OH - Supreme Court Says Widow Can't Get Schedule Loss Compensation as Surviving Spouse
06/13/2025 | 0
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a widow was not eligible to receive schedule loss compensation as a surviving spouse.
Bohdanus Byk worked for Republic Steel. He slipped and fell from a platform in August 2012, suffering severe head injuries. Byk remained in a persistent vegetative state for almost three years until he died.
Before Byk’s death, an application was filed with the Industrial Commission, seeking schedule loss compensation for his loss of use of his arms, hands, legs and feet.
A district hearing officer awarded schedule loss compensation to Byk on the same day t...
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A California appellate court has ordered publication of a decision from last month that held a workers’ compensation judge’s erroneous admission of reports that were not listed in the pretrial conference statement should not have been reviewed for harmlessness.
In DPR Construction v. WCAB (McClanahan), No. C102117, the 3rd District Court of Appeal said Labor Code Section 5502 establishes the bounds of discretion for a WCJ for keeping discovery open after the mandatory settlement conference, and a violation of the statute requires annulment of the Workers’ Compensat...
A New York appellate court upheld a decision establishing a worker’s claim for injuries from a fall from a ladder.
Case: Balseca v. Hudson Concrete Inc., No. CV-24-1236, 05/22/2025, published.
Facts: Celso Balseca worked for Hudson Concrete Inc. He filed a claim for workers' compensation benefits, alleging that he sustained injuries to his neck, back, right arm, right shoulder, right elbow, right wrist, hips and legs when he fell off a ladder while working.
Balseca testified that he fell about 4 feet to the floor after the ladder he was standing on moved, causing him to lose ...
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claims for his injuries from a failed chain block pulley system.
Case: Sarante v. Courtlandt Development LLC, No. 27096/19, 05/22/2025, published.
Facts: Courtlandt Development LLC hired AB Capstone Builders Corp. to be the general contractor for a construction project on a property it owned.
AB Capstone subcontracted with Gold Lion Steel LLC to reinforce the building's structure with steel beams.
Jose Sarante worked for Gold Lion. While he was hoisting a heavy steel beam from the basement to th...
According to the dictionary, nostalgia is defined as a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for a past time or condition. It can be a bittersweet feeling, often involving a longing for simpler times or a sense of loss, even when reminiscing about positive experiences. Various things, including music, smells, memories of people, places or events can trigger nostalgia.
Many of us have felt this feeling or anxiety post-COVID from things as simple as going to the doctor, shopping or even going to church. Many of our lives changed in 2020; however, at the time, I am not sure a...
The Senate Committee on Labor, Public Employment and Retirement unanimously passed a bill that would provide that a heart trouble presumption applies to all peace officers working for the California Department of State Hospitals.
AB 1125, by Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen, D-Elk Grove, would declare that the presumption applies to any of the approximately 700 peace officers working at any of the department’s five hospitals.
Current law presumes heart trouble arose from employment for peace officers working for the department’s facility in Atascadero, where the majority of the al...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is hosting a webinar next week as an introduction to workers’ compensation Medicare set-asides.
The webinar will cover the basics of WCMSAs, including purpose, submission guidelines and administration, as well as best practices. A question-and-answer session will follow.
CMS said questions regarding specific cases are not appropriate for the webinar, but those who work in the submission and administration of WCMSAs, including attorneys and Medicare beneficiaries, are encouraged to attend.
Additional details, inclu...
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Bills aiming to regulate how employers use technology to monitor employees and requiring disclosure of automated decision-making systems could have unintended consequences for California’s workers’ compensation system.
A bill that would establish when and where workplace surveillance is appropriate included a provision that could have hampered fraud investigations by prohibiting employers from monitoring their workers at home, according to Jason Schmelzer, a lobbyist for the California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation.
What’s more, Schmel...
The Kentucky Court of Appeals reinstated a worker’s claim against his employer’s automobile insurance provider for benefits to supplement the recovery he received through workers’ compensation.
Case: Preston v. Nationwide General Insurance Co., No. 2024-CA-0152-MR, 05/23/2025, published.
Facts: Scott Preston worked as a paramedic for Carter County EMS. He suffered injuries in a work-related motor vehicle accident.
Preston received workers’ compensation benefits for his injuries.
Procedural history: Preston filed a civil suit against Randy Parks, the other motorist i...
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of a widow’s claim for benefits, finding her husband's occupational pneumoconiosis was not a contributing factor to his death.
Case: Bailey v. Pine Ridge Coal Co. LLC, No. 24-645, 05/28/2025, published.
Facts: Sherman Bailey worked for Pine Ridge Coal Co. LLC before he died on April 26, 2019. His death certificate listed his cause of death as influenza A with pneumonia and dysphagia, and it stated that conditions leading to the cause of death were pneumonia, dysphagia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Bailey had ...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for an escalator accident.
Case: Skydaniuk v. ESRT Empire State Building LLC, No. 27777/19, 05/22/2025, published.
Facts: Vasyl Skydaniuk allegedly suffered injuries while working on a renovation project when he tripped and fell down a stationary escalator, which served as the sole means of access between two levels of the construction site.
A carpenter with DGC Capital Contracting Corp. testified at his deposition that, to protect the escalator, he covered the steps with plastic ...
A New York appellate court ruled that an individual Labor Law defendant was entitled to summary judgment dismissing a claim against him, but the worker’s claim against his company should have been allowed to proceed.
Case: Cadena v. Kupferstein, No. 2023-06162, 05/21/2025, published.
Facts: Wilson Cadena worked as a carpenter for Molding Décor Inc. Molding Décor was hired for a renovation project at a property owned by Moses Kupferstein.
Kupferstein was the sole owner of BBM Construction Corp., which was the general contractor on the project.
Cadena was&n...
MO - Commission Vacates Safety Citations
The Occupational Health and Safety Commission on Monday vacated four citations totaling $78,791 in fines against a family-owned construction company after several inspections of worksites in 2023, finding that roofing workers in Missouri who were not using safety equipment were independent contractors.
As documented in Secretary of Labor v. Pettengill Family Restoration LLC, the main point of contention was whether the workers were employees of the company. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had cited Pettengill for several violations for failure to use fall prot...
Pennsylvania's Senate Labor and Industry Committee on Tuesday unanimously passed legislation that aims to beef up protection for construction workers who are misclassified as independent contractors, a common practice in the industry.
Senate Bill 72, by Democratic Sen. John Kane, is intended to strengthen the 2010 Construction Workplace Misclassification Act. SB 72 would bar offending companies from receiving state contracts for up to three years for first offenses and five years for additional violations, strengthen whistleblower protections and restitution,...
The Hawaii Supreme Court revived a government worker’s claims for disability discrimination and retaliation.
Ann Gima worked for the City of Honolulu’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services for more than 20 years. Gima alleged that in 2012, her direct supervisor, Robert Magota, began to verbally harass and abuse her, which resulted in her being diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anxiety disorder.
The city placed Gima on workers’ compensation leave intermittently from 2014 to 2018 after she was medically restricted from working with Magota.
In Novembe...
A California appellate court on Tuesday ordered publication of a decision from last month that found tribal sovereign immunity shielded a nonprofit health care organization from a workers’ compensation claim.
Last month, the 1st District Court of Appeal said that even though there was no evidence that the tribes working with United Indian Health Services Inc. intended to share their immunity with the nonprofit, policy considerations required it.
The decision in United Indian Health Services Inc. v. WCAB (Hemsted), A170950, was originally released as an unpublished opinio...
