MN - High Court Upholds PTSD Award and Penalty, Vacates Finding That OSTD Is Compensable
07/18/2025 | 0
The Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the finding that a Minneapolis police officer had a compensable claim for post-traumatic stress disorder and was entitled to an additional penalty award because the city's denial was frivolous.
At the same time, the high court vacated part of a Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals decision that "other specified trauma and stressor-related disorder," or OSTD, is a compensable and consequential injury of PTSD.
Lucas Peterson passed a preemployment mental health examination before he started working as a Minneapolis Police Department offi...
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The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania upheld the denial of a worker’s petitions for reinstatement of benefits and penalties as untimely.
Case: Munoz v. Jermacans Style Inc. (WCAB), No. 1284 C.D. 2024, 07/11/2025, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Pablo Munoz worked for Jermacans Style Inc. He injured his left shoulder at work in September 2018.
Jermacans accepted liability for the injury and began paying benefits to Munoz.
Jermacans filed a petition to terminate the benefits after an independent medical examiner opined that Munoz was fully recovered as of March 20...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a 57% permanent partial disability award to a worker for his injuries from a tractor-trailer accident.
Case: Grimstone Mining LLC v. Church, No. 24-ICA-477, 06/27/2025, published.
Facts: James Church worked for Grimstone Mining LLC. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he had suffered injuries in September 2021 while driving a tractor-trailer.
The physician’s portion of the form was completed by Dr. Frank Lucente, who indicated that Church had sustained an occupational injury to his neck, ribs, arm ...
A divided Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals ruled that the state Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act does not mandate the appointment of an independent medical examiner any time an employer or employee requests one.
Case: Duvall v. Express Employment Professionals, No. 122363, decided 03/07/2025, mandate issued 07/10/2025.
Facts: Bonnie Lou Duvall suffered injuries to her left hand and wrist in April 2023 while working as a machine operator on the packaging line at Midwestern Pet Foods.
Duvall initially received treatment from Dr. Jason Leinen, who said X-rays and a computed tomogr...
California has long been seen as the leading indicator of social, business, economic and cultural change. Its $4.1 trillion economy just surpassed Japan’s, making it the fourth-largest economy in the world (if it were a separate country).
The Golden State accounts for 21% of total U.S. work comp benefits.
The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California's excellent annual report is out. The findings are troubling, indeed.
We will dive into some of the details in future reports. Here are key takeaways:
Medical benefits jumped more than...
A New York appellate court revived part of a worker’s Labor Law action over his injuries from a fall from a scaffold ladder, overturned the sanctions imposed on defense counsel and granted summary judgment dismissing the worker’s claims against one defendant.
Case: Wheeler v. Brandsafway Industries LLC, No. 309 CA 23-02155, 06/27/2025, published.
Facts: Bryan Wheeler allegedly suffered injuries when he fell from a scaffold ladder while working on a project to construct two boats to be used for tours of Niagara Falls.
The New York Power Authority owned the property on which ...
The owner of a Long Island demolition company was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution for defrauding workers’ compensation insurers and the IRS, New York State Inspector General Lucy Lang announced.
Quirino Rotondo, owner of Metro Industrial Wrecking & Environmental Construction in Dix Hills, was sentenced to one year in prison and two years of supervised release after pleading guilty to eight felony counts of tax evasion. He was also ordered to pay $1,235,804 in restitution, including $515,172 to Continental Insurance and $174,069 to the New...
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Jennifer Osborn as the new director of the Department of Industrial Relations.
Osborn, who has been chief deputy director at the Department of General Services since 2021, replaces Katie Hagen, who resigned in June. The Sacramento Bee reports that Hagen left state service for a position as CEO of Sacramento-based consulting firm, CPS HR Consulting, which executed at least 20 contracts with the DIR worth more than $8.5 million during Hagen's five-year term with the agency.
Osborn also served as director of the Division of Administrative Services ...
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said the first rate increase in a decade should serve as a warning of increasing workers' compensation costs.
"After more than a decade of steady or decreasing rates, this year, the data supports an increase in the average advisory pure premium rate," Lara wrote in a letter to the governor and leaders of the Senate and Assembly on Tuesday. "My order with regard to the average advisory pure premium rate reflects an early warning of growing costs in the workers' compensation system that may need further study to info...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker’s claim was timely because the delay in its submission was caused by her employer's misrepresentations.
Case: Monongalia County Commission v. Clemons, No. 24-ICA-463, 06/27/2025, published.
Facts: Skyler Clemons worked for the Monongalia County Commission as a transport officer for the Sheriff’s Department. While she was at work on Aug. 11, 2023, an inmate allegedly kicked her repeatedly on the left knee.
About two weeks later, Clemons reported feeling a pop in the knee while runnin...
The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania ordered publication of its decision upholding benefits to a worker for the aggravation of his preexisting knee condition.
Case: Lebanon Transit v. Schaeffer (WCAB), No. 141 C.D. 2024, released 04/07/2025, published 07/10/2025.
Facts: Phillip Schaeffer worked for Lebanon Transit as a heavy-duty bus technician, a physically demanding job.
Schaeffer claimed that in May 2021, he was working in a seated position installing a brake drum that weighed approximately 85 pounds when it slipped, and he caught it. Schaeffer said he immediately experienced pain in h...
The Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that an employer was entitled to summary judgment dismissing an intentional tort claim against it over an employee’s fatal shooting of a co-worker.
Case: Brown v. Burlington Coat Factory of Texas Inc., No. 370363, 07/11/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Lorraine Faison and Sandra Waller both worked at a Burlington Coat Factory store in Taylor.
While they were at work in October 2017, they began to argue about the proper way to scan the aisles of the store. The argument escalated, and Faison alerted the assistant store manager, Nicole Good.
Waller told Good...
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for a fall from a ladder and revived the defendant’s third-party breach of contract claim.
Case: Hasan v. Macerich Co., No. 151984/20, 06/26/2025, published.
Facts: Mohammed Hasan allegedly suffered injuries when he fell from a ladder while working in January 2020.
Procedural history: Hasan filed suit against Macerich Co., asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law Section 240(1).
Section 240(1) imposes absolute liability on property owners, general contractors or their agents for fa...
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation launched a new program that provides financial incentives and support for employers to manage substance use issues in the workplace.
Employers that enroll in the new Substance Use Prevention and Recovery Program can receive premium rebates for completing certain requirements. Employers can also receive reimbursements for developing and implementing drug-free workplace policies.
"This dynamic program continues BWC’s goal of addressing substance use disorders affecting our workforce and communities throughout the state,"...
A divided Rhode Island Supreme Court upheld a determination that a state trooper was entitled to a duty disability pension.
Staci Shepherd worked as a trooper for the Rhode Island State Police for 22 years. She suffered a heart attack while participating in a firearms requalification program in May 2017.
Shepherd underwent the placement of three cardiac stents and, in April 2019, requested retirement from the State Police.
Shepherd advised that she had been under the consistent care of Dr. Daniel J. Levine, who opined that she was at maximum medical improvement and disabled from duty.
Shep...
