CA - Court Publishes Decision Denying Employer Reimbursement From Worker
10/23/2026 | 0
A California appellate court has ordered publication of its decision finding that a trial judge could not order an injured worker to reimburse her employer, since the employer did not perfect its lien before she negotiated a settlement and dismissed her case against a third-party tortfeasor.
The case, Slamer v. Southern California Permanente Medical Group, No. D086908, was released last month as an unpublished opinion.
Only published opinions are binding precedent in California.
Jennifer Slamer requested that the opinion be published on Oct. 16, and the court granted her request o
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The Alabama Supreme Court upheld a verdict that an employer fired an injured employee in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim, but the trial judge must explain the rejection of the employer’s challenge.
Case: Envoy Air Inc. v. Creagh, No. SC-2025-0022, 10/16/2026, published.
Facts: Jada Creagh worked for Envoy Air Inc. She injured her shoulder in a fall at work in October 2018.
Creagh reported the injury to her shift supervisor, who allegedly told her that "the last person who had reported getting hurt on the job was no longer there."
Pursuan
A New York appellate court upheld an award of death benefits for a bus driver who suffered a medical event and crashed.
Case: Greek v. Dansville Central School District, Nos. CV-23-2419 and CV-24-1269, 10/15/2026, published.
Facts: Walter Greek worked as a bus driver for the Dansville Central School District.
In April 2022, he was under the care of a cardiologist for premature ventricular contractions and cardiomyopathy, and these conditions had been found to pose no imminent risk of a syncopal episode or other symptoms that would affect his ability to safely operate a commercial vehic
A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant should have been granted leave to renew its motion for summary judgment.
Case: Cullinan v. New York University, No. 159762/16, 10/15/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Patrick Cullinan suffered injuries while working on a construction project. He filed suit against New York University and Turner Construction Co. for negligence and violations of the Labor Law.
Turner moved for summary judgment dismissing the claims against it. New York County Supreme Court Justice Robert R. Reed denied the motion.
After court-ordered de
California’s Uninsured Employers Benefits Trust Fund serves an important function: to cover treatment and benefits for injured workers whose employers illegally failed to secure comp coverage.
Unfortunately, UEBTF can make it an administrative nightmare for providers to treat the workers it exists to support.
In addition to disregarding payment rules and deadlines (given its murky status as a quasi-claims administrator), UEBTF will not reimburse a provider until the underlying case in chief has been settled, potentially creating sig
Providers treating injured workers in California have received nearly as many bill review decisions ordering additional reimbursement through the first nine months of 2026 than they did in either of the last two years for which data is available.
Information posted to the Division of Workers' Compensation website shows that 2,643 IBR decisions issued from January through September awarded providers a combined $4.72 million. The DWC said figure includes $515,385 in filing fees.
In its latest IBR report, released in February, the division said 2,792 decisions in 2023 and 2,795 decisi
The death of a worker who fell through a skylight led to a spate of roofing citations from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries.
L&I cited Leslie & Campbell Inc. $48,803 for the death of a worker who plunged more than 25 feet through an unguarded skylight to a concrete floor of a warehouse. Investigators determined that the company did not identify or train its workers on the danger posed by skylights.
“A worker died because their employer failed to protect them,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occup
The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions is holding a webinar on Dec. 8 to discuss the upcoming premium rate ranking report published by the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services.
The biennial report compares workers' compensation premiums across the country, using Oregon's mix of industries to standardize the comparison.
Although designed to measure how Oregon compares with other states, the report is sometimes viewed as a ranking of the most affordable states for workers' compensation coverage, particularly by states that fare we
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday ordered the 6th District Court of Appeal to revisit a 2025 decision holding that equitable tolling can be used to extend the deadline for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to act on petitions for reconsideration in light of the high court's recent decision in Mayor.
The high court in November 2025 granted a petition to review the 6th DCA's August 2025 ruling in City of Salinas et al. v. WCAB, holding that the board did not err when it granted Lance D. Miraco's petition for reconsideration more than 60 days after he filed it.
A federal court in California dismissed a retaliation complaint that a worker filed against Amazon, saying it was sparsely detailed, hard to follow and failed to adequately allege the requisite elements of his various claims.
Khoja Sohil Samadi, in a complaint initially filed in Sacramento County Superior Court, alleged that he was injured when a large box landed on his foot while working for Amazon. He claimed that his requests for medical treatment were denied.
Samadi alleged that he was harassed daily by a manager who is identified only by the first name of Joseph, and he r
The Delaware Department of Insurance announced an average 3.99% loss cost reduction, effective Dec. 1.
The department also announced that the residual market will see an average rate reduction of 4.11%.
The department said this is the 10th consecutive rate reduction. It also noted that the new rates will take effect the same day as Senate Bill 248.
The bill updates the Workplace Safety Program to ensure that employers can access full premium savings. The department said earlier legislative changes inadvertently led to lower discounts, and SB 248 creates the ability for companies t
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that laws allowing employers and carriers to recover death benefits paid to the families of deceased workers are not unconstitutional.
"This historical exclusion of the rights of indemnity and subrogation in death benefit claims did not offend the Oklahoma Constitution, nor do their inclusion today," the court said in a decision handed down Tuesday.
Jeremy S. Alexander was in the course and scope of his employment with Rent-A-Center when he was involved in a fatal car crash in March 2018.
Sentinel Insurance Co. paid workers' compensation
The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California announced Wednesday that insurers, agents and brokers can access recently published experience modifications for Jan. 1 policy renewals.
The WCIRB said it has published more than 93% of the 2027 X-mods and that insurers, agents and brokers have multiple ways to access the figures.
Parties that use WCIRB Connect can view the X-mods for a particular policyholder through the online system. Authorized users can also view and download a PDF of published experience rating worksheets, and insurers can search their policies for X-mo
The State of Alabama has filed yet another lawsuit against the Muscle Shoals Music Foundation, which is suspected of failing to maintain workers’ compensation coverage for its employees.
The complaint was filed in Colbert County Circuit Court by the Alabama Department of Workforce in September, according to a report by Fox 54 News. It's the third state lawsuit against the foundation over workers' compensation coverage.
The foundation, based in Sheffield, reportedly has at least five employees, subjecting it to mandatory workers' compensation coverage under st
Injured workers represented by attorneys reported worse physical health and recovery scores than those without legal representation, according to a new report by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
The study, however, does not establish whether attorney involvement contributes to poorer recovery or whether other differences between represented and unrepresented workers explain the gap.
WCRI identified two possible explanations for its findings: Workers with more complicated injuries may be more likely to hire attorneys and less likely to recover fully, or attorney involve
A New York appellate court upheld a decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board denying the reopening, rehearing or reconsideration of a worker’s claim.
Case: Matter of Buscemi v. Prime Care Coordination, No. CV-23-0761, 10/15/2026, published.
Facts: Aaron Buscemi worked as a manager of quality and compliance for Prime Care Coordination. He filed a workers’ compensation claim alleging that he sustained injuries to the head, eyes and ears in the form of migraines as a result of working in an office in a warehouse.
Procedural history: A workers’ compensation law judge