NATL. - WCRI: Share of Injuries Among New Workers Fell Below Pre-Pandemic Level by 2024
10/01/2026 | 0
The share of injuries involving workers in their first few months on the job rose sharply during the pandemic before falling below its pre-pandemic level by 2024, according to a new report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
The share of injuries involving workers in their first two months on the job increased to 18.43% in 2022 from 15.66% in 2019, according to WCRI’s analysis. But that trend reversed during the post-pandemic recovery, with the share falling by about 2 percentage points annually over the following two years.
By 2024, injuries occurring within the first tw
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The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that an injured firefighter’s line-of-duty disability pension should have been calculated based on his salary at the rank to which he was promoted during his recovery.
Case: Schneider v. Elgin Firefighters’ Pension Fund, No. 2-25-0476, 09/28/2026, published.
Facts: Mark Schneider worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Elgin. He injured his back while at work in March 2022.
After conservative treatment failed, Schneider underwent back surgery. He then completed physical therapy and began work hardening but developed knee pain
A Louisiana appellate court overturned the dismissal of claims against an insurance carrier that provided coverage to a sole proprietor for injuries sustained by the sole proprietor’s brother while allegedly volunteering his services.
Case: Watson v. Watson Services Inc., No. 26-CA-18, 09/23/2026, published.
Facts: On April 4, 2023, Edward Watson suffered severe injuries while helping his brother remove tires from an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. He was underneath the trailer when the jack used to hoist it became dislodged, causing it to fall on his leg.
Doctors later amputated the leg.
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the finding that arthroscopic right shoulder surgery was reasonable and necessary treatment for a worker’s compensable injury.
Case: West Virginia University Health System Inc. v. Blackwell, No. 26-ICA-157, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts: Elizabeth Blackwell worked for West Virginia University Health System Inc. She sought medical treatment in February 2025 after reportedly falling on ice in a parking lot at work.
A claims administrator for the health system’s insurance carrier accepted liability for a strain of muscle and
California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is the nonprofit insurer of last resort for California employers. This critical backstop provides, as President and CEO Vern Steiner puts it, “fairly priced workers’ compensation insurance to any California business that needs it.”
The challenges of running a payer with this unique role in the system are significant, but you wouldn’t know it from the most recent annual report on State Fund’s performance.
State Fund met or exceeded its performance goals, advanced technological innovation, drove wo
A former San Mateo County sheriff's deputy was sentenced to five months in prison Tuesday after he was convicted of workers' compensation fraud, according to a report by KRON-TV.
Jorden Tuiveta Faatiga, 35, of Patterson, pleaded no contest to charges of work comp fraud and filing a false document on April 30.
Faatiga received more than $61,000 in benefits after claiming he injured his right elbow in October 2024.
Prosecutors said in a statement posted to X that surveillance footage showed him lifting, driving and engaging in "intense gym workouts."
Faatiga
Mental health claims are accounting for a larger share of workers' compensation cases, but overall, they continue to represent only a small share of systemwide claims, according to a new analysis from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
WCRI's analysis of mental health claims across 31 states found that, on average, they accounted for 0.3 claims per 100 paid claims from 2015 through 2024. California was a notable outlier, with a rate of mental health claims nearly three times the highest rate among the other states in the study.
The report offers a look at who is filing ment
An Ohio appellate court ruled that a widow’s appeal of a workers’ compensation benefits denial should be transferred to the proper county rather than dismissed because she filed it in the wrong county.
Case: Hamilton v. Bridgeport Equipment & Tool Ltd., No. L-26-00008, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts: Christina Hamilton’s husband worked for Bridgeport Equipment & Tool Ltd. He suffered injuries in an automobile accident in June 2024 and died in August 2024.
Procedural history: Hamilton filed a claim for death benefits with the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries from a fall from an unsecured ladder.
Case: Rojas v. Riverhead Central School District, No. 2024-09165, 09/23/2026, published.
Facts: Javier Rojas allegedly sustained injuries when, according to him, a ladder shifted under him and caused him to fall while performing roofing work at a building owned by the Riverhead Central School District.
Rojas was an employee of Dynasty RSW LLC. Stalco Construction Inc. was the general contractor on the project.
Procedural history: Rojas fil
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a truck driver’s claim for benefits for occupational pneumoconiosis.
Case: Wood v. Jane Lee Enterprises Inc., No. 26-ICA-74, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts: James Wood filed a claim for benefits for occupational pneumoconiosis in September 2024. He alleged that he had worked as a truck driver for 35 years and that he had worked as a truck driver for Jane Lee Enterprises Inc. until 2024.
Wood underwent pulmonary function testing, which demonstrated moderate obstruction. An X-ray revealed no parenchymal or pleur
A Louisiana appellate court dismissed an employer’s challenge to the award issued to its injured employee because it did not post an appeal bond.
Case: Jason v. JCYNT On Time Logistics LLC, No. WCA 26-507, 09/23/2026, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Horatio Jason filed a workers’ compensation claim against JCYNT On Time Logistics LLC, alleging that he broke his foot while exiting a truck at work.
A workers’ compensation judge found that Jason was an employee of JCYNT at the time of the accident; that he had suffered a compensable injury; and that the employ
The New York State Insurance Fund announced Tuesday that it is soliciting information from financial institutions about ways to connect injured workers to low-cost bank and credit union accounts.
"The submitted information may lead to initiatives for NYSIF participants to be directed to banking access opportunities as part of the claim management process, receive financial education and engage with banks and credit unions in their local community," the carrier said in its request for information. "In addition, NYSIF may collaborate with banks and credit unions on communica
In an unpublished decision handed down Monday, a California appeals court held that an employer had not perfected its lien before an injured worker settled and dismissed her case against a third party, leaving the trial court without jurisdiction to order reimbursement.
Jennifer Slamer worked for Southern California Permanente Medical Group and suffered disabling injuries to her respiratory system from exposure to a disinfectant manufactured by Ecolab in February 2016. The medical group settled her workers' compensation claim.
In May 2017, Jennifer Slamer and Christopher Slamer
The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld a determination that expert testimony was not required to establish that a truck driver suffered a compensable injury from his exposure to exhaust fumes that had accumulated in the cab of his truck.
Case: City of Tombstone v. Industrial Commission, No. 1 CA-IC 25-0032, 09/23/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Carlo Agudio worked for the City of Tombstone as a truck operator. On July 31, 2023, Agudio hauled rocks in a dump truck from 8-11 a.m. Unbeknownst to him, a mechanical malfunction caused the cab of the truck to fill with exhaust fumes.
He has no memory of re
The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that an injured worker could not bring a contribution claim against his employer as the assignee of a defendant who had settled his claims against it.
Case: Clark v. F.H. Paschen, Nos. 1-24-0383 and 1-24-1528, 09/24/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Cederick Clark worked for Garth Masonry Corp. He suffered injuries in December 2018 while working at O’Hare International Airport.
Procedural history: Garth filed suit against Milhouse Engineering & Construction Inc. and others, seeking damages.
Milhouse then filed a contribution claim against Clark’s
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment for a worker on his Labor Law claim for his injuries from tripping at a construction site.
Case: Berardi v. 900 Third Avenue LP, No. 156323/21, 595095/22, 09/22/2026, published.
Facts: Christopher Berardi worked for Empire Office Inc. He allegedly suffered injuries when he tripped on a torn and crumpled portion of tarp that covered a corridor as he was pushing an A-frame cart to deliver glass windows to newly constructed offices in a renovation project.
The building was owned by 900 Third Avenue LP, and Gannon Contra