IL - Compensability Determination Not Against Weight of Evidence Despite Alleged Safety Violation
10/07/2026 | 0
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
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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Case: U.S. v. Cole, No. 26-473, 09/30/2026, unpublished.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
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health said rising temperatures throughout the state resulted in extreme heat warnings running through Thursday and reminded employers to implement cool-down areas, rest breaks and to provide drinking water for employees.
An extreme heat warning is in effect throughout the Los Angeles and San Diego regions and is expected to drive temperatures into the mid-90s along the coast to as high as 107 in the valleys during the day.
At the same time, a heat advisory has also been issued for Northern California, including parts of the San Franci
The California Division of Workers' Compensation updated the physician services and nonphysician practitioner services, and the pathology and clinical laboratories sections of the Official Medical Fee Schedule.
The division announced that it adopted the following fourth-quarter Medicare updates to the physician services and nonphysician practitioner services section:
CMS Medicare National Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value File quarterly update, effective Oct. 1, 2026.
Updated Practitioner Procedure-to-Procedure Edits.
Updated Medically Unlikely Edits.
The DWC also said it
The California Workers' Compensation Institute posted a summary of bills enacted during the 2026 session that may be of interest to the workers' compensation community.
The big news from the session was Gov. Gavin Newsom enacting a budget trailer bill that included major reforms to the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and also permanently amended the deadline for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to act on petitions for reconsideration.
Newsom signed SB 171 in July.
"SB 171 narrows SIBTF eligibility by requiring that preexisting disabilities be 'l
The Illinois Appellate Court has published its decision from late this summer finding that an insurance carrier owed no coverage to an employer for a worker’s fatal accident at a construction site.
According to a complaint filed by the estate of Ramiro Godinez, Godinez was an “invitee” on a construction site in Waukegan in September 2017.
He was allegedly directed to the third floor of the building to perform certain carpentry work. While he was unloading tools and materials from a raised forklift, Godinez fell and suffered severe injuries. He died six days later.
The esta
A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant timely paid a settlement to an injured worker.
Case: Carranza v. Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, No. 300322/17, 09/29/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Delis Vasquez Carranza suffered injuries while working in an elevator shaft. He filed a Labor Law suit against multiple defendants, including Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases.
The hospital reached a settlement agreement with Carranza, and his attorney, in open court, said the hospital would have until Aug. 1, 2025, to provide a draft &q
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that an injured worker was entitled to a magnetic resonance imaging scan and surgery to address an ankle injury.
Case: Marshall County Coal Resources v. Yarbrough, No. 26-ICA-135, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts: Colby Yarbrough worked for Marshall County Coal Resources. He slipped on a rock and rolled his left ankle at work in October 2023.
He sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain.
A claims administrator for Marshall’s insurance carrier accepted liability for a sprain of an unspecif