OR - Defendants Not Liable for Worker's Death From Carpool Accident
10/20/2025 | 0
The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld the summary dismissal of a civil action against multiple defendants over a worker who suffered fatal injuries in an accident while commuting to the jobsite.
Amberglen South SR Development LLC owned a property under construction. Katerra Construction LLC was the general contractor for the project. NW Framing & Construction LLC and Six Stars Construction LLC were subcontractors.
Pablo Ortiz Franco and his brother, Niceforo Ruben Ortiz Franco, both worked for Six Stars.
Joel Valdez Covarrubias also worked on the project. He paid Ruben Franco $8 ...
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A New York appellate court ruled that a worker failed to demonstrate a causal relationship between his established disability and his alleged consequential psychological injuries.
Case: Matter of Cho v. New York City Transit Authority, No. CV-24-0453, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts: Henry Cho worked for the New York City Transit Authority. He established a workers’ compensation claim in 2019 for the exacerbation of a preexisting chemical sensitivity, stemming from exposure to chemicals and fumes at work.
After the Transit Authority reassigned Cho to work in a different location, his doc...
A New York appellate court upheld the denial of benefits for a worker injured in a fall on a public sidewalk as she was headed to work.
Case: Matter of Ericson v. FOJP Service Corp., No. CV-24-0499, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts: Kimberly A. Ericson worked for FOJP Service Corp. She filed a workers’ compensation claim, alleging that she sustained various injuries when she tripped and fell on a public sidewalk while on her way to work.
Procedural history: A workers’ compensation law judge found that Ericson had suffered compensable injuries.
The Workers' Compen...
A New York appellate court upheld a determination that an employer’s surveillance footage did not establish that a worker misrepresented her physical condition and capabilities.
Case: In the Matter of Harmon v. Faxton Sunset St. Luke's Health Care Center Inc., No. CV-24-0786, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Ewelina Harmon was a nurse at Faxton Sunset St. Luke's Health Care Center Inc. A patient punched her in the face twice in October 2021, causing a concussion, a fractured nose and neurological symptoms.
Harmon filed a workers’ compensation claim an...
I recently spoke at the Fall Educational Conference of the National Structured Settlement Trade Association. The topic was how structured settlement brokers can add value to mediation. I described three techniques you can remember using the acronym TAG.
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Brokers are often more fluent in issues such as resources for setting up a special needs trust or compliance with a Medicare set-aside than the mediator or the lawyers. Brokers are certainly the most expert in explaining offers and demands set forth in the form of a structured settlement. The structured settlement broker ca...
The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld a jury verdict rejecting an injured worker’s claim for wrongful termination.
Case: King v. VS Wallingford LLC, No. 3217 EDA 2024, 10/14/2025, unpublished.
Facts: William King worked as the maintenance director for an assisted living facility run by VS Wallingford LLC. He slipped and twisted his knee at work in May 2019.
King reported his injury to Wallingford, and he was provided with workers’ compensation claim forms to complete.
King also went to see a doctor, who imposed restrictions on his work activities.
King was able to attend all ...
The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that the terms of a worker’s settlement did not bar her pursuit of a claim against her employer for an allegedly unpaid balance owed to a treatment provider.
Case: Wagner v. Food Lion LLC, No. 0318-24-1, 10/14/2025, unpublished.
Facts and procedural history: Hessie Wagner worked for Food Lion LLC. She injured her right shoulder at work in March 2010.
The Workers’ Compensation Commission granted Wagner total disability and lifetime medical benefits.
In 2013, the parties sought approval of a compromise settlement of Wagner’s claims.
...
Registration has opened for the 2026 Oregon Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, set for May 7-8, 2026, in Wilsonville.
The conference will feature training on the state's workers’ compensation system, updates on case law, national trends and more.
The cost for the conference is $350 per person before March 31 and $425 after that date.
The conference will be held at the Holiday Inn Portland I-5 South, 25425 SW 95th Ave. in Wilsonville. Organizers have reserved a block of rooms for attendees.
Early bird hotel pricing is available here.
The ...
The Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a finding that a grocery store cashier suffered a compensable knee injury while walking to take a break on a busy day at work.
Nancy Anderson worked for Fred Meyer Stores Inc. as a cashier. Her job required her to stand for long periods and to pivot as she checked groceries.
Anderson had sought medical treatment for knee pain and had been diagnosed with possible osteoarthritis in her knees before her pain allegedly worsened over the course of three weeks in July 2021.
Anderson was very busy at work during this time because many of her co-workers were out s...
A Florida appellate court upheld a determination that an injured worker was terminated for misconduct and was not entitled to temporary partial disability benefits after he lost his job.
Case: Cobb v. TECO Energy Inc., No. 1D2024-0787, 10/15/2025, published.
Facts: Leroy Cobb Jr. worked for TECO Energy Inc. He injured his wrist at work in March 2023.
Cobb was released to light-duty work after the accident, and TECO accommodated his restrictions.
TECO fired Cobb in May 2023 based on reports that he had been sitting in a truck, doing nothing, while on company time.
Cobb received unempl...
A New York appellate court ruled that a defendant was entitled to partial summary judgment dismissing an injured worker’s Labor Law claims against it, but the worker could proceed with his negligence claim.
Case: DeMarco v. C.A.C. Industries Inc., No. 2020-05979, 10/08/2025, published.
Facts: Peter DeMarco worked for the City of New York Department of Environmental Protection. C.A.C. Industries Inc. hired his employer to provide a backhoe loader and an operating engineer for repair work at an excavation site in Queens in January 2017. DeMarco claimed that the excavation walls coll...
A federal appellate court has asked the Virginia Supreme Court to weigh in on whether the state's Overhead High Voltage Line Safety Act was implicated by the circumstances surrounding a worker’s fatal electric shock and whether the act’s indemnification provision was triggered by the facts of the case.
Case: A&N Electric Cooperative v. Dietzel Enterprises Inc., No. 24-1742, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts: Accomack County, Virginia, owns a radio communications tower. The county hired an engineering firm to assess the structural integrity of the tower, and the compa...
An Ohio appellate court ruled that a trial judge lacked subject matter jurisdiction over an estate’s claim against a worker’s former employer for his alleged asbestos exposure.
Case: Terrell v. Ford Motor Co., No. 114613, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: Luverdis Eugene Warner died in July 2018. His estate filed a complaint against Ford Motor Co., asserting that Warner had been employed by Ford from March 1976 until June 2002 and that, during his employment, he was exposed to asbestos, which ultimately caused his death from asbestos-related lung cancer.
...
A New York appellate court upheld the partial summary dismissal of a worker’s Labor Law claims for his injuries from removing debris at a construction site.
Case: Murillo v. Downtown NYC Owner LLC, No. 152211/17, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts: Luis Murillo worked for JT Magen. He allegedly suffered injuries while pushing containers filled with debris at a construction site.
Procedural history: Murillo filed suit against Downtown NYC Owner LLC, Clarion Partners LLC, Murray Hill Properties LLC and MHP Real Estate and Services LLC, asserting claims for negligence and violations of th...
The Workers Compensation Research Institute released a study that indicates per-claim medical costs in California's comp system rose 5%.
The study is part of WCRI's CompScope Medical Benchmarks line of analysis.
“Payments per claim to both non-hospital and hospital providers increased in 2023, which was a shift compared with prior years,” said Sebastian Negrusa, WCRI vice president of research. “If you are a policymaker or stakeholder in the California workers’ compensation system, this study provides critical perspectives on how the system is performing compa...
An Ohio appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a widow’s occupational disease claim as time-barred.
Case: Foreback v. Accuspray Application Technologies, No. 114813, 10/09/2025, published.
Facts and procedural history: William Foreback worked for Accuspray Application Technologies before he died in 2018.
His widow filed a workers’ compensation claim for benefits from another employer. The Industrial Commission denied the claim because this employer had not employed Foreback in Ohio.
After receiving the commission’s disallowance decision in April 2021, the widow f...
