FL - Appeals Court Errs in Overturning Benefits to Shooting Victim
07/13/2026 | 0
The Florida Supreme Court said an appellate court applied an inappropriate analysis in overturning benefits awarded to a rental car manager who was shot by an unknown attacker.
The court held that a claimant injured in a workplace assault can establish work-relatedness by showing either a work-related criminal motive for the attack, such as a robbery, or that the employee's job duties and work environment created an increased risk of assault.
Mohammed Bouayad worked as the general manager for Value Car Rental LLC at the Orlando International Airport Holiday Inn.
He was shot several
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The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld an award of temporary total disability benefits to a worker with a broken toe from the date of her injury until she reached maximum medical improvement, even though her employer offered her an accommodated job before her MMI date.
Case: The Job Center v. Griffiths, No. 2025-SC-0372-WC, 06/25/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Amy Griffiths worked for The Job Center, a temporary employment agency. The Job Center placed her on an assignment with DHL in November 2021.
Griffiths was a sorter, which required her to sort thousands of pieces of mail in minutes by squatting
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a referral to a neurosurgeon and the closure of a worker’s claim for temporary total disability benefits.
Case: Harker v. ACNR Resources Inc., No. 26-ICA-26, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: Timothy Harker sought treatment from Dr. Gregory Wood for back and right shoulder pain in March 2016.
Harker described pain on both sides of his back, with radiation down the right leg. Wood determined that Harker had disc bulges, but no herniations or spinal stenosis.
In August 2016, Harker saw Dr. Ronald Hargraves. He di
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his injuries from being struck by a falling object.
Case: Acosta v. 22-12 Jackson Owner LLC, No. 23090/19 and 43586/190, 6/30/2026, published.
Facts: Junior Carty Acosta worked for Quality Facility Solutions Corp. He allegedly suffered injuries while disposing of construction debris when some drywall slid off a forklift and fell onto him.
According to Acosta, the forklift was being operated by an employee of Feldman Lumber-US LBM LLC.
Procedural history: Acosta filed sui
The single most important thing a workers’ compensation program can do to reduce costs and improve outcomes for injured workers is also the simplest: Report claims promptly.
Prompt reporting enables prompt determination of compensability. Prompt compensability determination enables prompt provision of quality medical care. Prompt care shortens recovery. Shorter recovery reduces litigation. And litigation — not medical costs, not indemnity, not administrative expense — is the largest cost driver in the system.
Every other intervention operates downstream of that chain. T
The North Dakota Supreme Court upheld a determination that a worker’s claim for benefits was subject to forfeiture because he willfully made false statements in connection with his case.
Case: Januszewski v. North Dakota Workforce Safety, No. 20260175, 07/09/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Michael Januszewski filed a workers’ compensation claim, which North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance denied.
An administrative law judge determined that Januszewski’s claim for benefits was subject to a forfeiture penalty because Januszewski willfully made false stat
California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara on Friday approved a 6.6% rate hike.
Lara approved an advisory pure premium rate of $1.65 per $100 of payroll for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1.
The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau said the approved rate represents a 6.6% increase over Sept. 1, 2025, advisory pure premium rates adopted last year.
The WCIRB recommended that the commissioner set the advisory rate at $1.71 per $100 of payroll, which would have been a 10.4% increase. The actuary for Bickmore Actuarial, the firm representing public members
The California Division of Workers' Compensation is accepting applications for the next qualified medical evaluator examination, scheduled for October.
The DWC said the computer-based exam will be administered in person from Oct. 3-9 using Pearson VUE.
CPS HR Consulting, the vendor managing the exam, will send notices to interested candidates advising them of the registration and scheduling process, as well as testing sites.
The deadline to submit exam applications is Aug. 19.
For more information, contact the DWC’s Medical Unit at 510-286-3700 or by email at QMETest@dir.ca.
The California Division of Workers' Compensation updated several sections of the Official Medical Fee Schedule to conform to changes in the Medicare payment system.
The division revised the physician services and nonphysician practitioner services, the hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers, and the pathology and clinical laboratories fee schedules.
Changes to the physician and nonphysician practitioner section adopt the latest Medicare National Physician Fee Schedule Relative Value File, revised practitioner procedure-to-procedure edits and medically unlikely ed
A federal appellate court upheld an award of partial disability benefits and attorney fees to a ship painter under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act for his respiratory ailments.
Calvin Chaffers worked as a ship painter for Jeffboat Inc. at a shipyard in Jeffersonville, Indiana. According to Chaffers, his work exposed him to fumes and particles from toxic paints, paint thinner, antifreeze, welding, gouging, sandblasting and charcoal slag abrasive products.
After he was laid off in 2017, Chaffers filed a claim with the Department of Labor, seeking benefits under th
The Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a worker’s impairment rating for a distal clavicle excision should not have been reduced.
Case: Klein v. Whirlpool Corp., No. 25-0458, 06/26/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Brian Klein injured his right shoulder while working for Whirlpool Corp. He underwent shoulder surgery that included a distal clavicle excision.
After surgery, Dr. Matthew Bollier assigned Klein a 4% upper extremity impairment based on loss of range of motion.
Dr. Robert Broghammer assigned a 2% upper extremity impairment, also based on loss of range of motion.
Dr. Mark Taylor assigned
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was not entitled to summary judgment in his Labor Law action for his alleged injuries from a fall from a ladder, and that the defendant was entitled to partial summary judgment dismissing his claims.
Case: Bunay v. One City Block LLC, No. 152975/19, 595684/21, 06/25/2026, published.
Facts: Darwin S. Bunay allegedly suffered injuries while working on a construction project when a piece of ductwork he was cutting for removal fell onto the ladder on which he stood. According to Bunay, the ductwork moved the ladder and caused him to fall.
Buna
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits for a worker for his bladder and kidney urothelial cancer.
Case: West Virginia Department of Transportation v. Thorn, No. 25-ICA-458, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: Dennis Thorn worked for the West Virginia Department of Transportation for 36 years. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he developed bladder cancer and kidney urothelial cancer as a result of his workplace exposure to chemicals, including paint, toluene, weed killer, diesel fuel and diesel exhaust fumes, gasoline and gasoline
The Kentucky Supreme Court unanimously upheld a determination that a worker’s condition had worsened to the point that he was entitled to permanent total disability benefits.
Case: Muhlenberg County Coal Co. LLC v. Rodgers, No. 2025-SC-0336-WC, 06/25/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Gregory Rodgers worked for Muhlenberg County Coal Co. LLC. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, seeking benefits for an injury to his left hip and for cumulative trauma to his spine.
Procedural history: In January 2021, an administrative law judge found that Rodgers was entitled to permanent partial
NY - Comp Exclusivity Bars Negligence Claims Against Manufacturer
A New York appeals court on Wednesday ruled that workers' compensation exclusivity bars negligence claims against Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. arising from alleged sexual abuse after an employee turned 18, while allowing a hostile work environment claim to proceed.
In Case No. 2025-03300, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2nd Department, modified a lower court ruling in a lawsuit brought in part under the state Adult Survivors Act. The employee alleged that a supervisor sexually abused the employee for more than nine years while working at Goodyear retail stores.
The a
A New York appeals court on Wednesday refused to dismiss claims arising from alleged sexual abuse against a public school district and school board on workers' compensation exclusivity grounds because they failed to establish workers' comp coverage during the relevant period.
In Case No. 2025-08146, the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, 2nd Department, considered an Adult Survivors Act lawsuit alleging that a former White Plains Public School District employee was sexually abused by the district’s then-superintendent during the employee’s tenure.
The d
