NY - High Court Affirms Prevalence Assessment for COVID-19 Infections
12/01/2025 | 0
New York's top court endorsed a method for workers to prove extraordinary COVID-19 exposure through frequent contact with the public or co-workers in areas where the virus is prevalent.
Family Dollar argued the prevalence assessment used by the State Workers' Compensation Board is inconsistent with the goal of providing coverage for accidental injuries arising out of and in the course of employment, and diseases or infections that "naturally and unavoidably result therefrom."
The company said the high court's holding in Matter of Lerner v. Rump Bros. requires injured wo...
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An Ohio appellate court upheld a finding of overpayment and fraud against an injured worker who concealed his employment while collecting temporary total disability benefits.
Case: Noll v. Industrial Commission, No. 24AP-242, 11/20/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Thomas Noll III worked for Agree Auto Sales Inc. He injured his knee when he fell at work in February 2019.
The Bureau of Workers’ Compensation accepted liability for a knee sprain, anterior cruciate ligament tear right knee, meniscus tear, and an aggravation of Noll’s preexisting osteoarthritis.
In Augu...
The Maryland Appellate Court upheld a jury’s determination that an injured volunteer emergency medical technician was entitled to temporary total disability benefits.
Case: Montgomery County v. Taylor, No. 1167, 11/19/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Patricia Taylor served as a volunteer emergency medical technician for Montgomery County. She sustained a head injury after she was struck by a heavy backboard during a training exercise in August 2016.
Procedural history: After the Workers’ Compensation Commission denied Taylor's workers’ compensation claim, she f...
A Louisiana appellate court upheld the denial of a worker’s request for permanent total disability benefits for a back injury.
Case: Marshall v. City of Winnsboro, No. 56,553-WCA, 11/19/2025, published.
Facts: Jay Marshall worked as a supervisor in the Winnsboro water department. He injured his back at work in November 2012 and filed a workers’ compensation claim.
Procedural history: A workers’ compensation judge found Marshall was entitled to temporary total disability benefits from September 2013 through November 2013, and that he was entitled to supplemental earning ben...
San Diego, California - 11/14/2025 - Dietz, Gilmor & Chazen, APC, a California statewide law firm practicing exclusively in workers' compensation defense, subrogation, asbestos, Labor Code §132a, and serious and willful misconduct claims, promotes Peter M. Golden, Esq. to Partner.
Mr. Golden is a Partner based out of the San Diego office of Die...
In 1952 (over 73 years ago) the California Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Subsequent Injuries Benefits Trust Fund in the Patterson case (17 CCC 142). But not only did the court uphold SIBTF constitutionally, they therein set forth the basis of how SIBTF benefits would be paid.
The court gives the example of the one-eyed man, stating:
“Workers’ Compensation laws of various states and the federal government contain provisions for additional compensation to be paid from a fund (rather than by the employer or his workers’ compensation insurance ca...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his injuries from a fall from a makeshift plank platform.
Case: DaSilva v. Super P57 LLC, No. 160766/17, 11/18/2025, published.
Facts: Ivoir DaSilva allegedly suffered injuries from a fall while working on a construction project. According to DaSilva, he was standing on a plank about four feet above a metal awning when the unsecured plank suddenly shifted and caused him to fall onto the awning.
Procedural history: DaSilva filed suit against Super P57 LLC, asserting claims for violation...
The total assessment factor for insured employers will increase by a little more than 3% in 2026, according to notices the California Department of Industrial Relations sent last week.
The combined assessment factor that will be applied to insured employers' premiums for 2026 is 5.191%, up from 5.038%. The assessment pays for operations of the Division of Workers' Compensation and Workers' Compensation Appeals Board also finances the second injury fund, uninsured employers fund, fraud investigations and labor law and workplace safety compliance and monitoring.
The notices show th...
Workers' compensation premiums will increase by an average of 4.9% next year, the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries announced.
As a result of the increase, employers and workers will pay an average of $1.37 more per week for each full-time position, the department said. Employers pay about 75% of premiums while workers pay about a quarter.
The department said rates are increasing to keep up with the rising cost of indemnity and medical benefits. The agency also said the increase is less than what it expects it will need to cover 2026 claim costs, but that it plans to us...
The Oklahoma Insurance Department has not approved a proposal to privatize CompSource Mutual Insurance Co., contrary to assertions made by the chairman of its board of directors.
The Oklahoman reports that CompSource on Nov. 4 posted a notice on its website about a proposal its board approved in April to convert from a mutual insurance company into a stock insurance company. The notice highlighted what the company sees as the benefits of the proposal and included a link to a letter by
Randal Allen, chairman of the board, asking policyholders to support the plan.
The letter says that th...
New York's highest court said the State Workers' Compensation Board was not required to consider the prevalence of COVID-19 in the workplace when it rejected pandemic-related stress claims.
Three transit workers and a teacher filed workers' compensation claims for post-traumatic stress disorder from workplace exposure to COVID-19 during the early days of the pandemic.
The State Workers' Compensation Board held that the workers failed to demonstrate they were exposed to greater stress than their colleagues and therefore did not establish the accidental nature of their injuries...
The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a judge’s allocation of 84% of a worker’s third-party recovery as damages for his pain and suffering.
Case: Weir v. Shawnlee Construction LLC, No. 24-P-1170, 11/18/2025, unpublished.
Facts: John Weir worked as an electrician for a construction project overseen by Erland Construction Inc. A set of stairs collapsed under Weir while he was working on the project, causing him to fall and sustain injuries. Shawnlee Construction LLC had installed the stairs.
Weir was out of work for approximately two years after the accident. The Liberty Mutual I...
A federal appellate court chastised an injured worker’s attorney for failing to consult the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in seeking the dismissal of a third-party tort claim and vacated the prejudice that had been attached to the dismissal.
Case: Connelly v. Daystar Builders Inc., No. 24-2148, 11/17/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Robert Connelly worked for A&M Fire Protection LLC. In July 2021, Connelly fell approximately 20 feet from an attic area to the concrete floor below while working on a renovation project at the LaVale Library in Allegany County, Maryland.
Conne...
An Ohio appellate court upheld a denial of relief to a worker allowing her to challenge a district hearing officer’s denial of her workers’ compensation claim based on the alleged failure of her attorney to receive notice of that decision.
Case: McCormack v. Ashtabula County Medical Center, No. 24AP-270, 11/13/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Angela M. McCormack worked for the Ashtabula County Medical Center, a self-insuring employer.
She filed a workers’ compensation claim in September 2020.
McCormack and her attorney attended a hearing in December 2020 bef...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for his fall from a ladder.
Case: Molina v. Chatham Towers Inc., No. 156785/21, 11/18/2025, published.
Facts: Pablo Molina allegedly suffered injuries from a fall from an unsecured A-frame ladder he was using to remove insulation coverings from ceiling pipes. He claims the ladder suddenly moved and fell while he worked at the top of it.
According to Molina’s supervisor, the supervisor set up the ladder, climbed it to show Molina which pipe coverings to cut and remove, and th...
WorkCompCentral is holding its 2025 annual rating workshop Dec. 13.
The program will feature an update on cases involving rating and apportionment and a review of what judges are looking for when deciding rating issues.
Presenters will discuss current issues with the application of the 5th edition of the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, underutilized issues in the application of the AMA Guides and their use for Almaraz/Guzman ratings.
Other topics include what constitutes substantial evidence for medical and vocational expert reports and c...
The Illinois Appellate Court rejected an injured police officer's challenges to the proper date of commencement for his disability pension payments and the amount of those benefits.
Berwyn police officer Michael Vokac was injured in March 2020 attempting to subdue a combative individual.
He underwent multiple surgeries but was never able to return to duty.
Vokac collected benefits pursuant to the Public Employee Disability Act while undergoing treatment. These PEDA benefits paid Vokac his full salary, and pension contributions were deducted from the payments.
Vokac’s PE...
