CA - County Report Celebrates Improvements in Comp System Despite Persistent Concerns
07/15/2026 | 0
The Ventura County civil grand jury said in a new report that the county has improved how it processes presumptive workers' compensation claims, but long-standing concerns persist among workers about how their claims are processed.
Deputy sheriffs with presumptive claims told members of the grand jury about frustration over limited communication, confusing delays, long waiting periods and claims that were initially denied only to be approved later.
Executives from the Ventura County risk management office described complex and convoluted laws and difficulties in finding ways to make
Read More
The New Mexico Court of Appeals overturned the denial of a worker’s claim for benefits for a knee injury, finding the judge erred in determining that the worker had selected the initial treatment provider.
Case: Chavez v. Prull Custom Builders, No. A-1-CA-42494, 06/29/2026, published.
Facts: Victoria Chavez worked for Prull Custom Builders. She injured her left knee when she slipped and fell in Prull’s parking lot in February 2022.
Chavez was treated at a Concentra urgent care center and released to work with restrictions.
A few days later, she received referrals for
A federal appellate court upheld the dismissal of South Carolina’s challenge to a 2016 rule issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.
Case: McMaster v. U.S. Department of Labor, No. 25-1986, 06/24/2026, published.
Facts: The Occupational Safety and Health Act requires the U.S. Department of Labor to administer occupational health and safety standards, but it allows states to establish their own plans, subject to OSHA approval.
In July 2016, a new rule required OSHA to annually adjust its penalties to keep up with inflation. The rule said state plans h
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s request to expand his claim to add severe cervical stenosis as a compensable condition.
Case: Greynolds v. Bluewater Inc., No. 26-ICA-8, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: John Greynolds worked for Bluewater Inc. as a truck driver. He suffered injuries when his truck was rear-ended by another truck moving at full speed after losing its brakes coming down a hill.
At a hospital, Greynolds reported significant neck pain and left upper extremity tingling, but he denied any loss of consciousness.
How well can judges assess a witness’s credibility, and how important does the WCAB believe it is for a WCJ to have the opportunity to apply its presumably well-honed baloney barometer? The answers may surprise you.
The Workers' Compensation Appeals Board firmly believes judges can assess honesty in the courtroom. Presumably, this is due in no small part to the commissioners’ prior careers on the bench. After years of judging witness veracity in the courtroom (and rarely, if ever, having their judgments successfully challenged), the commissioners have likely been pres
A New York appellate court upheld a denial of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries from a trip-and-fall accident.
Case: Almer v. Summit Glory Property LLC, No. 154195/19, 595753/19, 595378/20, 595584/20, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: Nick Almer worked for the Forest Electric Corp. He tripped and fell over a drag line — a rope used to pull cable through a conduit — while working on a construction project.
The drag line was attached to a partially installed data cable that had been coiled up and hung from a passageway ceiling.
The constructio
A bill revising the criteria for Alaska firefighters to qualify for the presumption that certain types of cancer arose from employment took effect without the governor's signature.
HB 14 became law Monday without the signature of Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
The bill doubles the post-separation coverage for the presumption that applies to cancers, including brain cancer, melanoma and leukemia, to 10 years from five.
Additionally, firefighters will earn six calendar months of post-separation coverage for each year of service, up from the three months they currently receive.
The bill would also r
The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division and the Oregon Employment Department are partnering to provide free worker safety and health training workshops in rural communities throughout the state.
The workshops will show workers how to protect themselves from the four hazards that pose the greatest risk of death in the construction industry: falls, getting caught in or between objects, being struck by objects, and electrocution.
In addition, the workshops will address heat-illness prevention, workers' rights and whistleblower protections, and information for workers and em
Great American Insurance Group’s Alternative Markets Division and CoEfficient Underwriters Agency Inc., a program administrator specializing in workers’ compensation and alternative risk solutions, announced on Tuesday a new workers’ compensation program for temporary staffing firms.
The program was developed to support agents and insureds seeking an option tailored to the unique operational and claims characteristics of the temporary staffing industry, the companies said in a joint statement.
"Temporary staffing firms need workers’ compensation insuranc
A Texas appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a worker’s claim for negligence and retaliation as time-barred.
Concepcion Benavidez worked as a certified nursing assistant at Cimarron Place Health & Rehabilitation Center. The facility is operated by Cascade-Nueces Health Services Ltd.
She allegedly suffered injuries at work in April 2022 when she collided with a resident-operated wheelchair during a power outage.
Benavidez filed suit against Cimarron Place and Cascade-Nueces, asserting that they had a duty of care to maintain a safe working environment, that they breached
The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld an award of permanent total disability benefits for a worker with some ability to work and was able to briefly return to her prior position.
Case: Rural King Supply Inc. v. Sallie, No. 2025-SC-0070-WC, 06/25/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Evelyn Sallie worked for Rural King Supply Inc. At age 62, she sustained a severe crush injury to her right foot when a forklift ran over it in March 2021.
After the fractures healed, Sallie suffered neuropathic symptoms and fungal complications.
Three physicians evaluated Sallie as part of the workers’ compens
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the expansion of a worker’s claim to include the psychological conditions he developed after a work accident that involved being dragged by a moving vehicle.
Case: City of Bluefield v. S.S., No. 25-ICA-405, 06/30/2026, published.
Facts: A City of Bluefield employee, identified in court documents by his initials S.S., suffered injuries in November 2022 while performing maintenance on a garbage truck.
While S.S. was under the truck, it was struck by another vehicle, and he was dragged several feet.
S.S. saw Theresa Bishop, a li
A New York appellate court upheld a judgment dismissing a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries from being struck by a falling electrical cable.
Case: Bartnick v. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc., No. 2023-12421, 06/24/2026, published.
Facts: Jason P. Bartnick worked for Verizon. He was working on a public street to repair damaged telephone lines while Consolidated Edison Co. of New York Inc. employees worked nearby repairing electrical cables.
As a result of an electrical explosion related to ConEd's work, an electrical cable fell to the ground and struck Ba
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill that permanently authorizes employers to pay indemnity benefits using prepaid debit cards.
On July 6, Newsom signed AB 1683, which eliminates language that would end the debit card pilot program at the start of 2027.
Lawmakers in 2018 authorized a pilot project giving employers and carriers the option to use prepaid cards to deliver benefits, with the written permission of the applicant. The law required that injured workers be able to withdraw the entire balance of the card in one transaction without incurring fees and have reasonable access to in-
Authorities in Southern Florida said a family-run criminal organization used shell companies to defraud workers' compensation carriers out of more than $600,000 in premiums by underreporting actual payroll.
An arrest warrant affidavit filed Wednesday and posted online by WPEC, a CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach, alleges that the scheme involved concealing about $9.42 million in payroll spread across three companies on policies that ran from 2024 to 2025.
JNJ Construction Services Inc. allegedly reported $1.7 million in payroll for a period during which it allegedly processed $4.4 mi
