AZ - Delay in Worker's Report of Injury Doesn't Defeat Claim
12/18/2025 | 0
The Arizona Court of Appeals upheld an award of benefits to a worker for his knee injuries despite his lengthy delay in filing his claim.
Michael Beierle worked for Transact Campus. He allegedly felt a popping sensation in his knees while working in California in August 2021. He complained of pain to a co-worker, and he reported an injury to an off-site supervisor that day.
Beierle saw physician assistant Anthony Nelson about three weeks later. Nelson noted significant left knee swelling and recommended an ultrasound.
The ultrasound showed a possible meniscus tear in the left knee. In ...
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A New York appellate court reinstated a Labor Law claim by a kitchen cabinet installer against a builder for his injuries from a fall.
Case: Sullivan v. Flynn, No. CV-24-1643, 12/04/2025, published.
Facts: The owners of a property contracted with Gerald Flynn to build them a new home. The owners also placed an order for custom kitchen cabinetry with Loren Sullivan.
While construction was underway, Sullivan visited the premises to take measurements of the kitchen. He tripped on a wooden construction brace between the kitchen ceiling and floor, suffering injuries as a result.
Procedural hist...
An Ohio appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for additional temporary total disability benefits after her claim was expanded to include an additional condition.
Case: State ex rel. Williams v. Industrial Commission, No. 24AP-462, 12/04/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Alisa L. Williams worked for Active Day Inc. She suffered injuries to her neck and back at work in April 2021. Williams began receiving temporary total disability benefits.
Dr. Howard A. Pinksy opined that Williams was at maximum medical improvement in August 2023 and that she could retur...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals overturned the denial of a widow’s claim for benefits, finding the Board of Review had failed to properly analyze the Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board’s conclusion that occupational pneumoconiosis had not contributed to a worker’s death.
Case: Gardner v. Murray American Energy, No. 25-ICA-158, 12/04/2025, published.
Facts: Richard Gardner Sr. spent more than 40 years working in jobs that exposed him to the hazards of dust.
The Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board examined him and issued a report in January 2018 in...
With the advent of new case law from the 2nd District Court of Appeal effectively ending the Patterson doctrine, defense attorneys have to question whether the WCAB's en banc decisions in Dubon I and II could eventually be challenged as well.
The appellate court’s decision in Illinois Midwest Insurance Agency v. WCAB (Rodriguez) could impact important Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board decisions on utilization review and independent medical review.
To be more specific, the pivotal WCAB en banc decisions in Dubon v. World Restoration Inc. and...
More than half of the health care providers that the Texas Division of Workers' Compensation audited in 2025 were rated as "high-tier" performers.
The 2025 audits analyzed the completeness of providers' work status reports, including whether the reports included a satisfactory medical explanation for why a worker's injury prevented a return to work. Providers were separately rated on the timeliness of medical evaluation reports.
The division said 68 of the 129 providers whose medical evaluation reports were reviewed for timeliness were rated as high-tier, while ano...
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is holding its 2026 Insurance Summit April 14-15 in Tallahassee.
“Florida has one of the most complex insurance markets in the world, and our upcoming Insurance Summit will bring together top experts, consumer advocates and regulators to discuss Florida’s evolving market,” Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky said in a statement.
The event will feature presentations from OIR officials about the agency's oversight and transparency efforts, as well as national perspectives of insurance regulators from across the country.
Ea...
The Workers Compensation Research Institute is hosting a webinar Jan. 15 to present findings from its recent study, "Psychosocial Factors and Functional Outcomes Following Physical Therapy."
WCRI analyzed data from 65,000 episodes each of knee and shoulder physical therapy from 2021 to 2024 to explore how risk factors such as poor recovery expectations, fear avoidance, poor coping, catastrophizing and perceived injustice affect recovery in injured workers undergoing physical therapy.
The study found that psychosocial risk factors are common among injured workers with knee and shoul...
The Illinois Appellate Court upheld a determination that a subcontractor’s insurance carrier had a duty to defend the general contractor from a civil suit by the subcontractor’s injured employee.
In March 2017, Greenscape Homes LLC was the general contractor for a residential development. Greenscape hired TBR Construction LLC as a carpentry and framing subcontractor under a standard trade contractor agreement.
The agreement required TBR to name Greenscape as an additional insured at all locations at which TBR performed any work for Greenscape.
TBR was insured under a commercial ...
A New York appellate court upheld the partial summary dismissal of a worker’s Labor Law claims.
Case: Mitchell v. City of New York, No. 2022-04622, 12/03/2025, published.
Facts: Brian Mitchell worked as a dock builder for a project in Flushing Bay on a property owned by the City of New York. Mitchell was tasked with removing old floating dock sections, referred to as finger piers, to allow for dredging in a marina.
The finger piers were approximately 30 feet long and 4 feet wide. They floated on large plastic pontoons.
Mitchell allegedly was injured when he lost his balance afte...
The Iowa Court of Appeals upheld both the a calculation of a traveling nurse’s wages and the assessment of a penalty against her employer.
Case: U.S. Nursing Corp. v. DeCormier, No. 25-0407, 12/03/2025, published.
Facts: Cynthia DeCormier worked for U.S. Nursing Corp. as a traveling nurse. She fell and injured her wrist while working at a hospital in Sioux City.
Under her contract at the time of injury, DeCormier was initially guaranteed 48 hours of work per week at $65 per hour for regular time and $97.50 for overtime, and she received a $10 per hour raise the week before she fe...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to an increase in his permanent partial disability award due to the worsening of his occupational pneumoconiosis.
Case: Cliffs Logan County Coal LLC v. White, No. 25-ICA-250, 12/04/2025, published.
Facts: Forrest White worked for 24 years as an underground coal miner, surface coal miner, fabricator, welder and processing plant worker. All jobs exposed him to occupational dust hazards.
White underwent a computed tomography scan of his chest in July 2020. Dr. Timothy Vanhoose found perip...
The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined a Connecticut contractor more than $1.2 million for allegedly failing to protect workers from cave-in and excavation hazards.
OSHA said it cited Sound Construction in 2023 for violations discovered during an investigation into a workplace fatality. The agency entered a settlement with the company requiring the owner to submit monthly lists of active worksites and allowing random inspections to monitor compliance with trenching and excavation safety standards.
Inspectors who visited a Sound Construction site in June allegedly fou...
WA - State to Consider Expanding PTSD Presumption to Jail Employees
Washington lawmakers could consider a bill that would broaden workers' compensation coverage for post-traumatic stress disorder among employees at local correctional facilities, extending presumptive benefits given to most first responders and registered nurses in the state.
SB 5882, prefiled Monday, would presume that PTSD suffered by local correctional facility workers is an occupational disease if the condition develops after at least 90 consecutive days of employment in Washington.
Employers could rebut the presumption by a preponderance of the evidence, and claims tied directly...
Data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services show the average workers' compensation Medicare set-aside amount has held steady, even as the number of recommendations has decreased, according to Tower MSA.
Data released in November shows the total number of reviews where CMS issued a recommended amount decreased 6.6% to 13,884 in 2025 from 14,862 in 2024.
Tower MSA said the number of reviews in 2025 was down a cumulative 12% compared to the 15,743 that were completed in 2023.
"No reason is provided for the decline; however, the end of (zero-dollar) MSA reviews this p...
A divided North Carolina Supreme Court ruled that an off-duty officer was not jointly employed by the county and the construction company that contracted with the sheriff’s department to secure officers for traffic control services.
Stephen Lassiter worked for the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office, which allowed its law enforcement officers to earn additional income by accepting off-duty employment opportunities.
RCSO’s written policy for off-duty work required officers to obtain the prior approval of the sheriff or his designee before accepting assignments.
In Octobe...