UT - Supreme Court Says Employer Waived Limitations Defense by Failing to Seek Relief
08/24/2026 | 0
The Utah Supreme Court ruled that an employer waived a limitations defense by not seeking relief on it, and that an administrative law judge’s ruling on the issue did not preserve it for appeal.
Chinyu James Sun worked for Darden Restaurant. He was working in the kitchen at a St. George Olive Garden in July 2020 when he slipped and fell.
Two of Sun’s co-workers helped him to his feet, and he finished his shift.
He filed a workers’ compensation claim but did not notify his employer of his injuries within 180 days of the accident.
Utah Code Section 34A-2-407(2)(a) requ
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A recently amended bill would add naturopathic doctors to the list of providers who are allowed to serve as primary treating physicians in California's workers' compensation system.
Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, on Thursday amended SB 1303, a sunset review bill originally intended to authorize the California Board of Naturopathic Medicine to continue operating through 2031, to also propose expanding their scope of practice.
Adding naturopathic doctors to the list of providers included in Labor Code Section 3209.3 would allow them to serve as the primary treating physicians, making the
The Sacramento Bee on Friday reported that the California Department of Industrial Relations has tapped into the revolving fund for projects and expenses that it could not connect to administering the state's workers' compensation system over the last six years.
California employers pay an annual assessment to finance the Workers' Compensation Administration Revolving Fund. Labor Code Section 62.5 says money in the account can be used only for the administration of the workers' compensation program and the $120 million Return-to-Work Supplement Program.
The Bee reports
The California Supreme Court will answer whether the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board can apply equitable tolling to act on a petition for reconsideration beyond the 60 days allowed under the Labor Code in a decision set to be published at 10 a.m. Monday.
The high court's opinion in Mayor v. WCAB (Ross Valley Sanitation District) will also address whether the 45-day deadline for a party to appeal to a higher court can also be extended when the board stalls.
In 2024, the 1st Appellate District Court of Appeal ruled that the WCAB exceeded its jurisdiction when it granted reconsidera
An injured worker picked up her prescription for diclofenac 2% gel, a common generic topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug used to treat pain, at her local Walgreens. Walgreens charged $53.64 for the drug.
But the worker was urged to switch pharmacies. She was steered to a “workers’
compensation” pharmacy that charged the employer $2,955.02 for the same drug — more than 55 times the Walgreens price.
There is nothing exceptional about this scenario. Some workers’ compensation pharmacies charge up to 100 times more than normal retail pharmacies.
Workers
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination that a worker was entitled to expand the scope of his claim and to receive additional medical treatment.
Case: ACNR Resources Inc. v. McGinnis, No. 26-ICA-41, 08/06/2026, published.
Facts: Jared McGinnis worked for ACNR Resources Inc. He went to the hospital in December 2024 and reported that an object had struck his right knee while he was at work, causing him to fall.
The clinical impression was a right knee strain.
McGinnis saw Dr. Charles Milton two days later. Milton’s impression was a lateral knee c
The Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that an employer’s responsibility for attorney fees incurred by a worker who pursued a third-party claim is initially subtracted from the amount available in subrogation from the amount the worker recovers, and that the employer is entitled to immediate recoupment of benefits already paid.
Case: K-VA-T Food Stores Inc. v. Blackburn, No. 2025-SC-0335-WC, 08/20/2026, published.
Facts: Chantella Blackburn worked for K-VA-T Food Stores. She suffered work-related injuries in February 2022 when she fell from a stepladder onto a third-party vendor’s cart
The National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending a 7.4% rate cut, effective Jan. 1, according to the Florida Phoenix.
The media outlet reports that the proposed reduction is driven largely by a reduction in the frequency of lost-time claims.
The website for the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says the NCCI filing submitted Friday is subject to copyright laws and cannot be downloaded, copied or printed.
All NCCI filings have been blocked from public viewing, the agency said.
OIR did not respond to a public records request for a copy of the filing on Friday.
The Court of Appeals of the State of New Mexico ruled that the aggregate 700-week limit on benefits requires reducing the death benefit awarded to the widow of a firefighter who died from a form of cancer.
Frank Clark Di Luzio had worked as a firefighter in Santa Fe for more than 20 years when he retired in August 2001. In January 2012, he was diagnosed with mantle cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. He became physically unable to work and was disabled from working until he died June 2, 2021, at 66.
Di Luzio filed a workers' compensation claim in June 2012 and was awarded permanent total di
A New York appellate court revived a worker’s negligence claim for his injuries from an alleged fall from a defective ladder.
Case: Liu v. J.H. Electric of New York Inc., No. 2024-10763, 08/12/2026, published.
Facts: James Liu worked for the American Museum of Natural History. The museum hired J.H. Electric of New York Inc. as an independent contractor for a project.
Liu allegedly suffered injuries while climbing a ladder owned by J.H. Electric when one of the rungs cracked, causing him to fall and sustain injuries.
Procedural history: Liu filed suit against J.H. Electric, asserting
A divided Illinois appellate court ruled that a worker did not exceed his allowable selection of two physicians to treat his compensable injury.
Case: Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Co. v. IWCC, No. 5-25-0964WC, 08/13/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Brian McClanahan worked for Heartland Coca-Cola Bottling Co. He reported an injury to his arm from pulling a dolly while working in June 2022.
McClanahan went on a previously scheduled vacation the two weeks following the alleged accident. He sought medical treatment when he returned.
A nurse practitioner diagnosed McClanahan with a rupture of the righ
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a determination expanding a worker’s claim to include additional conditions.
Case: Townley Engineering & Manufacturing Co. Inc. v. Austin, No. 26-ICA-167, 08/06/2026, published.
Facts: Richard Austin worked for Townley Engineering & Manufacturing Co. Inc. He filed a workers’ compensation claim in October 2022, asserting that he had injured his back in a fall.
Austin had a history of lower back problems, including mild degenerative disc disease at L3-4 with minimal mid levoscoliosis that was revealed in
The cap on the amount that Oregon employers can reimburse carriers for medical costs on accepted, nondisabling claims will stay at $2,600 next year, the Division of Workers' Compensation announced.
Insured employers can pay carriers for medical expenses incurred on medical-only claims to offset the effect that the claim might have on their experience rating modification.
Carriers must send employers a notice of their reimbursement rights before the start of each policy year.
"Reimbursed medical costs cannot in any way be used to affect the employer's experience rati
A federal judge dismissed with prejudice a proposed class action complaint alleging that a workers' compensation carrier's website collected data in violation of California's online privacy laws.
Emily Rodriguez initially alleged that Accident Fund Holdings Inc. violated the California privacy laws by using undisclosed tracking cookies on its website in her lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Accident Fund removed the case to federal court.
"Because plaintiff denies entering any genuinely private information — either demographics, interests and preferen
The Superior Court of New Jersey’s Appellate Division upheld an award of temporary total disability benefits to a worker for a knee injury after his treating surgeon had cleared him to return to full-duty work.
Case: Munoz v. Costco, No. A-3829-24, 08/12/2026, unpublished.
Facts: Ricardo Munoz was working part time at Costco in January 2022 when he injured his right knee while helping a customer lift a generator into a truck.
Munoz immediately reported the injury to a manager and sought medical treatment. He was diagnosed with a right knee medial meniscal tear and extensive chondromal