GA - Court Reinstates Widower's Suit Over Amusement Park Worker's Death
06/17/2026 | 0
The Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that a trial judge erred in dismissing a widower’s civil suit against a theme park operator for his wife’s death from falling out of a moving vehicle.
Andrea Crook worked as a seasonal “scare actor” at the annual Fright Fest at Six Flags Over Georgia theme park in 2023.
After she reported for work on Oct. 1, 2023, Crook and other seasonal actors were loaded into the back of a cargo van at the park. Asia Hendricks, a park co-employee, was the driver.
The van’s door remained open throughout the ride. As Hendricks drove up a hill
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An Ohio appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for a schedule loss of sight award after he suffered an eye injury.
Case: State ex rel. Tanyhill v. Industrial Commission, No. 25AP-187, 05/19/2026, published.
Facts: Andre Tanyhill worked as a corrections officer for Central Ohio Behavioral Healthcare. He suffered injuries to his face and head in November 2022 when a patient attacked him.
Tanyhill’s workers’ compensation claim was ultimately allowed for a conjunctival hemorrhage, retinal tears, a retinal hole and a concussion.
Tanyhill underw
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the authorization of additional diagnostic tests for an injured worker while also upholding the closure of his temporary total disability benefits.
Case: ACNR Resources Inc. v. Folmsbee, No. 25-ICA-372, Folmsbee v. ACNR Resources Inc., No. 25-ICA-373, 06/02/2026, published.
Facts: Justin Folmsbee worked for ACNR Resources Inc. as a coal miner. He went to Ruby Memorial Hospital's emergency department on Aug. 9, 2024, and reported that an object had fallen from a mine roof, hit his helmet and left him unconscious.
A comp
A New York appellate court upheld a decision of the Workers’ Compensation Board awarding benefits for a worker’s death from COVID-19.
Case: Matter of Dulay v. Oriska Insurance Co., 05/28/2026, published.
Facts: Vincent Dulay was a physical therapy assistant working with nursing home patients in the Bronx. He contracted COVID-19 in late March 2020 and was hospitalized in April 2020. Dulay died on May 10, 2020.
Procedural history: Dulay’s daughter filed a claim for workers’ compensation death benefits on behalf of herself and her siblings.
The daughter also filed a cl
Resistance to change in workers’ compensation is not a mystery. It is not structural inertia, regulatory complexity or organizational tradition.
It is the predictable result of two forces working in concert.
Human bias explains why people think the way they do. Financial incentives explain why they keep acting that way, even when they know better.
Bias, by itself, would eventually yield. New data, new leadership or a crisis costly enough to demand a response would force the system to adapt.
In practice, that is not what happens.
What we see
The signals are familiar to
A New York appellate court ruled that a property owner and a general contractor should not have been granted summary judgment on their common-law indemnification claim against a subcontractor over liability for a worker’s injuries.
Case: Suazo v. 501 Madison-Sutton LLC, No. 305735/14, 06/02/2026, published.
Facts: Marco Suazo worked for Atlantic Interiors Inc. He suffered injuries when he fell from a ladder while performing spackling and tape work on drywall at a building owned by 501 Madison-Sutton LLC.
GC Contractors Inc. was the general contractor for the project. It had subco
A New York appellate court upheld summary judgment on a Labor Law claim by a worker injured while accepting a delivery of roofing materials.
Case: Krifca v. Bronx-Lebanon Special Care Center Inc., No. 303938/15, 06/02/2026, affirmed.
Facts: Fuat Krifca was injured while working on a project to replace the roof of a building owned by Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center. Krifca was employed by Flatiron Contracting Solutions as a foreman and roofing mechanic.
Allied Building Products Corp. was the supplier of roofing materials to Flatiron for the project and delivered them to the construction s
California’s fee schedules keep inflation in check for most medical services, but a new California Workers’ Compensation Institute study finds that treatment is being billed more frequently under codes outside the pricing controls, a new source of medical cost growth.
The CWCI study uses data from its Industry Research Information System database to examine medical payments from 2017 through 2024. Though professional services and facility fees make up about 70% of all California workers’ comp medical spending, the strongest inflationary pressure comes from pro
KY - Court Upholds Coal Miner's Comp Retaliation Verdict
A Kentucky appeals court on Friday upheld a jury verdict in favor of a coal miner who alleged that he was laid off in retaliation for seeking workers' compensation medical benefits, but ordered a trial court to reconsider his attorney fee award.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals on Friday affirmed a Pike Circuit Court judgment in favor of Abram Scott Adkins in Lazarus Coal LLC v. Abram Scott Adkins, but vacated an $8,000 attorney fee award and remanded for further findings.
Lazarus Coal hired Adkins as a roof bolter in August 2022. On Feb. 16, 2023, a rock fell on his arm while he was w
May 20, 2026
A Texas appellate court ruled that a municipal defendant’s failure to challenge every possible basis for the denial of its motion for summary judgment required affirmance of the denial.
Pamela Rousseau allegedly suffered injuries as a result of a slip and fall at the George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Following the denial of her workers’ compensation claim, Rousseau filed a civil suit against the City of Houston.
The city filed a traditional motion for summary judgment based on governmental immunity. It argued that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction over
The Montana Workers’ Compensation Court granted summary judgment for a worker, ordering the State Fund to reopen her medical benefits and adjust her claim.
Case: Munn v. Montana State Fund, No. MSF-2026-0000003-MISC, 05/18/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Holly Munn worked for Head Start Inc. She suffered injuries at work in March 2019.
At the time, Head Start had workers’ compensation coverage through Montana State Fund.
State Fund accepted liability for an acute cervical muscle spasm and an acute thoracic muscle spasm. State Fund denied liability for Munn&
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals ruled that an electrician was entitled to expand his claim to include his major depressive disorder, but not his generalized anxiety disorder.
Case: United Coal Co. LLC v. B.C., No. 25-ICA-449, 06/02/2026, published.
Facts: An electrician identified in court documents by his initials B.C. filed a workers’ compensation claim for injuries he sustained in June 2021 when a rock fell on him while he was working in a mine owned by United Coal Co. LLC.
Personnel at Raleigh General Hospital completed the physicians’ section of th
A New York appellate court upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to diagnostic hearing tests.
Case: Matter of Clement v. Colwell Brothers, No. CV-24-1878, 05/28/2026, published.
Facts: George Clement established a workers' compensation claim for an occupational disease of binaural hearing loss in 1989. He received a 23% schedule loss-of-use award.
In 2022, liability for the claim was transferred to the Special Funds by operation of law.
In 2023, Sarah Sugden, an audiologist, filed a prior authorization request seeking approval for diagnostic testing, including tympanom
A New York appellate court said the Workers’ Compensation Board abused its discretion in denying a worker’s request for review due to deficiencies in her application.
Case: Matter of Price v. Premium Brands Opco LLC, No. CV-25-0913, 05/28/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Jennifer Price was the assistant manager at a retail store. She filed a workers’ compensation claim after she tripped and fell at work in November 2023.
A workers’ compensation judge established the claim for a work-related injury to Price’s cervical spine but found that she
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s hearing loss claim.
Case: Matter of Kowalski v. A Quest Corp., No. CV-24-2073, 05/28/2026, published.
Facts: Krzysztof Kowalski worked for numerous employers as an asbestos handler between 1965 and 2016. His prior employers included A Quest Corp., PAL Environmental Safety Corp., D&S Restoration Inc. and Pinnacle Environmental Corp.
Procedural history: In January 2017, Kowalski filed an occupational disease claim, alleging a date of injury or onset of illness of April 16, 2016, and that, while working for Vestar Inc.,
The Washington Court of Appeals said an employer may be liable for negligence toward workers' not-yet-conceived offspring.
Case: Bauer v. Boeing Co., No. 87593-1-I, 05/18/2026, published.
Facts: Thomas Bauer worked for Boeing Co. as an electrical installer. He was allegedly exposed to chemicals through inhalation, ingestion and dermal contact that are capable of harming the unborn child and future offspring.
While working at Boeing, Bauer and his wife had a baby in 2017. The child was born with permanent and disabling defects.
Since the 1970s, peer-reviewed epidemiologic
