ND - Supreme Court Says Res Judicata Doesn't Bar Worker's Claim
06/11/2026 | 0
The North Dakota Supreme Court ruled that res judicata did not bar a worker’s claim for benefits for a back injury.
Russell Jones worked for Top Shelf Energy LLC and was involved in a work-related motor vehicle accident.
Subsequent imaging revealed acute disc herniation and preexisting degenerative spinal changes.
Workforce Safety and Insurance accepted Jones’ claim for benefits for the disc herniation but denied liability for the preexisting lumbar degeneration, as well as his claim for a left leg injury.
Jones requested reconsideration only of the denial of th
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The West Virginia Supreme Court declined to expand a worker’s claim to add pulmonary emboli as a compensable condition.
Case: Nelson v. Wayne County Board of Education, No. 25-821, 06/01/2026, published.
Facts: Kathy Nelson worked for the Wayne County Board of Education as a high school teacher. She injured her right shoulder in May 2022 while lifting a heavy box of books.
She was eventually diagnosed with a full-thickness tear of her right rotator cuff and underwent authorized arthroscopic repair surgery in March 2023.
After the shoulder surgery, Nelson had a period of convalescence
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for an alleged fall.
Case: Ordonez v. NY Developers & Management LLC, No. 2024-12756, 05/20/2026, published.
Facts: Wilmer Ordonez allegedly fell and sustained injuries while working at an elevation at a construction site owned by 310 Grand Concourse LLC.
Procedural history: Ordonez filed suit against Grand Concourse and NY Developers and Management LLC, the alleged general contractor for the project.
Ordonez asserted a claim for a violation of Labor Law Section 240(1).
Section 240(1)
A New York appellate court reinstated part of a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries from lifting a heavy crate.
Case: Chiappa v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, No. 805328/22, 05/21/2026, published.
Facts: Michael Chiappa allegedly was injured while working on a construction project at LaGuardia Airport.
The property is owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which leased it to Delta Air Lines Inc.
According to Chiappa, a Delta superintendent instructed him to move 10 crates of construction material, each weighing around 400 pounds, across an exp
A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant should have been granted summary judgment dismissing the claims against it.
Case: Perez v. Kew Gardens Development Corp., No. 453196/17, 05/21/2026, published.
Facts: Ronny Carvajal Perez allegedly suffered injuries while working on a construction project at a property owned by Kew Gardens Development Corp.
Procedural history: Perez filed suit against NYC Elegant Improvements Inc., asserting a claim for negligence and violations of the Labor Law.
Elegant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against it.
New York Cou
A New York appellate court upheld summary judgment for a worker who was sent airborne while he was attempting to use his body as a counterweight to a 1,000-pound column he was hoisting.
Case: Andrade v. 1203 E New York Ave Owner LLC, No. 154137/22, 05/21/2026, published.
Facts: Victor Andrade suffered injuries while working on a construction project.
According to Andrade, he was using a manual crane called a roustabout and acting as a counterweight by standing on the roustabout's legs when the approximately 1,000-pound column he was hoisting fell, launching him into the air an
A new study reveals that cumulative trauma claims have increased sharply in recent years and are contributing to notable changes in claim characteristics, costs and outcomes, the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California said.
WCIRB's report, Emerging Patterns of Cumulative Trauma Claims, released Wednesday, demonstrates that CT claims play a growing role in system-wide trends, with higher levels of litigation and earlier involvement of medical-legal and interpreter services than non-CT claims. The growth is influencing medical an
The Minnesota Supreme Court clarified the statutory presumption for a public safety officer to have been killed in the line of duty if he dies of a heart attack, stroke or vascular rupture.
Eric William Groebner worked for the Anoka Police Department as a patrol officer. He worked a 12-hour shift on Sept. 13, 2022.
Near the end of his shift, Groebner and another officer responded to a call reporting a child with a knife. Groebner drove to the scene through a residential neighborhood, reaching a top speed of 59 miles per hour.
There was no evidence of a knife when Groebner arrived. He s
The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to a spinal cord stimulator trial.
Case: InteliStaf Healthcare v. Daniels, No. 396, 05/13/2026, published.
Facts: Julie Daniels injured her back in March 2004 and established a workers’ compensation claim for a right lumbar strain, L3-4 disc herniation and epidural fibrosis.
Daniels returned to work after treatment and had no symptoms.
Daniels later started working for InteliStaf Healthcare. She injured her back at work in March 2004 and established another workers’ compensation claim for a
The West Virginia Supreme Court ruled that an injured firefighter’s claim for benefits should not have been closed before he had fully recovered from the conditions that were newly added to his case.
Case: City of Wheeling v. Gilbert, No. 25-885, 06/01/2026, published.
Facts: David Gilbert worked as a firefighter for the City of Wheeling. He filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he had injured his wrist in December 2023.
Gilbert said he was getting into an ambulance when he slipped and fell onto a stretcher with his right hand outstretched.
Gilbert was diagnosed w
A New York appellate court ruled that the family of a worker fatally thrown from an aerial boom lift was entitled to summary judgment on their Labor Law claim.
Case: Pacheco v. Tishman Construction Corp. of New York, No. 26440/18, 05/21/2026, published.
Facts: Joseph Pacheco and a colleague worked from an aerial boom lift installing electrical piping at a construction site in September 2017. While descending in the lift, both workers were ejected from the basket after the lift hit an obstruction.
It was undisputed that both men had removed their safety lanyards before the lift's de
A New York appellate court revived a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries from a broken mirror, finding that there was a triable issue as to whether the homeowners' exemption applied.
Case: Moreno v. Hossain, No. 2021-04463, 05/20/2026, published.
Facts: Felix Moreno worked for A&A Home Improvement Inc. He allegedly was injured while working on property owned by Enayet Hossain.
According to Moreno, the accident occurred when, as he and his supervisor were lifting a mirror to remove it from a wall in a second-floor rental, the upper part of the mirror broke off and struck
A free Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau webinar covering cumulative trauma claims in California is set for 10-11 a.m. Thursday.
WCIRB actuaries will share key findings from new research that highlights the continued rise in CT claims, the impact of post-termination filings and the growing role of medical-legal and interpreter costs.
Discussion items will include:
The latest CT claim trends shaping the market.
The cost drivers influencing medical and ALAE outcomes.
What these changes mean for pricing and reserving.
WCIRB staffers Esther Li, Laura Carsten
A new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute finds that total workers’ compensation costs per claim in Pennsylvania are high compared with other states included in the study.
After declining between 2020 and 2022, total costs per claim in Pennsylvania began growing again and increased faster than in most other study states.
“Pennsylvania’s workers’ compensation costs reflect changes across several components, but higher indemnity benefits per claim stand out as a key factor behind Pennsylvania’s relative positi
A divided Mississippi Supreme Court ruled that judicial estoppel did not bar a worker from proceeding with a personal injury suit he failed to disclose in a prior bankruptcy proceeding.
Quinton Strong worked for Siemen’s Industry Inc. In May 2018, he was at work when a forklift operated by another worker pinned him against some pallets.
Strong did not know the identity of the operator or his employer at that time.
In January 2019, Strong filed a workers’ compensation claim and Chapter 13 bankruptcy. Strong hired different attorneys to handle each matter.
At the end of January 2
