FL - Worker Must File Comp Claim Before Suing Employer
06/17/2025 | 1
Florida workers can't unilaterally decide that an injury explicitly excluded from workers' compensation coverage is not compensable before suing their employers in tort, a state appellate court ruled.
Instead, a worker must file a workers' compensation claim and have a carrier or a judge determine that the injury is not compensable before suing the employer. What's more, the 5th District Court of Appeal said only a judge of compensation claims, not a circuit court judge, can rule on compensability.
Amber N. Spears was working for Steak 'n Shake when a man held her at...
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A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment dismissing a worker’s Labor Law claim based on his injuries from a bridge demolition project.
Case: Montes-Vidal v. New York State Thruway Authority, No. 2021-05138, 05/28/2025, published.
Facts: In 2012, the New York State Thruway Authority entered into a contract with Tappan Zee Constructors LLC to be the design-builder contractor for the Tappan Zee Hudson River Crossing Project, which sought to demolish the Tappan Zee Bridge and build two new bridges.
TZC performed the demolition work on the Tappan Zee Bridge.
Fran...
A New York appellate court ruled that a general contractor was entitled to damages, including prejudgment interest on the judgment in this action and postjudgment interest on the judgment in the underlying action.
Case: Home Depot USA Inc. v. New York, No. 13521, 05/29/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Home Depot USA Inc. was the general contractor for a roofing project. It was sued in federal court by an employee of a subcontractor for injuries the employee suffered while working on the project.
Home Depot asserted third-party claims against the subcontractor for contractual a...
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld the denial of a worker’s request to add a SLAP tear of the right shoulder as a compensable condition in his claim.
Case: Barnett v. Shaft Drillers International LLC, No. 24-725, 05/28/2025, published.
Facts: Russell Barnett worked for Shaft Drillers International LLC. While he was at work on March 2, 2021, Barnett fell off a truck and fractured his right wrist.
A claims administrator for Shaft’s insurance carrier accepted liability for the wrist fracture.
Barnett underwent surgery to repair the fracture. Afterward, as he became able to use...
The date an injured worker realizes he can file a workers’ compensation claim is completely different from the date he knew his disability was caused by a specific job, according to a recently published decision from the 4th District Court of Appeal analyzing how to determine the date of injury on a cumulative trauma claim.
In the case of Travelers Indemnity Co. v. WCAB (Zeber), the appellate court was asked to determine what the date of injury was for applicant George Zeber’s cumulative trauma claim. Zeber had played for the New York Yankees and last playe...
A Louisiana appellate court upheld an award of benefits to a woman for her injuries from a fall in the parking lot adjacent to her workplace after she arrived to begin her workday.
Case: Lawless v. PAE Holding Corp., No. 25-41, 05/21/2025, published.
Facts: Deanne Lawless worked for PAE Holding Corp. as an auditor. PAE is a contractor that performed work at Fort Johnson.
Lawless was a salaried employee paid to work from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. but was told to record all hours worked.
She suffered injuries in July 2022 when she exited her vehicle in a parking lot adjacent to her workpla...
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division on Monday published a bulletin explaining how to calculate self-insured employer premium assessments for the fiscal year that starts July 1.
Self-insureds can choose premium assessments using either a “normal plan” or a retrospective rating plan.
The normal plan modifies the manual premium by experience rating and applies a premium discount to determine how much is owed. The alternative is a one-year retrospective rating plan for calculating premium assessments based on a review of prior-year experience.
The WCD said all forms and ...
The Louisiana Association of Self Insured Employers is holding its 2025 Legislative Recap and Open Forum July 9 in Baton Rouge.
In addition to reviewing legislative activities of 2025, the event will also feature sessions identifying key cost drivers in the state's work comp system, as well as work comp best practices.
Other sessions will explore defense litigation strategies and the foundation of fee schedules.
The 2025 Legislative Recap and Open Forum is from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 9 at the Queen Baton Rouge.
More information is here.
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A California appellate court upheld the denial of a special motion to strike a malicious prosecution action filed by an employer against a law firm and three attorneys who represented a former employee in a wrongful termination suit against it.
Victoria Flores worked for Parter Medical Products. In February 2018, she filed a workers’ compensation claim related to an injury to her right hand and wrist. Flores hired Dominguez Firm LLP to handle her claim.
In September 2019, an attorney representing Parter’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier sent a letter to Dominguez Fi...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law claim based on his injuries from moving a cart.
Case: Nyanteh v. 590 Madison Avenue LLC, No. 150077/21, 595417/21, and 595710/21, 05/27/2025, published.
Facts: Chris Nyanteh suffered injuries while moving a cart loaded with several heavy metal sheets. As Nyanteh was moving the cart, one of the wheels caught on some debris, causing the cart and sheets to tip over and onto him.
Procedural history: Nyanteh filed suit against 590 Madison Avenue LLC, asserting a claim for a violation of Labor Law Sec...
A New York appellate court ruled that a worker was entitled to partial summary judgment on his Labor Law claim for a trip-and-fall accident and that the defendants were entitled to summary judgment on their cross-claims as well.
Case: Bowden v. Summit Glory Property LLC, No. 159509/18, 05/27/2025, published.
Facts: John Bowden was a union contractor for Cord Contracting Co. Inc. He suffered injuries when he tripped on a portion of unsecured Masonite that covered finished flooring in a hallway of the leased commercial space in a building owned by Summit Glory Property LLC.
Booking Holdi...
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a determination that a worker had a 20% permanent partial disability from occupational pneumoconiosis.
Case: Puleo v. Coronado Group LLC, No. 24-646, 05/28/2025, published.
Facts: Lonnie R. Puleo worked for Coronado Group LLC. He filed a workers’ compensation claim in October 2021, asserting that he had been exposed to the hazards of occupational pneumoconiosis for 14 years before July 2021.
A claims administrator for Coronado’s insurance carrier held the claim compensable and indicated Puleo was entitled to a rebu...
NY - State Proposes Legal Remedies for Unaddressed Workplace Hazards
New York lawmakers are considering a bill that would create a time limit for regulators to address safety hazards in state-run facilities to avoid lawsuits tied to injured or killed workers.
S. 8441, introduced Thursday and referred to the Senate Rules Committee, addresses situations in which the commissioner of labor neglected orders to investigate and remediate workplace safety issues in state-operated facilities, leading “to injuries that could have been prevented, as well as a climate of danger and fear for workers and clients alike,” according to a summary of the bill.
The b...
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has released updated versions of publications related to regulations that take effect on Sept. 1, 2025.
The publications include:
California Workers’ Compensation Uniform Statistical Reporting Plan-1995 (USRP).
California Workers’ Compensation Experience Rating Plan-1995 (ERP).
Miscellaneous Regulations for the Recording and Reporting of Data-1995 (Miscellaneous Regulations).
California Basic Underwriting Manual.
Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara approved changes to the USRP, ERP and Miscellaneou...
The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that a widow was not eligible to receive schedule loss compensation as a surviving spouse.
Bohdanus Byk worked for Republic Steel. He slipped and fell from a platform in August 2012, suffering severe head injuries. Byk remained in a persistent vegetative state for almost three years until he died.
Before Byk’s death, an application was filed with the Industrial Commission, seeking schedule loss compensation for his loss of use of his arms, hands, legs and feet.
A district hearing officer awarded schedule loss compensation to Byk on the same day t...
A California appellate court has ordered publication of a decision from last month that held a workers’ compensation judge’s erroneous admission of reports that were not listed in the pretrial conference statement should not have been reviewed for harmlessness.
In DPR Construction v. WCAB (McClanahan), No. C102117, the 3rd District Court of Appeal said Labor Code Section 5502 establishes the bounds of discretion for a WCJ for keeping discovery open after the mandatory settlement conference, and a violation of the statute requires annulment of the Workers’ Compensat...
