NV - State Safety Regulators Deny Politics Influenced Decision to Vacate Boring Co. Citations
11/20/2025 | 0
Officials at the Nevada Occupational Safety and Health Administration rescinded citations levying more than $425,000 in penalties on Elon Musk's The Boring Co. less than a day after they were issued because they failed to assess the reasonableness of the company's mitigation efforts, according to a memo a state attorney wrote earlier this week.
The Nov. 17 memo addressed to the director the Department of Business and Industry, was released along with other documents and a statement from Nevada OSHA denying that Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican who endorsed Donald Trump for president in...
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The Illinois Appellate Court upheld the denial of a massage therapist’s claim for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome and trigger fingers.
Case: Williams v. IWCC (Terminal Gateway Spa), No. 1-24-2111WC, 11/07/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Onree Williams worked for the Terminal Getaway Spa as a massage therapist. His hours varied, depending on how many customers came in, but typically, he worked seven hours a day, five days a week. He gave eight to 20 massages a day. The duration of a massage ranged from ten minutes to ninety minutes.
After about six months on the job, Williams claims his han...
A New York appellate court upheld a determination that a worker lying about his entrepreneurial exploits warranted a forfeiture of benefits.
Case: Matter of Qureshi v. Rite Aid Corp., No. CV-23-2455, 11/13/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Abid Qureshi worked for the Rite Aid Corp. He established a workers' compensation claim for various physical injuries stemming from a February 2017 work-related accident and was awarded temporary partial disability benefits.
Qureshi later established a second workers' compensation claim for major depressive disorder stemming from hara...
The West Virginia Supreme Court overturned a denial of authorization for a worker’s knee surgery.
Case: Comas v. Bass Pro Group LLC, No. 24-290, 11/12/2025, published.
Facts: Charles Comas worked for the Bass Pro Group LLC. He slipped and fell on a wet concrete loading dock at work in September 2022.
Comas immediately reported the incident to his supervisor, but he didn't seek medical treatment until five days later when X-rays showed the existence of mild degenerative joint disease but no fracture.
Ten days later, Comas saw a nurse practitioner who suspected a meniscus tear and ...
In 1952 (over 73 years ago) the California Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund in the Patterson case (17 CCC 142). But not only did the court uphold SIBTF constitutionally, they therein set forth the basis of how SIBTF benefits would be paid.
The court gives the example of the one-eyed man, stating:
“Workers’ Compensation laws of various states and the federal government contain provisions for additional compensation to be paid from a fund (rather than by the employer or his workers’ compensation insurance ca...
The Arkansas Court of Appeals upheld an award of permanent total disability benefits for an injured nurse.
Case: MLM Support Services v. Miller, No. CV-25-61, 11/12/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Tammy Miller worked as a nurse for the Sisters of Mercy Health System. She fell while at work in January 2016.
An administrative law judge in February 2021 found Miller failed to prove she was permanently and totally disabled. However, the judge also found she suffered a significant loss of wage-earning capacity equal to a 60% loss of overall work capacity.
The Workers Compen...
The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance announced that workers' compensation rates will increase by an average of 1.3% in 2026.
DCI Director Angela Nelson said in a statement that the increase, the second in six years, reflects the year-to-year fluctuations the agency expects in a healthy insurance market.
The department said the long-term trend of declining frequency continues and employers continue to benefit from a competitive market and stable prices.
“Although we’re seeing a small uptick in rates this year, the overall trend continues to show that Missouri wor...
Senators from California and Utah introduced a bipartisan bill they say would create the first national respiratory protection standards for wildland firefighters.
The Healthy Lungs for Heroes Act, by Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and John Curtis, R-Utah, would direct the U.S. Forest Service and Department of Interior to work with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to determine appropriate protective equipment for wildland firefighters and support staff.
The bill would also direct the Forest Service and Interior Depar...
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld a determination that a worker’s condition of ill-being was only partially related to his work injury.
Wilfredo Cruz worked for Rizza Cadillac as an auto technician. In November 2020, he allegedly slipped and fell while performing a tire rotation. Cruz claimed he fell backwards, hitting his head on the ground, and that a tire fell on his head. According to Cruz, he lost consciousness.
The next day, Cruz went to the hospital complaining of pain in the back right side of his head, nausea, and headache. Cruz did not mention losing consciousness. A comput...
A Louisiana appellate court revived a school district employee’s intentional tort claim against her employer for her injuries from being attacked by a student.
Case: Bernier v. St. Tammany Parish School Board, No. 2025 CA 0260, 11/07/2025, published.
Facts: Lori Bernier worked for the St. Tammany Parish School Board as a paraprofessional at Covington Elementary.
She claimed she was injured when a third-grade student attacked her in October 2022. She alleged the student had stabbed another student with a fork earlier that same day.
Procedural history: Bernier filed a civil suit agains...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld an award of benefits to a flight attendant for a broken finger.
Case: Joseph’s Case, No. 24-P-1387, 11/12/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Emmanuel F. Joseph worked for JetBlue Airways Corp. as a flight attendant. He alleged a food cart crushed his hand during a November 2020 flight from Fort Lauderdale to Boston.
A doctor diagnosed Joseph with a fracture of his fourth metacarpal four days later.
Procedural history: An administrative judge found Joseph credible and determined the hand injury was compensable.
Analysis: The Massachusetts Appeals Court n...
The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim of injury to his back after less than a week on the job.
Case: Lopez v. Industrial Commission, No. 2 CA-IC 2025-0005, 11/10/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Central Arizona Block Inc. hired Rene Rodriguez Lopez on Nov. 21, 2023.
On Nov. 27, 2023, Lopez assisted in moving cinder blocks at work. The following day, with assistance from a bilingual coworker, Lopez informed a general manager that he could not continue to work due to the strain on his back.
The manager directed him to clock out and meet in the office, where ...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced additional changes to the hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgical centers section of the Official Medical Fee Schedule to incorporate changes made by Medicare.
On Oct. 3, the division issued an order adjusting the outpatient and ASC fee schedules based on quarterly changes in the Medicare system.
On Nov. 7, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued revised fee schedule documents.
The DWC said it is incorporating into the fee schedule the CMS "Ambulatory Surgical Centers Payment Rates —...
Members of policy committees in both chambers of the Washington State Legislature will discuss workers' compensation issues at meetings on Dec. 5.
The Senate Labor and Commerce Committee is slated to discuss workers' compensation issues, including medical treatment and medical provider networks, according to a meeting notice. Additional details were not immediately available.
Meanwhile, the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee is scheduled to hear an update from the Department of Labor and Industries, the agency that administers Washington's workers' compensation sys...
A Pennsylvania state senator introduced legislation that would increase benefits for workers who suffer serious and permanently disfiguring injuries on the job.
SB 1094, by Sen. Nick Pisciottano, D-Allegheny, was referred to the Senate Committee on Labor and Industry on Monday.
The bill would provide benefits for permanent disfigurement to any part of the body, not just the head, neck or face, and would make benefits for serious and permanent disfigurement available for 400 weeks instead of 275 weeks.
"Permanent scarring or disfigurement from a workplace injury is devastating, rega...
A bill introduced in Florida would allow first responders to rely on a preemployment physical examination conducted before they started working for a former employer to establish the presumption that certain diseases arose from employment.
Tuberculosis, heart disease and hypertension are presumptive occupational diseases for law enforcement, firefighters, correctional officers and probation officers.
Workers must undergo a preemployment physical exam that fails to revent any evidence of the conditions to qualify for the presumption.
SB 330, by Sen. Jennifer Bradley, R-Fleming Island, wo...
