CA - CWCI Posts Summary of 2026 Bills
10/05/2026 | 0
The California Workers' Compensation Institute posted a summary of bills enacted during the 2026 session that may be of interest to the workers' compensation community.
The big news from the session was Gov. Gavin Newsom enacting a budget trailer bill that included major reforms to the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund and also permanently amended the deadline for the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board to act on petitions for reconsideration.
Newsom signed SB 171 in July.
"SB 171 narrows SIBTF eligibility by requiring that preexisting disabilities be 'l
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The Illinois Appellate Court has published its decision from late this summer finding that an insurance carrier owed no coverage to an employer for a worker’s fatal accident at a construction site.
According to a complaint filed by the estate of Ramiro Godinez, Godinez was an “invitee” on a construction site in Waukegan in September 2017.
He was allegedly directed to the third floor of the building to perform certain carpentry work. While he was unloading tools and materials from a raised forklift, Godinez fell and suffered severe injuries. He died six days later.
The esta
A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant timely paid a settlement to an injured worker.
Case: Carranza v. Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases, No. 300322/17, 09/29/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Delis Vasquez Carranza suffered injuries while working in an elevator shaft. He filed a Labor Law suit against multiple defendants, including Memorial Hospital for Cancer and Allied Diseases.
The hospital reached a settlement agreement with Carranza, and his attorney, in open court, said the hospital would have until Aug. 1, 2025, to provide a draft &q
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that an injured worker was entitled to a magnetic resonance imaging scan and surgery to address an ankle injury.
Case: Marshall County Coal Resources v. Yarbrough, No. 26-ICA-135, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts: Colby Yarbrough worked for Marshall County Coal Resources. He slipped on a rock and rolled his left ankle at work in October 2023.
He sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a left ankle sprain.
A claims administrator for Marshall’s insurance carrier accepted liability for a sprain of an unspecif
A study of 400,000 workers’ comp claims from Crosstie, a claims management technology company that identifies workers’ comp cases likely to descend into litigation, reveals a telling pattern that could help explain excessive claim costs nationwide, especially in California.
Litigation consumes a significant percentage of the employer dollars spent on comp claims, with injured workers lawyering up and going to the mat when payers delay or deny care and benefits, particularly over the objections of their treating physicians.
Crosstie’s research de
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals overturned a determination that a worker failed to prove a sufficient length of exposure to dust hazards to give rise to a presumption that he had occupational pneumoconiosis.
Case: King v. Justice Family Group LLC, No. 26-ICA-76, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: David King II filed a benefits claim for occupational pneumoconiosis. He indicated that his last date of exposure to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis was in January 2020.
King reported exposures to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis while work
Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced Friday the promotion of John Grube to vice president of regional operations for the Austin region.
Grube will direct and coordinate all regional office operations, including underwriting, claims, safety services, premium audit and business development in the new role he assumed in May.
Grube, who joined Texas Mutual in 2013, has held a variety of roles including underwriter, territory manager and underwriting supervisor. Most recently, he served as senior manager of agency operations, overseeing the management of the company's safety group program
A workers' compensation carrier cannot pursue conversion and related claims to recover a disputed lien from an injured worker's third-party settlement before the employer's comparative negligence has been adjudicated, a California appellate court ruled.
The 3rd Appellate District Court of Appeal, in affirming a trial court decision granting summary judgment in favor of Guadalupe Reyes-Cano on Wednesday, explained that a determination of the employer's liability was a necessary prerequisite to determine what, if anything, he was required to pay Federal Insurance Co.
"The
An Ohio appellate court upheld a determination that a worker was not entitled to an enhanced award of benefits for his employer’s alleged violation of a specific safety regulation, resulting in his electric shock injury.
Case: State ex rel. Mattox v. Industrial Commission, No. 24AP-703, 09/29/2026, published.
Facts: Andrew Mattox worked for Armstrong Utilities Inc. In August 2021, Mattox was working in a wooded area stringing fiber-optic cable onto wooden telephone poles as part of Armstrong’s conversion of its network from coaxial cable.
Mattox was working in a bucket truck, an
The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled that an insurance carrier was not entitled to reimbursement from the Special Fund for Second Injuries for the benefits paid to an injured worker.
Case: Appeal of the Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Labor, No. 2025-0503, 09/30/2026, unpublished.
Facts: ESIS Inc. provided workers’ compensation insurance coverage to BAE Systems Inc. It paid benefits to a BAE employee who suffered a back injury at work and then sought reimbursement from the Special Fund for Second Injuries.
Under New Hampshire law, if an employee who has a permane
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the compensability of a worker’s shoulder surgery and the reopening of his temporary total disability benefits.
Case: ACNR Resources Inc. v. Scott, No. 26-ICA-156, 09/25/2026, published.
Facts: Paul Scott worked for ACNR Resources Inc. as a maintenance mechanic and electrician. He tripped and fell while at work in October 2023.
Scott sought medical treatment and was diagnosed with a sprain of the left shoulder.
A claims administrator for ACNR’s insurance carrier accepted liability for a shoulder sprain and later authori
The Virginia Court of Appeals overturned a determination that a worker’s settlement extinguished his ability to claim payment for an allegedly unpaid bill from one of his treatment providers.
Case: Peters v. Portsmouth Plumbing Services Inc., No. 1132-25-1, 09/29/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Orville Peters worked for Portsmouth Plumbing Services Inc. He injured his right hand at work in September 2012.
Peters filed a workers’ compensation claim, which Portsmouth’s insurance carrier agreed to settle. The Workers’ Compensation Commission approved
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Thursday the award of $10.2 million in grant funds to 67 organizations to support education and training focused on worker safety.
Funded through the Susan Harwood Training Grant Program, the grants aim to advance worker safety and health by providing instructor-led training opportunities for workers and employers in small businesses, with an emphasis on industries with high rates of injury and illness.
Grants will fund training and education on hazard awareness, prevention and controls to protect workers from on-the-job haz
The share of injuries involving workers in their first few months on the job rose sharply during the pandemic before falling below its pre-pandemic level by 2024, according to a new report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
The share of injuries involving workers in their first two months on the job increased to 18.43% in 2022 from 15.66% in 2019, according to WCRI’s analysis. But that trend reversed during the post-pandemic recovery, with the share falling by about 2 percentage points annually over the following two years.
By 2024, injuries occurring within the first tw
The Illinois Appellate Court ruled that an injured firefighter’s line-of-duty disability pension should have been calculated based on his salary at the rank to which he was promoted during his recovery.
Case: Schneider v. Elgin Firefighters’ Pension Fund, No. 2-25-0476, 09/28/2026, published.
Facts: Mark Schneider worked as a firefighter and paramedic for the City of Elgin. He injured his back while at work in March 2022.
After conservative treatment failed, Schneider underwent back surgery. He then completed physical therapy and began work hardening but developed knee pain
A Louisiana appellate court overturned the dismissal of claims against an insurance carrier that provided coverage to a sole proprietor for injuries sustained by the sole proprietor’s brother while allegedly volunteering his services.
Case: Watson v. Watson Services Inc., No. 26-CA-18, 09/23/2026, published.
Facts: On April 4, 2023, Edward Watson suffered severe injuries while helping his brother remove tires from an 18-wheel tractor-trailer. He was underneath the trailer when the jack used to hoist it became dislodged, causing it to fall on his leg.
Doctors later amputated the leg.