CA - Court Publishes Decision Finding Privette Bars Ironworker's Claim
04/14/2026 | 0
The 1st District Court of Appeal of California published its decision finding that the Privette doctrine bars an ironworker's civil claim against a contractor.
The appellate court said Leonardo Cordero failed to provide evidence that raised a triable issue of fact about whether Ghilotti Construction Co. Inc. retained control of workplace safety at a pedestrian bridge project in Menlo Park. The court also rejected the argument that the contractor breached a nondelegable regulatory duty to provide safe access to the workplace.
The decision was unpublished when the 1st DCA released it ...
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An Ohio appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s application for permanent total disability benefits.
Case: Fought v. Industrial Commission, No. 24AP-706, 03/12/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Jason Fought worked for CFA Staffing. He suffered injuries in August 2011 when a falling box struck him.
Fought established a workers’ compensation claim for multiple conditions and underwent several surgeries.
A functional capacity evaluator determined in March 2023 that Fought was capable of sedentary work.
A vocational rehabilitation peer reviewer opine...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his injuries from tripping over a loose pipe at a construction site.
Case: Tower v. Structure Tone LLC, No. 155169/20, 03/24/2026, published.
Facts: Philip Tower worked for Jacobson & Co. Inc.
While working at a property owned by TGA 730 Third Avenue Owner LLC, Tower needed to retrieve a new door from his employer's storage area, where the doors were stacked. Tower tripped over an 18-inch sprinkler pipe while walking the only route between the elevator and the storage a...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker failed to prove the compensability of his carpal tunnel syndrome, which manifested years after he stopped working.
Case: Matter of Borrometi v. Verizon, No. CV-25-0804, 03/19/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Gerardo Borrometi worked for Verizon as a cable splicer. He stopped working in 2015 due to injuries for which he received workers’ compensation benefits.
In 2023, he filed a new claim for workers' compensation benefits, alleging that he had developed carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands and wrists as a result of repe...
“If I have to follow up with just two of these people per claim, it’s incredibly time-consuming and not feasible.”
That’s a senior adjuster describing a litigated claim with six parties: injured worker, applicant attorney, defense attorney, adjuster, employer and a fronting employer above them. Not a catastrophic claim. Not an outlier. A normal file.
This is what early-stage claim-handling looks like for a significant portion of the workers’ compensation workforce — and it is the starting point for a pattern that keeps surfacing across geographies...
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a determination that a judge did not suffer a compensable knee injury while descending a flight of stairs.
Case: Harper v. City of Elkins, No. 25-733, 03/24/2026, published.
Facts: Rebecca Harper worked for the City of Elkins as a municipal court judge. She allegedly injured her right knee while descending stairs at work in August 2014.
Harper testified that she did not slip or trip while descending the stairs; the only thing she was carrying at the time of the incident was her phone and her office keys in her left hand, and she did not notice any wetn...
Nebraska lawmakers voted to send the governor a bill that would keep injured workers' personal information confidential for 60 days after filing a claim and require that losses an employer reimburses under a deductible policy be credited against its experience modification.
The unicameral Legislature voted 37-12 on Friday to pass LB 455.
The bill would make first injury reports confidential for 60 days unless the employee waives confidentiality and allows the report to be available for public inspection. Confidential information includes the injured worker's name, address, telephone ...
The New York State Insurance Fund launched a new app that it said enables its workers’ compensation policyholders to manage their policies on the go.
“Our new Policy Mobile App is designed to enable NYSIF workers’ compensation policyholders to obtain key information about their policies and quickly complete many of the most commonly requested policy management functions wherever they are,” NYSIF Executive Director and CEO Gaurav Vasisht said in a statement.
The app allows policyholders to view monthly statements, account histories and policy alerts, and to receive aud...
The Workers Compensation Research Institute will highlight findings from the upcoming 2026 edition of its CompScope Benchmarks report during an April 30 webinar.
The webinar will cover how costs are evolving across 18 study states, including how widespread cost growth is, and whether most states are seeing increases in total costs per claim and across most cost components.
Factors contributing to recent changes in medical payments, indemnity benefits and benefit delivery expenses per claim in recent years will also be discussed.
Findings are drawn from the latest edition of WCRI's CompS...
The New Hampshire Supreme Court upheld a denial of benefits to the estate of a worker who suffered a pulmonary embolism, fell into water face down and died.
Matthew Kelley worked as a carpenter for the Evroks Corp. In April 2023, he was working on a bridge over a river when he suffered a pulmonary embolism. He fell about 8 feet onto the embankment below and then rolled into shallow water, face down.
Paramedics were called, but Kelley remained unresponsive. At the hospital, he went into cardiac arrest and died.
A medical examiner performed an autopsy the following day. He determined tha...
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a custodial worker’s claim of psychological injuries from stress due to his alleged exposure to unsanitary conditions at a migrant processing center.
Case: Matter of Wallace v. New York City School Support Services Inc., No. CV-24-1822, 03/19/2026, published.
Facts: Nicholas Wallace worked for New York City School Support Services Inc. as a custodial worker. He filed a workers’ compensation claim in October 2023, asserting he had suffered work-related psychological injuries stemming from cleaning and working in unsanitary cond...
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request to expand his claim to add hip injuries and to hold the State Insurance Fund liable for the cost of hip replacement surgery.
Case: Matter of Fleming v. DOCCS Attica Correctional Facility, No. CV-24-1667, 03/19/2026, published.
Facts: Donald Fleming worked for the DOCCS Attica Correctional Facility. He established a workers' compensation claim for injuries to his right foot and ankle stemming from a 2015 accident.
Fleming underwent surgeries related to his injuries in 2015 and 2019. In 2016 and 2017, he underwent un...
A Texas court overturned the dismissal of a worker’s appeal of his denied claim, finding he should have been allowed to amend his pleadings to establish the trial court’s jurisdiction.
Case: Pineda Orellana v. National Specialty Insurance Co., No. 01-24-00383-CV, 04/09/2026, published.
Facts: Esdras Pineda Orellana owned ENPO Home Improvement, a construction and remodeling company that subscribed to workers’ compensation insurance.
On Dec. 13, 2021, Pineda allegedly fell while carrying drywall down a flight of stairs. After seeking medical care, he returned to work with re...
The Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation announced that a woman was ordered to pay more than $55,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to fraud charges for working while collecting benefits.
The BWC said an investigation determined that Deborah Belcher returned to her job as a retail associate and cashier at several businesses in Chillicothe, Circleville and Portsmouth at the same time as she was receiving disability benefits.
Belcher pleaded guilty to a felony count of workers' compensation fraud in March.
She was given a 12-month suspended sentence, placed on unsupervised proba...
WA - Battery Maker Fined $224,320, Shut Down After Lead Exposure Violations
A Washington state battery manufacturer is facing $224,320 in penalties after regulators said it failed to correct dangerous workplace conditions that exposed employees to toxic lead.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited Dyno Battery for 16 safety violations after a follow-up inspection, the agency said Thursday.
Inspectors found that the company had not remedied more than a dozen violations identified in July, despite repeated warnings and deadline extensions. Among the most serious findings was the accumulation of lead dust inside air filtration systems designed ...
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear removed the Department of Workers' Claims from the Education and Labor Cabinet and administratively attached the agency to the governor's office.
Beshear allowed SB 343 to become law without his signature on Thursday. The bill included an emergency declaration and took effect immediately.
A commissioner appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate will continue to lead the department under the bill. However, the commissioner will no longer work directly under the supervision of the governor's education and labor secretary.
The commissioner mus...
