OK - Commissioner Approves CompSource Reorganization Plan
03/11/2026 | 0
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Glen Mulready approved a proposal to transition CompSource Mutual Insurance Co. into a mutual holding company structure.
Under the plan, the workers' compensation carrier would become a stock insurer called CompSource Mutual Insurance Co. S.I.
Policyholders, who still need to approve the plan, would become members of a newly formed CompSource Mutual Holding Co., which would own 100% of the converted stock insurer through an intermediary called CompSource Intermediate Holding Co.
"The plan of reorganization is fair and equitable to the members, an...
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The Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled that a ranch hand’s tick-borne illness was a compensable occupational disease.
Case: Mohler v. Young, No. H304058, 01/28/2026, published.
Facts: Jonathan Mohler worked as a ranch hand for Cross Creek Ranch, a cattle operation consisting of approximately 1,000 acres. Robert Young III is the owner.
Young provided Mohler and his family with a house located on the ranch as part of his employment, and Mohler was on call 24 hours a day.
During his work, Mohler regularly encountered ticks and removed them from his body. In late 2022, he began ex...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker with a permanent partial disability waited too long to request an extreme hardship redetermination.
Case: Matter of Jackson v. New York Foundling Hospital, No. CV-24-0615, 02/11/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Nadine Jackson worked for New York Foundling Hospital as a case planner and social worker. She established a workers’ compensation claim in 2011 for bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome.
Jackson’s claim was later amended to include other conditions, and in 2014, she was classified with a permanent partial disability...
A New York appellate court upheld a 20% schedule loss of use award for a worker’s knee injuries.
Case: Matter of Ayars v. Navillus Tile Co., No. CV-24-1603, 02/22/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Mario Ayars worked for Navillus Tile Co. He established a claim for workers' compensation benefits based on injuries to his right knee.
In August 2020, Dr. Thomas DiBenedetto opined that Ayars had reached maximum medical improvement for his right knee and that a schedule loss of use award was appropriate. In November 2020, Dr. Steven Touliopoulos reached the same conclusion....
When it comes to workers’ compensation claims, the question of who pays an injured employee’s medical expenses is not always clear, especially when a company’s health plan and workers’ compensation coverage are both self-funded.
Which policy is ultimately responsible? The workers’ comp policy or the health plan?
What often happens is that the health plan covers the claim because it’s assumed that one pocket is as good as another. In other words, “It&r...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s request to expand the scope of his claim to add radiculopathy of the lumbosacral spine and degeneration of the lumbar intervertebral disc.
Case: Jimenez v. Almost Heaven GC LLC, No. 25-ICA-310, 02/27/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Javier Jimenez worked for Almost Heaven GC LLC. He allegedly fell while at work in July 2023.
Jimenez sought medical treatment at MedExpress that same day. He was assessed with pain in the left lower limb and a contusion of the left thigh.
Jimenez reported no...
A California lawmaker is bringing back a proposal that would make denying an injured worker's request to receive treatment during working hours a form of discrimination.
Assemblymember Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, on Monday amended AB 2098 to add language that would require injured workers to make a "reasonable effort" to schedule treatment outside of regular work hours. If the reasonable effort fails and treatment is scheduled during the work shift, the employer would be required to allow time off work unless a business necessity requires changing the time or day of the treatment.
B...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation proposed draft regulations regarding disability accommodations that include a process to request blanket authorization for remote appearances before the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board.
Only the statewide disability coordinator for the DWC would be authorized to make blanket offers of accommodations for multiple appearances or proceedings under proposed rules posted to the division's online forum. The statewide coordinator would also have discretion to revoke blanket offers.
The rules would state that requests for specific remo...
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals, in an unpublished decision, ruled that a police officer’s duty disability benefits could not be offset by the workers' compensation benefits he already received.
Kurt Lacina worked as an officer for the Milwaukee Police Department.
In January 2008, Lacina suffered a broken back and neck in a duty-related police squad accident.
Lacina underwent two spinal surgeries and returned to limited-duty work in 2009. Lacina then applied for duty disability retirement benefits based on his physical injuries. Benefits were denied in July 2010.
Lacin...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a health care worker was entitled to benefits for injuries to his left shoulder from being shoved by a patient into a doorway.
Case: Mountain Memories Assisted Living & Retirement Center v. Martin, No. 25-ICA-335, 02/27/2026, published.
Facts: Ricky Martin worked for Mountain Memories Assisted Living & Retirement Center as a patient care assistant.
According to Martin’s supervisor, on the morning of Feb. 2, 2025, Martin told him that about having been pushed by a patient into a door. The supervisor...
A New York appellate court upheld a determination that a worker’s injuries were more amenable to a permanent partial disability classification than a schedule loss-of-use award.
Case: Matter of Foster v. New York State Office of Children and Family Services, No. CV-24-1104, 02/11/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Vincent Foster worked for the New York State Office of Children and Family Services as a youth division aide.
He sustained injuries to his right knee, right elbow, right index finger, right shoulder and low back in 2015, as well as injuries to both of his elbows,...
A New York appellate court upheld a finding that a worker who suffered two back injuries remained disabled by his symptoms from the latter.
Case: Matter of Hummer v. Riccelli Enterprises Inc., No. CV-25-0026, 02/22/2026, published.
Facts and procedural history: Robert Hummer worked for Riccelli Enterprises Inc. He allegedly suffered a back injury at work in May 2022 when a paving machine ran into him as he was raking asphalt.
Hummer filed a workers’ compensation claim, which Riccelli contested. The company denied that the accident had occurred, and even if it had, Riccelli insist...
Utah lawmakers are sending the governor a bill that would create a Firefighter Cancer Benefit Trust Fund that, among other things, aims to reduce workers' compensation costs.
The fund created by HB 416 would be governed by an 11-member board that would be required to consult with firefighters, fire departments and workers' compensation carriers on a study of funding mechanisms.
The board would also be asked to study mechanisms for distributing funds in a way that reduces workers' compensation premiums for policies covering firefighters and provides funding for a firefighter diagn...
The South Carolina Senate confirmed the reappointment of John "Gabe" Coggiola to serve a six-year term on the Workers' Compensation Commission.
Coggiola, who was originally appointed by Gov. Henry McMaster in October 2024, will serve a term running through June 30, 2032.
After receiving his bachelor's and law degrees from the University of South Carolina, Coggiola started his legal career as a law clerk for a federal judge.
After that, he spent more than 16 years in private practice representing employers, insurers and injured workers in workers' compensation matte...
Washington state lawmakers voted to send the governor a bill that would allow the Department of Labor and Industries to implement a pilot program to expedite treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder.
HB 2405, introduced at the request of the department, would allow L&I to work with subject matter experts to create the pilot project that would run through 2030.
Under the pilot, L&I and self-insured employers could authorize treatment for PTSD after an occupational disease claim is filed but before the claim is adjudicated.
On state fund claims, costs incurred for treatment on cla...
A Texas appeals court affirmed summary judgment for a senior living facility in a nurse’s slip-and-fall case, finding the employer had no duty to protect her from naturally accumulated ice and did not assume such a duty by attempting to clear the sidewalks.
As a general rule, property owners don't have a duty to clear naturally occurring ice and snow, and state law imposes no general duty to be a "good Samaritan," the Court of Appeals for the 7th District of Texas said in a decision handed down Wednesday.
However, a duty can arise when a defendant voluntarily provides ser...
