Facts: Michael Cline and Jacob Sofronko both worked for the Ohio Valley Gas Corp. Sofronko was driving and Cline was a passenger in a company-owned dump truck when it collided with a commercial cargo van at the intersection of State Road 26 and County Road 200 West in Jay County.
Cline and Sofr
After decades of being wildly underpaid due to the Sunshine State’s abysmally low workers’ comp fee schedule, 2025 saw those worthies get a major jump in pay: 41%, to be precise.
That’s a key takeaway from the Workers Compensation Research Institute's recent report on nonfacility prices paid for workers’ comp medical services.
But — and it's a big but — Florida’s docs are still paid below the median in the 36 states evaluated by WCRI.
A key point is that WCRI’s report speaks to the prices paid, no
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the calculation of temporary total disability benefits owed to a worker for his carpal tunnel syndrome.
Case: Seech v. Frontier Kemper Constructors Inc., No. 25-ICA-328, 06/022026, published.
Facts: Jud Seech worked for Frontier Kemper Constructors Inc. He filed a claim for workers’ compensation benefits for his carpal tunnel syndrome.
Frontier’s insurance carrier accepted liability for this condition and began paying Seech temporary total disability benefits at a rate of $576.03 per week.
Seech objected to this amount.
A key figure in what California officials once called the largest workers' compensation fraud scheme in state history has pleaded guilty to orchestrating a new $270 million Medicaid scam, landing him squarely in the crosshairs of a record-setting $6.5 billion nationwide federal healthcare fraud takedown.
While Paul Richard Randall's latest scheme exclusively targeted Medi-Cal, the case helps illustrate the motivation behind anti-fraud measures enacted 10 years ago that bar convicted fraudsters from participating in the state's workers' compensation system and disallow their li
The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that a firefighter’s widow was not entitled to line-of-duty compensation for his death, even though his death was deemed compensable.
Case: Wynn v. City of Kansas City, No. WD88290, 05/26/2026, published.
Facts: Raymond Wynn served as a firefighter for the City of Kansas City for 31 years. Due to his exposure to multiple workplace carcinogens, he developed squamous cell lung cancer in 2018.
Wynn died as a result of his cancer in March 2021.
Procedural history: Wynn’s widow filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting Wynns&rsqu
A New York appellate court ruled that a summary dismissal of a worker’s Labor Law claim for an alleged trip-and-fall accident should not have been granted.
Case: Woodward v. J.T. Magen & Co. Inc., No. 156960/17, 06/11/2026, published.
Facts: Robert Woodward suffered injuries while working on a construction project. According to Woodward, he fell just after coming out of the only available staircase leading to the mezzanine of a building when he tripped on a cutout/inlay in the floor.
Witness testimony described the area where he fell as a hallway or corridor connecting two larger
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his fall from a ladder and that the third-party defendant should have been granted summary judgment dismissing the indemnification claims against it.
Case: Perez v. Parkside Terrace LP, No. 28976/18, 06/09/2026, published.
Facts: Wilborth Perez suffered injuries while working on a construction project when he fell from a ladder.
Perez worked for the drywall contractor on the project.
According to Perez, the accident happened while he was attempting to fix the framing in the ceiling ov
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of additional temporary total disability benefits for a worker.
Case: Marshall County Coal Resources v. Kessler, No. 25-ICA-480, 06/02/2026, published.
Facts: Joshua Kessler worked for Marshall County Coal Resources. He suffered injuries in February 2024 when a concrete block wall that he was building fell, and a block struck him in the head and knocked him off a 4-foot ladder.
Kessler was taken to the hospital, where he denied loss of consciousness, denied neck or back pain and denied any other injury.
A computed tom
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries suspended a contractor's registration after dozens of customer complaints, a court decision and an investigation revealed more than $1 in fraud.
Construction Kings, based in Sumner, and owner Zakary Michael Nash received citations for repeated electrical code violations, L&I said. The agency also cited thousands in unpaid workers’ compensation.
Additionally, Construction Kings faces at least 11 lawsuits, L&I said.
“This is one of the most egregious cases I’ve seen involving a
The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that a firefighter’s widow was not entitled to line-of-duty compensation even though his death was deemed compensable.
Patrick Williams served as a firefighter for the City of Kansas City for 38 years. Due to his exposure to multiple workplace carcinogens, he developed metastatic neuroendocrine carcinoma and multiple myeloma.
Williams died as a result of his cancer in February 2018.
Williams’ widow filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that his cancer was an occupational disease.
In August 2023, an administrative la
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for a knee injury.
Case: Jackson v. Monroe County Council on Aging, No. 25-ICA-484, 06/02/2026, published.
Facts: Sharon Jackson worked for the Monroe County Council on Aging. She allegedly injured her right knee at work on Oct. 4, 2024.
Jackson went to the WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital emergency department that day and reported right leg pain and stiffness. Jackson stated that she regularly experienced muscle cramps that were relieved with creams, but that morning, she did not e
A New York appellate court upheld a jury’s verdict and award for a worker on part of his Labor Law claim, and it ruled that one of the defendants should have been granted indemnification from a third-party defendant.
Case: Sinera v. Bedford-Webster LLC, No. 23902/15, 06/09/2026, published.
Facts: Bubacarr Sinera suffered injuries while operating a forklift during a construction project when the floor collapsed under him.
Procedural history: Sinera filed suit against 3170 Webster Avenue LLC and Bedford-Webster LLC, asserting claims for violations of the Labor Law.
Bedford-Webster file
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his injuries from allegedly being struck by a section of duct.
Case: Villanueva v. J.T. Magen & Co. Inc., No. 155823/20, 06/09/2026, published.
Facts: Carlos Villanueva suffered injuries while working on a construction project when a 350-pound section of duct struck him, knocking him to the ground.
According to Villanueva, the duct that fell on him was stacked on top of another duct being transported on two wooden dollies by him and his co-workers. The ducts were not strap
