IL - Court Publishes Decision Finding Prejudice in Pension Disability Claim
10/08/2026 | 0
The Illinois Appellate Court has published its ruling holding that two Marion police pension board members' statements about a former officer showed that they had prejudged his disability claim.
The court said the board violated Joshua Mahan's right to an impartial tribunal by failing to remove those board members before deciding to terminate his disability pension. The decision in Joshua Mahan v. Marion Police Pension Board et al. was initially handed down Sept. 2 and formally published Tuesday.
In addition to finding it improperly influenced by bias, the court also held that the bo
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The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that an employee making a wrongful refusal to rehire claim must make an initial showing that he was injured in the course of his employment and the employer refused to rehire him.
Case: Bartelt Custom Automotive Inc. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, No. 2024AP133, 10/06/2026, published.
Facts: Kevin Warlow, a welder for Bartelt Custom Automotive Inc., suffered a compensable injury to his left hand in January 2017. He received workers’ compensation benefits until he was released to return to work without restrictions in February 2017.
When h
A divided Louisiana appellate court overturned the denial of an injured truck driver’s claim for benefits, finding he was not an independent contractor as a matter of law.
Case: Smith v. RNK Construction LLC, No. 2026-CA-0078, 10/02/2026, published.
Facts: Melvin Smith was driving a dump truck down the highway after delivering a load of sand from RNK Construction LLC to one of its customers. As Smith was returning to RNK’s truck yard, he failed to negotiate a 90-degree turn, crashed into a protective barrier and suffered injuries that required medical treatment.
Procedural histo
The Maryland Appellate Court upheld the dismissal of a worker’s civil suit against the assisted living facility where she worked and its partial owner.
Case: Lee v. Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc., No. 225, 10/02/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Nancy Teresa Lee worked as a life enrichment manager at Sunrise of Bethesda, an assisted living facility ??? OWNED AND ??? operated by Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc.
She was assaulted by a resident of the assisted living facility in January 2022 and suffered a fractured spine. The Workers’ Compensation Commission found her injury c
The MEMIC Group announced Wednesday that its board of directors authorized a $17 million dividend for more than 17,000 policyholders in Maine.
The carrier said the dividend is based on its financial performance and claims experience, as well as the collective success of policyholders in maintaining safe workplaces during the 2023 calendar year.
The $17 million distribution is more than 10% of eligible premiums paid by policyholders that year and will be distributed next month.
The dividend brings to $406 million the total amount the carrier has returned to policyholders since 1998.
M
The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced that it has updated the hospital outpatient department and ambulatory surgical center, and the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies sections of the Official Medical Fee Schedule.
The orders adjusting the fee schedule sections adopted the fourth-quarter Medicare updates and apply to services provided on or after Oct. 1.
The division specifically said the hospital outpatient and ASC updates include:
The CMS Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, October 2026 "Addendum A" and
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld an award of benefits for a production worker’s injury from a fall while wearing sandals to walk to an employee break room to charge his phone.
Shawn Anderson worked as a machine operator for Ice Cream Specialties Inc., an ice cream manufacturer.
He clocked in for work on Oct. 3, 2022, while wearing open-toed, slip-on sandals.
He went to his locker and took out his work boots, but he did not put them on. He then went to the bathroom and returned to his locker, at which point he noticed that his cellphone was about to lose its charge.
Rather th
A Louisiana appellate court granted summary judgment for the defendant in a civil suit arising from a fatal flash fire and explosion that occurred at a propane bulk storage and transportation facility.
Case: Hardaway v. Aeropres Corp., No. 56,897, 09/30/2026, published.
Facts: XTO Energy Inc. owned a propane bulk storage and transportation facility that it leased to Aeropres Corp.
George Hardaway, Chancey Hawk and Daniel Payne worked for Aeropres. They were transferring liquid propane from a storage tank into an Aeropres tanker truck when the hose connection failed, spewing more than&n
A federal appellate court upheld a business owner's conviction for payroll tax fraud.
Case: U.S. v. Cole, No. 26-473, 09/30/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Contractor George Cole, who owned Cole NYC LLC, failed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $1.5 million in employment-related taxes between 2016 and 2020.
Between November 2021 and April 2023, Cole failed to maintain workers’ compensation insurance and filed two forged certificates claiming that he had secured coverage while he continued to accept jobs throughout the city. During the same period, he failed to pay appro
The Missouri Court of Appeals rejected a self-represented worker’s appeal of the summary dismissal of his malpractice claim against his former attorney.
Case: Porter v. Dipasquale Moore LLC, No. WD88424, 09/29/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Audwin Porter, acting as his own attorney, in October 2024 sued the attorney who handled his workers' compensation claim.
Porter alleged that the attorney violated the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and fiduciary duties by improperly disclosing his personal medical information.
He later a
The California Applicants' Attorneys Association opened registration for its 2027 Winter Convention, scheduled for Jan. 21-24 in Rancho Mirage.
CAAA said the event will explore trends in California workers' compensation as well as changes to relevant law. Topics slated to be discussed include changes to utilization review and the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund.
The convention will also feature the Marvin Shapiro Memorial Most Important Cases session, as well as a panel featuring Workers' Compensation Appeals Board commissioners and a discussion with Division of Workers&#
The Missouri Court of Appeals ruled that an employer was liable for a worker’s medical expenses from providers of his choosing after ignoring his demand for treatment.
Ronald Wills began working for Fixture Contracting Co. Inc. in 2015. His job required bending at the waist, stooping, lifting from the ground to a workbench, reaching overhead and bending over to clean up.
In September 2017, Wills began experiencing soreness in his low back. After his symptoms worsened the next month, he went to see a chiropractor.
The chiropractor ordered an MRI that showed two bulging or protrudi
A federal appellate court rejected a worker’s petition challenging the denial of his claim for post-traumatic stress disorder allegedly based on his employment in Afghanistan.
Case: Apostolovski v. U.S. Department of Labor, No. 25-2168, 09/30/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Marjan Apostolovski, a citizen of North Macedonia, worked for DynCorp International fueling helicopters and armored vehicles at a forward operating base in Afghanistan.
Apostolovski allegedly experienced multiple mortar and grenade attacks while working at the base before his contract ended in 2012.
Apostolovski re
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals upheld the dismissal of an injured worker’s disability discrimination claim as untimely.
Case: Neidlein v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, No. 2025AP2134, 10/02/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Pamela Neidlein began working for Greeneway Inc. in 2012. She allegedly injured her left shoulder at work and filed a workers’ compensation claim.
In March 2022, Neidlein underwent an independent medical evaluation with Dr. Kevin Kulwicki, who opined that her shoulder condition was due to preexisting degenerative conditions and was not the result of a work-re
A Louisiana appellate court upheld a determination that a worker forfeited her entitlement to benefits by providing her employer with false responses to inquiries about her medical history.
Case: Rodriguez v. Willis Knighton Health, No. 57,022-WCA, 09/30/2026, published.
Facts: Willis Knighton Health System hired Rae Rodriguez in September 2022.
Before her first day of work, Rodriguez underwent a preemployment physical, which determined that she was able to perform essential job functions without accommodations.
Rodriguez also completed a post-hire questionnaire in 2022 and another in 2024