IA - Court Affirms PTD Benefits for Laid-Off Worker
04/06/2026 | 0
The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed the finding that an injured worker in a position her employer created to accommodate her disability was entitled to permanent total disability benefits following a general layoff due to a plant closure.
Debra Stuart worked for Dickten Masch Plastics LLC. She originally settled her workers' compensation claim for injuries suffered in a workplace fall based on a permanent partial disability of 35% of the body as a whole, resulting in weekly benefits of $403 for 175 weeks.
She worked full time in a position Dickten Masch created to accommodate her disabili...
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OH - Ohio Court Orders Review of Summer Disability Benefits for School Worker
The Ohio Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Industrial Commission to reconsider whether a school district employee is entitled to temporary total disability benefits during summer recess, finding the agency failed to properly apply state law.
In State ex rel. Columbus City Schools, Columbus Bd. of Edn. v. Brookbank-Mizer, the court, in reversing, said the commission did not fully analyze whether the worker’s inability to work during the summer was directly caused by her injury, as required under the law.
The claimant, a speech therapist employed on a nine-month schedule, was injured i...
The Louisiana House of Representatives passed bills that would require the adoption of a new medical fee schedule and eliminate the Workers' Compensation Advisory Council.
The House on Wednesday voted 82-13 to pass HB 357, which would require the Office of Workers' Compensation Administration to implement a new medical fee schedule by Jan. 1, 2027. The new fee schedule would have to be reasonable in comparison to the current fee schedule — based on the mean of the usual and customary charges for services — and have similar characteristics as fee schedules in surr...
A bill that would allow the Division of Workers' Compensation to more precisely calculate annual taxes and surcharge rates is moving through the Missouri General Assembly.
The Rules Committee for the state House of Representatives on Thursday unanimously passed HB 2855, which would require assessments and taxes to be rounded to the nearest tenth of a percentage point instead of the nearest half.
Under the half-point rounding rule, if an actuarial analysis indicated that an assessment rate of 1.2% was appropriate, the division would have to decide between setting the rate at 1% and riskin...
New York, its Workers’ Compensation Board and Gov. Kathy Hochul are reshaping the state’s workers’ comp system, one step at a time.
Currently, providers who want to treat injured workers must apply for approval with the WCB. Under Hochul’s “universal authorization” for providers, all licensed providers in good standing would be able to treat injured workers.
Hochul first proposed universal provider authorization as part of her 2025 agenda, but the measure failed to advance. Hopefully, the second time&rs...
Colorado lawmakers are working on a bill that would spin off the state-chartered workers' compensation carrier in exchange for a $300 million payment, according to a report by the Denver Gazette.
Pinnacol's payment to the state would be divided among several programs, including increasing Medicaid provider reimbursement rates and funding education programs.
For three years, Pinnacol would continue to serve as the insurer of last resort, providing workers' compensation coverage to businesses that can't obtain policies on the open market. After that, the Division of Insuran...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation posted an order adjusting the pathology and clinical laboratory section of the Official Medical Fee Schedule.
The division said the order incorporates Medicare's second-quarter updates to its pathology and laboratory fee schedule.
"Effective for services rendered on or after April 1, the maximum reasonable fees for pathology and clinical laboratory services shall not exceed 120% of the applicable fees set forth in the calendar year '2026 Quarter Two Medicare Clinical Laboratory Fee Schedule,' contained in the electro...
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld an award of penalties to an injured worker for his employer’s unreasonable delay in paying benefits.
Vincent Secor worked for Concrete Structures of the Midwest as a journeyman concrete carpenter for more than 20 years. His job required repeated heavy lifting, squatting, kneeling and walking.
On Jan. 12, 2017, Secor was instructed to lift a manhole cover to measure air quality. He and a co-worker used rebar hooks to lift the cover and move it.
Secor said he felt a tearing sensation in his back as he slid the manhole cover.
...
The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld a series of decisions by the Workers’ Compensation Commission denying a worker’s allegations that he had not been paid his award of permanent partial disability benefits.
Case: Bridgeman v. SBC Internet Services Inc., No. 2024-WC-01199-COA, 03/10/2026, published.
Facts: Craig Bridgeman worked for SBC Internet Services Inc. He injured his right arm at work in March 2013.
SBC and its insurance carrier accepted liability for the injury but denied that Bridgeman had sustained a permanent disability.
Procedural history: In September 2015, an a...
The Connecticut Appellate Court upheld an award of temporary total disability benefits to a former police officer who became disabled years after he retired.
Case: Martinoli v. Stamford Police Department, No. AC 45229, 03/10/2026, published.
Facts: Louis Martinoli worked for the Stamford Police Department. In January 1999, he established a compensable claim for coronary artery disease, hypertension and congestive heart failure.
Martinoli underwent quadruple bypass surgery in March 1999.
In June 1999, a workers’ compensation commissioner found Martinoli had an average weekly wage of $...
The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that an injured worker was entitled to an increase in her permanent partial disability award.
Case: ACNR Resources v. Goff, No. 25-663, 03/24/2026, published.
Facts: Danielle Goff worked for ACNR Resources Inc. She suffered injuries at work in October 2022 when a rail track fell on her right leg.
Dr. David Hubbard treated Goff immediately after the accident and opined that her X-rays showed a fracture of the right tibia, fibula and ankle.
Hubbard performed surgery on the same day with intramedullary nailing of the right tibia fracture and right distal ...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for injuries from a fall from a ladder.
Case: Fields v. Junius-Liberty Development LLC, No. 808496/22, 03/12/2026, published.
Facts: Randy Fields suffered injuries while working at a construction site when he fell from a ladder.
Fields was repairing a ceiling leak at the time of the accident. His work involved cutting a hole in the ceiling with a drywall knife and an electric saw while standing on a ladder.
According to Fields, he fell when the unsecured ladder gave way beneath him.
Proc...
Prosecutors in Southern California announced that the owner of a construction company was charged with six counts of felony workers' compensation fraud with an alleged loss of about $519,000.
Jonah Slatky, 53, pleaded not guilty at a March 27 arraignment.
Slatky owns Grand Custom, a rough framing construction business in Somis. The Ventura County District Attorney's Office said he is accused of underreporting payroll for the six years between July 2019 and July 2025. Each count represents a policy year in which he allegedly reported no employees or payroll.
An investigation rev...
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek enacted a bill to create a tiered structure for temporary total and permanent total disability benefits.
Currently, benefits are two-thirds of a worker's weekly wages and capped at 133% of the state's average weekly wage.
Under SB 1519, enacted Tuesday, benefits will be 75% of the portion of a worker's wage that is equal to or less than 75% of the state's average weekly wage, and 65% of the portion of the worker's wage that is greater than 75% of the SAWW. Benefits would still be capped at 133% of the statewide average wage.
SB 1519 also does n...
Health care technology firm Office Ally announced on Thursday that it has acquired Jopari Solutions, a clearinghouse focused on property and casualty claims and electronic payments.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The deal adds Jopari’s network for workers’ compensation and auto medical claims, along with its clinical attachments and payment tools, to Office Ally’s clearinghouse platform, which the company says connects more than 80,000 health care organizations and processes more than 1 billion transactions annually.
The acquisition broadens Office Ally’s reach ...
A divided Ohio Supreme Court upheld a worker's enhanced award for injuries from a conveyor belt accident due to his employer's violation of a specific safety requirement.
Keith Rice worked in the maintenance department for Whirlpool Corp.
On Nov. 28, 2017, after learning that multiple conveyors were not working, Rice walked the machine lines to identify the problem.
Rice came to a point that required him to cross over a conveyor. The designated crossing point consisted of a ladder affixed to either side of the conveyor line, and atop each ladder was a small platform welded to t...
