OK - High Court: Exclusivity Applies Despite Dismissed Comp Claim
02/11/2026 | 0
A unanimous Oklahoma Supreme Court held that exclusivity prohibits a man from suing his employer for negligence even after he dismissed his workers' compensation claim.
James B. Faulkner suffered a traumatic brain injury when a 30-pound piece of machinery fell from about 40 feet and hit his hard hat while he worked on a drill line at an oil rig in 2019.
He initiated a workers' compensation action and ultimately received about $265,000 in combined medical and indemnity benefits. He also sued his employer, Cactus Drilling Co., for negligence and gross negligence.
Cactus moved to ...
Read More
The Colorado Court of Appeals vacated the calculation of an injured worker’s average weekly wage.
Case: Hargon v. Industrial Claim Appeals Office, No. 25CA0977, 01/22/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Mary D. Hargon worked as a contract intelligence analyst, performing short-term contracts for various employers.
In February 2024, Hargon suffered a debilitating injury while performing a contract for Milvets Systems Technology Inc.
Procedural history: Hargon filed a workers’ compensation claim. Milvets filed an admission of general liability, acknowledging that Hargon earned an average w...
The California 6th District Court of Appeals on Wednesday published its decision holding that the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board cannot grant petitions for reconsideration long after the 60-day statutory deadline without demonstrating a factual basis for equitable tolling.
Zenith Insurance Co. et al. v. WCAB (Chan) involved a petition for reconsideration filed in November 2022, which the appeals board did not receive notice of until Jan. 17, 2023. On March 3, 2023, the board granted the petition for purposes of further study. On Nov. 1, 2024, the WCAB issued an opinion and decis...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to permanently adopt changes to the 60-day deadline for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to act on petitions for reconsideration.
A bill attached to the budget in 2024 amended Labor Code Section 5909 to declare that a petition for reconsideration is deemed denied unless it is acted on within 60 days from the date a trial judge transmits the case to the WCAB. Before the amendment, petitions for reconsideration were deemed denied if the WCAB didn't act within 60 days from the date of filing.
AB 171 included a provision to automatical...
Sacramento, CA [December 10, 2025] Today, POWER proudly announced its official launch as a laser-focused non-profit organized to take direct action against fraud and criminal activity in California's temporary staffing industry.
"One of the biggest crimes taking place in California's workforce is hiding in plain sight. The temporary staffing industry has become a largely unregulated playground for cri...
I recently had the chance to speak to a group of workers' compensation professionals from around the nation. They are each involved with self-insurance, a term that has evolved over the years that I have been involved in this community.
Some are surprised when they are reminded that the vast majority of obligations in the workers' compensation law are the employer's. There is a habitual reference in this community to the "employer/carrier," and certainly, there are contractual obligations between employers and carriers. By this contracting, the employer...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claims against a property owner and its construction manager, but summary judgment was premature on the third-party claims by the defendants against the worker’s employer.
Case: Garcia v. CityMeals-On-Wheels Property LLC, No. 160938/16, 01/22/2026, published.
Facts: Marlon Garcia worked for Incinia Contracting Inc. He allegedly suffered injuries while performing asbestos remediation work on the rooftop of a warehouse owned by CityMeals-On-Wheels Property LLC.
Hollister Construction Service...
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that the made-whole doctrine did not apply to the cross-claims asserted by an insurance carrier after it abandoned its original cross-claims based on subrogation.
Case: Mani v. Selective Insurance Co. of America, No. 2023AP905, 01/21/2026, published.
Facts: In 2015, Jack Mani suffered injuries in a car accident caused by an underinsured motorist. Because he was working at the time of the accident, Mani submitted a claim to his employer’s workers’ compensation carrier, AmTrust North America Inc.
AmTrust initially paid for Mani’s accident...
A divided West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of authorization for a worker’s requested shoulder surgery.
Case: Mayer v. City of Clarksburg, No. 25-576, 01/21/2026, published.
Facts: Frank Mayer worked for the City of Clarksburg. He fell while at work in May 2023.
Mayer went to the hospital, where he reported left knee and right shoulder pain. The assessment was a patella fracture and right shoulder strain.
Two days later, Mayer saw Dr. William Dahl, who assessed a rupture of the left quadricep, a closed fracture of the left patella and an injury of the right shoulder.
A c...
The Iowa Supreme Court reversed a $2.84 million jury verdict in a gross negligence case, finding that although supervisors knew the general hazards of surface mining, there was no evidence they had actual knowledge of the specific peril that led to Michael L. Griffith's death.
Griffith, 30, died on the job after falling through a catwalk gate at the Wendling Quarries mine Jan. 8, 2020.
A jury, the district court and the court of appeals relied on a cursory safety inspection and failure to check the gate as proof of gross negligence, but the high court said constructive knowledge &m...
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld the denial of benefits to a worker injured while traversing a makeshift path to the employee parking lot instead of using the paved sidewalk provided by his employer.
Case: Rodriguez v. IWCC (Ford Motor Co.), No. 24L50120, 01/16/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Daniel Rodriguez worked for the Ford Motor Co. at its plant in Chicago. The plant had a parking lot for employees, and a concrete sidewalk, built and maintained by Ford, extended from the parking lot to a pedestrian bridge. This sidewalk was the dedicated walkway between the parking lot and the plant.
The...
A divided Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld an award of line of duty death benefits to the widow of a deputy sheriff who died from a heart condition.
Case: In the Matter of the Denial of Line of Duty Death Benefits for Dallas Edeburn, No. A25-0661, 01/20/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Dallas Edeburn worked as a Ramsey County deputy sheriff. In March 2021, Edeburn was involved in a high-speed motor vehicle collision while on duty.
Edeburn returned to work in December 2021 and was placed on light duty while he continued to recover from his posttraumatic stress disorder and physical injuries.
Edeb...
The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s motion to reopen her claim, filed more than a year after her claim was denied due to her failure to appear at a scheduled hearing before an administrative judge.
Case: Wilson v. P.L. Marketing Inc., No. 2025-WC-00158-COA, 01/15/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Florine Wilson worked for P.L. Marketing Inc. She allegedly injured her back lifting a crate of canned food.
After P.L. denied that it was required to provide workers’ compensation coverage for Wilson, she filed a petition to controvert with the...
The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of a worker’s request for a hearing on the denial of her untimely claim for long COVID.
Case: Diaz v. Industrial Commission, No. 2 CA-IC 2025-0004, 01/20/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Tamera Diaz worked as a drywall installer. In June 2022, she was part of a crew remodeling a nursing home.
One morning, Diaz woke up feeling ill. She took an at-home COVID-19 test, which came back positive. Diaz then went to the hospital, which confirmed she had COVID-19.
Diaz never returned to work, and in the months that followed, Diaz allegedly cont...
The Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation will discuss the final report on paying benefits with prepaid cards during a Feb. 18 meeting.
A draft report released for public comment in December said State Compensation Insurance Fund is the only carrier using prepaid cards under the definition of the pilot program lawmakers created in 2018.
The pilot is scheduled to terminate Jan. 1, 2027, but AB 1683 by the Assembly Insurance Committee would extend it indefinitely.
Commission members will also hear a report on the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund, although ...
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that the Administrative Workers' Compensation Act does not bar a worker from receiving more than one change of treating physician per claim.
Monica Moreno Goodwin suffered injuries while working for Saint Anthony South Behavioral Health in March 2017. She filed a workers’ compensation claim.
Saint Anthony admitted liability for injuries to Goodwin’s neck and shoulder. Saint Anthony authorized treatment with Dr. Zakary Knutson.
Goodwin amended her claim to add a consequential injury to her right arm. Saint Anthony contested the consequential i...
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld an award of benefits to a nurse for her back injury.
Case: HCR Manor Care v. IWCC, No. 23-L-50667, 01/16/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Dyhema Ralston worked for Heartland Hospice as a registered nurse. She injured her back while at work in June 2016.
Ralston saw Dr. David Warman two days later. Warman took Ralston off work.
In October 2016, Heartland sent Ralston to be examined by Dr. Julie Wehner—the same day she saw Warman. Warman opined Ralston could return to light-duty work.
Ralston informed Heartland of her restrictions, and Heartland responded ...
