MD - Exclusivity Shields Employer From Tort by Nondependent Child
07/07/2025 | 0
A divided Maryland Supreme Court said an employer that complies with the state's Workers' Compensation Act is shielded from wrongful death actions brought by a nondependent adult child.
John Ledford fell from a retaining wall and died in February 2021 while working for Jenway Contracting Inc. He was survived by his adult daughter, Summer Ledford.
Because Summer was nondependent on her father, she was not eligible for workers' compensation death benefits. Instead, she sued Jenway under the state's Wrongful Death Act.
The circuit court granted Jenway's moti...
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The Nevada Court of Appeals ruled that the statutory limitation on benefits for retired firefighters, arson investigators and police officers does not apply to retirees who have completed at least 20 years of creditable service as of June 8, 2015.
Case: City of Las Vegas v. Munson, No. 88888-COA, 06/12/2025, published.
Facts: Peggy Munson worked as a firefighter with the City of Las Vegas from 1992 until 2013. In 2021, about eight years after she retired, Munson was diagnosed with a disabling heart disease and applied for permanent total disability benefits.
The city’s insurance ...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld a determination that a cancer-stricken volunteer firefighter’s claim for benefits was time-barred.
Case: Gilbert v. South Whitehall Township (WCAB), No. 650 C.D. 2024, 06/12/2025, published.
Facts: James Gilbert joined the Woodlawn Volunteer Fire Department in 2006. His position as a fire police volunteer did not involve active firefighting duties but required his presence at active fires.
Before this, Gilbert had volunteered as a firefighter for the Tri-Clover Volunteer Fire Company.
In February 2018, Gilbert was diagnosed with pros...
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of partial summary judgment for a worker on his Labor Law claim but said a defendant was entitled to summary judgment dismissing some claims against him.
Case: Berrones v. 130 E. 18 Owners Corp., No. 159487/19 595362/2, 06/12/2025, published.
Facts: Marcos Berrones allegedly suffered injuries while working on a construction project when he fell through a gap between a pipe scaffold and the building facade that was hidden by plastic.
Procedural history: Berrones filed suit against 130 E. 18 Owners Corp. and Inter Renovation Inc., asserting claim...
Lawmakers in the California State Senate are scheduled to discuss a bill that proposes changes to the state’s Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund amid the backdrop of the fund’s payouts and employer assessments reaching new highs.
Assembly Bill 1329, by Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro, presents multiple changes that could impact the SIBTF and how it is run.
Background
For those who are unfamiliar with the SIBTF, the fund is California’s version of a second injury fund that provides benefits to injured workers who have a preexisting disability that combines with a se...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s request for a walk-in whirlpool tub and shower, and the replacement of the floorboards on his porch, as not medically necessary for his burn injuries.
Case: Carey v. AAA Paving and Sealing Inc., No. 24-ICA-436, 06/06/2025, published.
Facts: Douglass Carey worked for AAA Paving and Sealing Inc.
Carey suffered injuries at work in May 2023 when a dump truck hit a power line, knocking the transformer and high voltage line onto the paver that Carey was operating. The incident caused second- and third-d...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee is meeting on July 16.
Committee members are scheduled to discuss issues relating to topical analgesics as well as updates to the prescription drug formulary that take effect Aug. 6.
The division on Wednesday said it revised the formulary drug list based on changes in the chronic pain guideline published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The P&T Committee meets from 12:30-2:30 p.m. July 16.
A link to join the meeting through video conference is included...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation adjusted the pathology and clinical lab section of the medical fee schedule and the prescription drug formulary in the treatment guidelines.
The division said it modified the formulary drug list in the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule based on changes in the chronic pain practice guideline published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The new formulary section takes effect Aug. 6.
The division also announced that it adopted Medicare's third quarter changes in the pathology and clinical laboratory ...
The Massachusetts Supreme Court issued a pair of decisions finding that insurers in run-off are not precluded from receiving second-injury reimbursements, and the state's insolvent carrier fund is eligible for cost-of-living adjustments from the Workers' Compensation Trust Fund.
In Arrowood Indemnity Co. v. Workers' Compensation Trust Fund, the high court affirmed an appellate court decision holding that insurers in run-off are not precluded from receiving reimbursements on second-injury claims.
In Massachusetts Insurers Insolvency Fund v. Workers' Compensation Trust, t...
San Diego, California - 6/26/2025 - Dietz, Gilmor & Chazen, APC, a California statewide law firm practicing exclusively in workers' compensation defense, subrogation, asbestos, Labor Code §132a, and serious and willful misconduct cl...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability for his Labor Law claims, but some of the defendants should have had the claims against them dismissed.
Case: Breslin v. Access Auto Sales and Service LLC, No. CV-24-0687, 06/12/2025, published.
Facts: Matthew Breslin worked as a cable technician. He suffered injuries in March 2018 while installing telephone, television and internet service at the offices of Access Auto Sales and Service LLC.
Breslin’s employer was a subcontractor hired by Charter Communications Inc. and Spect...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a doctor’s request for a worker to receive an oral medication prescribed for lung diseases.
Case: Dorsey v. Blackhawk Mining LLC, No. 24-ICA-422 , 06/06/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Joseph Dorsey worked for Blackhawk Mining LLC. In May 2024, a claims administrator for Blackhawk’s insurance carrier denied a request from Dr. Ryan Waddell for OFEV.
OFEV is a brand-name oral medication used to treat lung diseases.
The administrator did not provide any reasoning, basis or rationale for th...
A Louisiana appellate court revived a claim for damages for a stevedore’s alleged industrial asbestos exposure.
Case: May v. Cooper/T. Smith Stevedoring Co. Inc., No. 2024-CA-0272, 06/11/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Monroe Wade May died in August 2019 as a result of mesothelioma. His family filed a wrongful death and survival action petition for damages, alleging that May was exposed to asbestos while he worked as a stevedore from the mid-1960s through the 1970s.
Louisiana Stevedores Inc. was one of May’s employers. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. and E...
A Texas appellate court upheld the dismissal of an injured police officer’s claims for wrongful termination and workers’ compensation retaliation.
Case: Thornton v. City of Plano, No. 05-24-01330-CV, 06/30/2025, published.
Facts: Erin Thornton worked for the City of Plano as a police officer. She suffered an injury in the line of duty in August 2021 and missed a month of work. Thornton suffered another injury the following year and was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
She also received an impairment rating of 10% for the August 2021 injury.
Thornton clai...
The number of employees working for private self-insured companies fell 3.9% in 2024, while the number of claims they filed fell 7.4%, resulting in private self-insured claim frequency hitting a four-year low, according to the California Workers' Compensation Institute.
At the same time, the average paid loss per claim climbed 12.3%, and the average incurred loss increased 16.8%.
Private self-insured employers covered 2.25 million workers last year, compared to nearly 2.34 million in 2023. The reduction in workforce partially explains the drop in claim volume, CWCI said.
The drop in cov...
The New Jersey Compensation Rating and Inspection Bureau on Wednesday announced the elimination of the requirement to submit the physical notice of election form under the Large Risk, Large Deductible program and retrospective rating plans.
The bureau said New Jersey is the only state that requires these paper forms, and the information provided on the notice of election forms is already reported through mandatory electronic reports submitted through the Workers' Compensation Policy Reporting module, WCPOLS.
"To eliminate redundancy and improve administrative efficiency, the b...
Two insurance companies filed a federal lawsuit accusing a prominent New York personal injury law firm and dozens of doctors, clinics and other defendants of orchestrating a massive fraud scheme built around staged construction accidents, medically unnecessary treatments and inflated settlement demands.
Roosevelt Road Re Ltd., a Bermuda-based insurer, and Tradesman Program Managers LLC, a New York-based insurance program manager, filed the civil complaint June 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.
Ionian Re, a captive insurer, and contractors Sky...
