FL - Firefighter's Arrhythmia-Based Condition Qualifies as Heart Disease
09/25/2026 | 0
A Florida appellate court upheld a finding that a firefighter’s arrhythmia-based heart condition qualified as heart disease that presumptively was caused by her employment.
Chelsea Illeck joined the fire department in the Villages Community Development District as a full-time firefighter in 2014.
Illeck underwent a preemployment physical that showed no evidence of heart disease, but in 2023, she began suffering chest pain, shortness of breath and a racing heart while transporting a patient.
Doctors diagnosed supraventricular tachycardia, an abnormal heart rhythm.
Read More
The Louisiana Supreme Court upheld a determination that a casino employee was entitled to benefits for her injuries from a fall she sustained as she was arriving for work, but overturned her award of fees and penalties.
In Ralser v. Harrah’s New Orleans, No. 2026-C-00657, the court noted that generally, injuries sustained when an employee is traveling to and from work are not considered to have occurred within the course and scope of her employment, and thus are not compensable.
“While an exception to the ‘going and coming’ rule was found applicable here, the employer
The Connecticut Appellate Court upheld default judgment against an employer for failing to pay its workers’ compensation insurance premiums.
Case: Wesco Insurance Co. v. Martins Drywall LLC, No. AC 48000, 09/22/2026, published.
Facts: Wesco Insurance Co. is a New Hampshire corporation authorized to do business in Connecticut. It contracted with Martins Drywall LLC to provide workers’ compensation and employers' liability coverage from July 2020 to July 2021, from July 2021 to July 2022, and from July 2022 to April 2023.
Pursuant to the parties’ agreement, Martins agree
The Nevada Workers’ Compensation Section has scheduled fourth-quarter training sessions in October.
All times are Pacific. The sessions are:
11 a.m. Oct. 7 — WCS workers’ compensation and Nevada employers.
11 a.m. Oct. 14 — C-4 form healthcare provider responsibilities and coverage verification service (CVS).
11 a.m. Oct. 21 — deep dive into D-35.
11 a.m. Oct. 28 — medical billing.
WCS training sessions are conducted on Teams. Training is free, and all materials are provided.
To register, click on the desired session
(Editor’s note: This is the second of a three-part series about artificial intelligence in California workers’ compensation.)
Artificial intelligence isn’t just a law firm problem that stays behind closed doors. When a defense attorney decides to outsource his brain to a robot with the legal judgment of an overconfident first-year law student, the consequences don’t stay in counsel’s office; they land squarely on the claim file.
When defense counsel makes a reckless AI blunder, the file takes a very long, very expensive detour. Algorithms don’t ca
The Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has scheduled an in-depth web discussion on workers' compensation fraud, set for Oct. 21.
Former Orange County prosecutor Shaddi Kamiabipour and former major case investigator Teena Barton will share practical lessons from the front lines of fraud investigations, enforcement actions and prosecutions.
Professionals in claims, underwriting, premium audit, legal or compliance will gain valuable perspective on how fraud concerns are identified, evaluated and addressed across California’s workers’ comp
Rising Medical Solutions released its 13th annual Workers' Compensation Benchmarking Study Report on Thursday, revealing execution patterns that separate high-performing claims organizations.
The report explores the question: Why do organizations pursuing similar priorities achieve such varied outcomes?
Using the study's signature comparison of higher performers (organizations with claim closure ratios of 101% or greater) and lower performers (100% or below), the answer is clear: Execution makes all the difference.
The conclusions are based on a nationwi
The New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division overturned a judge’s order allowing an injured worker to pursue damages from his employer for a work-related injury as part of his claim that his employer discriminated against him because of the injury and his pursuit of workers’ compensation benefits.
Dane Haskins worked for Ekornes Inc. He filed a workers’ compensation claim for a shoulder injury from December 2020.
Ekornes settled the claim in November 2022. Under the terms of the agreement, Haskins received $85,995 in permanent disability benefits.
In January 20
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld an award of attorney fees to a worker, finding that an administrator’s failure to include a back strain as a compensable component of the claim was unreasonable.
Case: Stonerise Healthcare v. Dewitt, No. 26-208. 09/22/2026, published.
Facts: Kimberly Dewitt worked for Stonerise Healthcare. She saw Dr. Lindsay Weglinski in October 2023 with complaints of pain in her knee and back.
Dewitt reported that she had tripped at work on an uneven floor and landed on her left knee.
Weglinski diagnosed a contusion of the left knee and a back strain. She rel
Sacramento, CA — September 15, 2026 — APEX Investigation® today named Jeff Kool as Chief Operating Officer. Kool was the company’s first employee nearly thirty years ago before departing for a career in law enforcement — one that concludes this year with his retirement from the Roseville Police Department after over 23 years of service.
“Jeff, who nearly three decades ago was APEX&
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his alleged injuries from a fall from a ladder.
Case: Nunez v. Trustees of Columbia University, No. 2025-11616, 09/16/2026, published.
Facts: Guillermo Nunez allegedly was injured while working in an apartment building owned by the Trustees of Columbia University.
Nunez claimed that he was applying a finishing coat of plaster to the ceiling when a ladder he was using moved and he fell.
Procedural history: Nunez filed suit against the trustees, asserting a claim for a violatio
NE - Court Upholds Denial of Worker's Second Shoulder Injury Claim
A Nebraska appeals court on Tuesday upheld the denial of workers' compensation benefits for a Smithfield Foods Inc. employee who claimed she injured her left shoulder by relying on that arm to compensate for limitations caused by a work-related right shoulder injury.
Thuraiya Alhatel worked as a bacon arranger at Smithfield’s food processing plant in Crete, Nebraska. She sustained a compensable right shoulder injury in 2020 and underwent surgery in January 2021 before returning to modified duties, according to Thuraiya Alhatel v. Smithfield Foods Inc., an unpublished decision f
A New York appellate court upheld a finding that an injured worker was not entitled to permanent total disability benefits.
Case: Matter of Alexander v. New York City Department of Homeless Services, No. CV-25-1005, 09/17/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: William Alexander worked for the New York City Department of Homeless Services. He suffered injuries at work in April 2020 and established a workers’ compensation claim for injuries to his left hip, left knee and back.
A workers’ compensation law judge denied Alexander’s claim for permanent total disabili
A Texas appellate court ruled that a worker injured in a motor vehicle accident failed to establish the intentional injury exception to exclusivity.
Roberto Huerta worked for Swabco Inc. On Oct. 26, 2021, he and a co-worker, Rafael Mendoza, were traveling in a Swabco truck along Highway 181 when the truck veered off the road and crashed.
Huerta alleged that before the accident, he “reported experiencing problems with the vehicle’s suspension to his supervisor — both orally and by text message — and expressed concern that continuing to use the vehicle in that cond
A federal appellate court rejected a petition by a worker seeking a higher fee award for his attorney.
Case: Hill v. OWCP, No. 24-7861, 09/18/2026, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Jerry Hill hired attorney Charles Robinowitz to pursue a claim under the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act.
Robinowitz secured an award for Hill, then sought fees for his services calculated at an hourly rate of $675.
An administrative law judge awarded fees at an hourly rate of $617. The Benefits Review Board affirmed.
Analysis: The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said an AL
A New York appellate court upheld a determination that a worker who fell into a hole after unknowingly removing its cover was not entitled to summary judgment on her Labor Law claims.
Case: Jacobs v. March Construction/Consulting, No. 2024-09020, 09/16/2026, published.
Facts: Lillian Jacobs allegedly suffered injuries while working at a construction site, cleaning a parking area. While sweeping on the ground floor, Jacobs saw a piece of wood that she believed was debris, picked it up and uncovered an approximately 10-foot hole. She then fell in.
Procedural history: Jacob
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries proposes a 4.9% increase in the average hourly rate paid for workers’ compensation insurance in 2027.
The increase would raise the cost of coverage by about $1.44 a week per full-time employee. Employers pay about 75% of the premium, and workers pay the remainder.
L&I cited the rising cost of wage replacement and medical benefits to workers injured on the job or who develop a work-related illness.
L&I does not intend to pass on the full increase to employers and workers;
