CA - WCIRB: Average Charged Rates May Be Increasing From Historic Lows
10/09/2026 | 0
The average rates California employers pay for workers' compensation coverage may be increasing from historic lows following a decade of steady declines.
In a new analysis of insurer experience through June 30, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau reported that the average charged rate in the first half of 2026 was $1.64 per $100 of payroll, a slight increase over the average charged rate of $1.63 in 2025.
The increase in the first half of 2026 is the first year-over-year increase in the average charged rate since 2014, when it rose to $3.19 from $3.10 the year before.&n
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A New York appellate court ruled that an injured police officer’s petition for leave to file a late notice of claim was properly denied.
Case: Matter of Defonce v. Village of Port Chester, No. 2024-13266, 10/07/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Joseph Defonce, who worked for the Harrison Police Department, alleged that he was injured in a May 2023 motorcycle accident with an officer employed by the Village of Port Chester Police Department. The accident happened in the Village of Tarrytown.
He served the village with a claim notice in February 2024, more than eight m
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court is leaving the determination that a retail seller of medical supplies is not a healthcare provider as the final word on the matter.
The high court on Tuesday denied a petition by Scomed Supply to review a Commonwealth Court decision finding that healthcare providers are entities that provide services rather than sell goods. As a result, the court said Scomed could not request hearings to contest fee review determinations to seek additional payment for products provided to an injured worker.
Scomed provided goods related to the use of a transcutaneous electrical
The Delaware Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker’s benefits claim for damage to his lower teeth after he was struck in the head by a falling tree limb.
Case: Peed v. Essential Staffing Inc., No. 81, 2026, 10/05/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Craig Peed worked for Essential Staffing Inc. He suffered serious injuries in 2012 when a falling tree limb struck him on the head.
Essential’s insurance carrier paid Peed total disability benefits.
In 2016, Peed’s upper teeth began to fracture at the gum line. He received dental treatment, then filed a petitio
One topic that has regularly arisen in countless panel decisions over the years, yet still is the subject of much confusion, is whether a party disputing a trial judge’s decision should file a petition for removal or a petition for reconsideration.
The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board attempted to address the confusion in the 2024 significant panel decision of Latrice Reed v. County of San Bernardino. Perhaps the most important takeaway from that panel decision was that inappropriate petitions for reconsideration are potentially sanctionable.
I learned this early on,
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld an award of benefits to a university employee for a shoulder injury.
Case: University of Illinois v. IWCC, No. 5-26-0057WC, 10/02/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Dawanna Thomas, a caterer for the University of Illinois, injured her shoulder while moving chafing dishes in August 2019.
Thomas testified that she had no right shoulder pain before the incident, had never sought treatment for it and was working full duty in a heavy-duty position.
She sought medical treatment after her shift and was diagnosed with a shoulder strain. When her symptoms persisted, she w
The Oregon Workers' Compensation Division increased the Workers' Benefit Fund assessment rate to 2.2 cents per hour worked for 2027, up from 1.8 cents in 2026.
The fund pays for cost-of-living increases for workers with permanent and total disabilities and also finances return-to-work programs. Employers must pay at least half of the assessment and can deduct up to half from workers' wages.
At the same time, the division announced an assessment rate of 0.2 cents per hour for the newly created Bureau of Labor and Industries expense fund.
Oregon lawmakers this year enacted SB 1506
The Illinois Appellate Court has published its ruling holding that two Marion police pension board members' statements about a former officer showed that they had prejudged his disability claim.
The court said the board violated Joshua Mahan's right to an impartial tribunal by failing to remove those board members before deciding to terminate his disability pension. The decision in Joshua Mahan v. Marion Police Pension Board et al. was initially handed down Sept. 2 and formally published Tuesday.
In addition to finding it improperly influenced by bias, the court also held that the bo
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals ruled that an employee making a wrongful refusal to rehire claim must make an initial showing that he was injured in the course of his employment and the employer refused to rehire him.
Case: Bartelt Custom Automotive Inc. v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, No. 2024AP133, 10/06/2026, published.
Facts: Kevin Warlow, a welder for Bartelt Custom Automotive Inc., suffered a compensable injury to his left hand in January 2017. He received workers’ compensation benefits until he was released to return to work without restrictions in February 2017.
When h
A divided Louisiana appellate court overturned the denial of an injured truck driver’s claim for benefits, finding he was not an independent contractor as a matter of law.
Case: Smith v. RNK Construction LLC, No. 2026-CA-0078, 10/02/2026, published.
Facts: Melvin Smith was driving a dump truck down the highway after delivering a load of sand from RNK Construction LLC to one of its customers. As Smith was returning to RNK’s truck yard, he failed to negotiate a 90-degree turn, crashed into a protective barrier and suffered injuries that required medical treatment.
Procedural histo
The Maryland Appellate Court upheld the dismissal of a worker’s civil suit against the assisted living facility where she worked and its partial owner.
Case: Lee v. Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc., No. 225, 10/02/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Nancy Teresa Lee worked as a life enrichment manager at Sunrise of Bethesda, an assisted living facility ??? OWNED AND ??? operated by Sunrise Senior Living Management Inc.
She was assaulted by a resident of the assisted living facility in January 2022 and suffered a fractured spine. The Workers’ Compensation Commission found her injury c
The MEMIC Group announced Wednesday that its board of directors authorized a $17 million dividend for more than 17,000 policyholders in Maine.
The carrier said the dividend is based on its financial performance and claims experience, as well as the collective success of policyholders in maintaining safe workplaces during the 2023 calendar year.
The $17 million distribution is more than 10% of eligible premiums paid by policyholders that year and will be distributed next month.
The dividend brings to $406 million the total amount the carrier has returned to policyholders since 1998.
M
The California Division of Workers' Compensation announced that it has updated the hospital outpatient department and ambulatory surgical center, and the durable medical equipment, prosthetics, orthotics and supplies sections of the Official Medical Fee Schedule.
The orders adjusting the fee schedule sections adopted the fourth-quarter Medicare updates and apply to services provided on or after Oct. 1.
The division specifically said the hospital outpatient and ASC updates include:
The CMS Medicare Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, October 2026 "Addendum A" and
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld an award of benefits for a production worker’s injury from a fall while wearing sandals to walk to an employee break room to charge his phone.
Shawn Anderson worked as a machine operator for Ice Cream Specialties Inc., an ice cream manufacturer.
He clocked in for work on Oct. 3, 2022, while wearing open-toed, slip-on sandals.
He went to his locker and took out his work boots, but he did not put them on. He then went to the bathroom and returned to his locker, at which point he noticed that his cellphone was about to lose its charge.
Rather th
A Louisiana appellate court granted summary judgment for the defendant in a civil suit arising from a fatal flash fire and explosion that occurred at a propane bulk storage and transportation facility.
Case: Hardaway v. Aeropres Corp., No. 56,897, 09/30/2026, published.
Facts: XTO Energy Inc. owned a propane bulk storage and transportation facility that it leased to Aeropres Corp.
George Hardaway, Chancey Hawk and Daniel Payne worked for Aeropres. They were transferring liquid propane from a storage tank into an Aeropres tanker truck when the hose connection failed, spewing more than&n
A federal appellate court upheld a business owner's conviction for payroll tax fraud.
Case: U.S. v. Cole, No. 26-473, 09/30/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Contractor George Cole, who owned Cole NYC LLC, failed to pay the Internal Revenue Service more than $1.5 million in employment-related taxes between 2016 and 2020.
Between November 2021 and April 2023, Cole failed to maintain workers’ compensation insurance and filed two forged certificates claiming that he had secured coverage while he continued to accept jobs throughout the city. During the same period, he failed to pay appro