FL - Appeals Court: Heart Disease Presumption Covers Atrial Fibrillation
11/06/2026 | 0
In a high-profile case, a Florida appellate court applied a recent ruling that conditions disrupting electrical functions of the heart are covered by the state's heart disease presumption for firefighters.
The 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday set aside the decision of a judge of compensation claims who found that Joseph Durden's atrial fibrillation was not covered by the presumption in Section 112.18(a). The court referred to its September decision in Village Center Community Development District v. Illeck, where it explained that it has long held that the presumptio
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The Wyoming Supreme Court upheld a determination that a worker had reached maximum medical improvement for a back injury and that he was no longer entitled to temporary total disability benefits.
Case: Martinez v. State ex rel. Department of Workforce Services, No. S-26-0117, 11/04/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: David Martinez was a maintenance worker for a veterinary clinic. He injured his back at work in March 2022.
Dr. Vincent Ross diagnosed a lumbar sprain, a thoracic sprain and muscle spasms.
The Workers’ Compensation Division accepted Martinez’s
An Ohio appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for benefits, finding that his employer established that he was intoxicated at the time of his injury and that his intoxication was the cause of his injury.
Case: Stephens v. U.S. Tsubaki Power Transmission, No. E-26-018, 10/27/2026, published.
Facts: Todd Stephens worked for U.S. Tsubaki Power Transmission. In August 2022, he was disassembling metal parts, using a vise and a hammer. Stephens told his supervisor that the vise was becoming loose. Stephens was tightening the vise when it slipped. He fell, injuri
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker’s failure to timely comply with a discovery order did not warrant the dismissal of his claim.
Case: Leader v 85 Quay Street LLC, No. 2025-06265, 10/28/2026, published.
Facts: Jamison Leader allegedly suffered injuries from a fall while working at a construction site owned by 85 Quay Street LLC.
Procedural history: In a preliminary conference order, Kings County Supreme Court Justice Leon Ruchelsman directed Leader to provide authorizations for medical treatment.
After Leader’s deposition, Quay served a post-deposition demand for su
Workers’ compensation subrogation is one of the few areas of insurance recovery in which a carrier can have a perfectly valid statutory right to reimbursement and still walk away empty-handed.
In many states, the law imposes procedural requirements that can be just as important as the underlying right to recover. A missed deadline, an improperly perfected lien, an unanticipated settlement, an overlooked assignment or a failure to intervene can turn a substantial reimbursement opportunity into an expensive lesson. A recently published California appellate decision illustrates ju
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for his injuries from being struck by a falling beam.
Case: Oliveira v. 5462th Realty LLC, No. 150949/20 and 595539/24, 10/27/2026, published.
Facts: Edvaldo Nunes Oliveira suffered injuries while working on a construction project when an unseen object struck him in the back, causing him to fall.
Oliveira’s foreman testified that the object was a beam, and he took a video showing it lying on the ground.
One of Oliveira’s co-workers also testified that he accidentally hit
Registration for the California Division of Workers' Compensation's 34th annual Educational Conference, set for March, is now open.
Northern and Southern California regions will be covered by two events: Conferences will be held March 4-5, 2027, at the Oakland Marriott City Center Hotel and March 18-19, 2027, at the Los Angeles Airport Marriott.
DWC says the conferences are California’s largest workers’ compensation training sessions for claims administrators, medical providers, attorneys, employers, human resources professionals and others. Guests can
The California Workers' Compensation Institute on Wednesday reported that meloxicam has become the largest source of anti-inflammatory drug spending, with its share of payments jumping from less than 2% in 2020 to 30.8% last year, largely because of a small number of high-cost formulations.
CWCI also reports that the committee that advised the Division of Workers' Compensation on changes to the prescription drug formulary in 2020 and 2021 considered requiring prospective utilization review for the high-cost, novel formulations of the drug that appear to be driving the recent
The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a jury’s verdict finding a contractor liable for a catastrophic workplace injury suffered by a subcontractor’s employee struck by a train.
Case: Hernandez v. Independence Construction Corp., No. 1911 EDA 2023, 10/28/2026, published.
Facts: Jesse Hernandez worked for Minority Services Inc., a subcontractor of Independence Construction Corp. Both companies were owned by Steven Hare.
ICC had long-standing contracts with the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority to perform janitorial services and maintenance work. ICC also co
The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that the two-year period for an employer to invoke a statutory presumption that an injured worker no longer needs medical care begins to run on the date of the award of future medical benefits.
Case: Suarez-Cirino v. Menard Inc., No. 128,618, 10/23/2026, published.
Facts: Betzaida Suarez-Cirino worked for Menard Inc. She injured her left shoulder at work in February 2014.
Suarez-Cirino underwent conservative treatment, then surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff.
Suarez-Cirino returned to work on light duty. She was assigned to an inventory position, which
A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant was entitled to partial summary judgment dismissing some of the cross-claims against it.
Case: Torres v. Tinton Realty Group LLC, No. 31559/20, 10/22/2026, published.
Facts: Julio A. Altamirano Torres fell while using stilts to apply compound to the walls and ceiling of a bathroom on the sixth floor of a building under construction.
According to Torres, his stilts slipped on plastic floor covering, causing him to fall backward and sustain multiple injuries.
The accident occurred at a property owned by Tinton Realty Group LLC.
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker who fell off a makeshift scaffold was not entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for injuries.
Case: Rajpaulsingh v. Hidden Pond at Old Westbury LLC, No. 2022-00669, 10/28/2026, published.
Facts: Mahadaye Rajpaulsingh was a welder for Roman Iron Works Inc. In January 2016, he was working on a residential development project.
A Roman supervisor directed Rajpaulsingh to build a makeshift scaffold using wooden planks in order to carry a column between concrete structures.
Rajpaulsingh was carrying the column across the make
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has announced $29 million in funding to further the development of personal work safety equipment and technology.
The periodic Workforce Safety Innovation Grant supports research and development of industrial safety innovations, guided by data to improve outcomes for Ohio workers.
The funding round, intended to cover the period from July 1, 2027, to June 30, 2029, includes higher education institutions and independent research groups in the Buckeye State. Awards range from $150,000 to $2 million, depending on the pr
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California Classification and Rating Committee will discuss possible changes to the physical audit threshold and payroll limitations during a Nov. 17 meeting.
Currently, policies that generate a final premium above $10,500 are subject to a physical audit. WCIRB staff recommends increasing the threshold to $12,000.
The last threshold adjustment was effective on Jan. 1, 2020.
Committee members will also discuss revising payroll limitations to account for inflation.
The California Workers’ Compensation Uniform Statistical Report
Medicaid disenrollment was associated with higher medical payments in workers' compensation claims during the period when enrollees were losing coverage, the Workers Compensation Research Institute said in a new study.
The findings could offer insight into the potential effects of H.R. 1, but the extent to which those results translate to the new law remains uncertain, WCRI said.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government encouraged states to maintain continuous coverage for Medicaid enrollees, resulting in an increase in working-age adults covered by the program. When the pand
A New York appellate court ruled that the defendants in a Labor Law action should not have been granted summary judgment dismissing all the claims against them.
Case: DaSilva v. Delshah-OTL-Start 22 Chapel Property Owner LLC, No. 2024-11300, 10/21/2026, published.
Facts: Evando Magalhaes DaSilva worked for Manhattan Concrete Inc. In July 2020, DaSilva and his co-workers were building walls, passing plywood forms from the sixth floor to DaSilva on the seventh floor.
DaSilva allegedly was injured while carrying plywood through an open area on the seventh floor when his left foot twisted
