OR - Court Grants Reconsideration of Decision Eliminating Worker's Impairment Award
07/27/2026 | 0
The Oregon Court of Appeals granted reconsideration of its decision that had overturned a ruling by the Workers’ Compensation Board eliminating a worker’s impairment award, and it adhered to its conclusion that reversal of the board was required.
Isa Dean underwent a magnetic resonance imaging scan in 2006 that showed degenerative changes in her lumbar spine.
In 2009, Dean began working for Multnomah County. After a few years, she sought chiropractic treatment for low-back pain, which her providers associated with ergonomic conditions at her workstation.
In 2017, Dean began a di
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Estimated paid costs in California increased 13.5% in 2024, according to the 2025 annual report that the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation released last week.
Medical, indemnity and expense costs increased to $24.516 billion in 2024 from $21.594 billion in 2023, according to the 2025 report released Thursday and the report released last year.
The biggest increase was expenses, which jumped 25.8% to $9.734 billion from $7.735 billion.
Medical costs increased 8.61% to $7.933 billion from $7.304 billion, while indemnity increased 4.49% to $6.849 billion from $6.55
A Louisiana appellate court upheld a judge’s decision prohibiting a worker from introducing witnesses and evidence at trial on his claim, as well as the involuntary dismissal of his claim.
Case: Honeycutt v. Acentria Insurance, No. 2026-CA-0012, 07/17/2026, published.
Facts: Andrew Honeycutt was working as a concrete delivery driver for Intrastate Trucking LLC on July 15, 2022, when the truck he was driving turned over into a ditch.
Intrastate had been hired by Landrieu Concrete and Cement Industries LLC.
Procedural history: Honeycutt filed a workers’ compensation claim against
IA - Court Orders Dismissal of Worker's Bad Faith Claim
An Iowa appeals court ruled Wednesday that a city had a reasonable basis to dispute a municipal worker’s cumulative knee injury claim, requiring dismissal of his bad faith lawsuit.
In Wall v. City of Des Moines, the Iowa Court of Appeals reversed a trial judge’s refusal to grant the city summary judgment and remanded the case for dismissal.
Jeffrey Wall, who worked for the city from 1999 until his retirement in 2021, alleged that years of bending, lifting and climbing in and out of trucks caused a cumulative injury to his left knee. He underwent knee replacement surgery
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 struck by a falling stone panel was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim.
Case: Morina v. 250 Broadway Associates Corp., No. 161431/21, 07/06/2026, published.
Facts: Veli Morina worked for Harvard Maintenance as a stone mechanic. He suffered injuries when a 350-pound stone panel fell and struck his head.
According to Morina, two of his co-workers were trying to place the panel on an A-frame dolly when one of them lost his grip, causing the panel to slip.
Procedural history: Morina filed suit against 250 Broadway Owner Corp.
A New York appellate court upheld a determination that a worker raised a viable Labor Law claim against the co-owners of a property where he allegedly suffered injuries.
Case: Chacho v. Cudney, No. 2024-13486, 07/15/2026, published.
Facts: Boris Alex Cabanilla Chacho allegedly was injured while working at an elevated height at premises owned by William James Cudney, Elizabeth Zehe, Gabriel Hartman Stein and Ariel Celeste Azoff.
Procedural history: Chacho filed suit against the owners, asserting claims for negligence and violations of the Labor Law. He also filed suit against Co Adaptiv
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
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
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
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
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
