CA - WCAB Assesses $40k in Sanctions for Misuse of Reconsideration
05/20/2024 | 0
The Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board sanctioned an attorney and a hearing representative a combined $40,000 for requesting reconsideration to delay proceedings.
The board in an en banc decision published Thursday said eight reconsideration requests filed by hearing rep Lance Garrett and verified by attorney Susan Garrett were frivolous and that the proposed sanctions of $2,500 for each violation, $20,000 apiece total, were appropriate.
“Susan Garrett and Lance Garrett halted trial proceedings in eight cases by filing petitions for reconsideration that were indisputably without...
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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will decide whether general contractors can be denied statutory employer status if they have not paid benefits to a subcontractor’s injured employee and whether the statutory employer defense is waivable.
Last year, the state Superior Court relieved McCarthy Construction Inc. of liability for a nearly $5.6 million jury verdict in favor of Jason Yoder on the basis that McCarthy was his statutory employer.
McCarthy was the general contractor for a project to repair the Norwood Public Library. It subcontracted the roofing work to Yoder’s...
The New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division upheld the denial of a caregiver’s request to amend her complaint as well as the dismissal of her claims against her alleged employers.
Case: Donnerstag v. Winchester Garden, No. A-1916-22, 05/09/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Eileen Donnerstag began working as a live-in caregiver for Brenda White in 2013. White was a resident of Winchester Garden, a senior housing community.
In July 2018, Donnerstag fell ill and lost her voice for three months. After noticing mold while working at Winchester, Donnerstag became concerned that it...
A New York appellate court ruled that a Labor Law defendant should have been granted summary judgment dismissing part of a worker’s claims for alleged injuries from a fall from a ladder.
Case: Siegel v. Delta Airlines Inc., No. 161354/15, 05/14/2024, published.
Facts and procedural history: Lawrence Siegel allegedly suffered injuries in a fall from a ladder while working on a construction project, and he filed suit against the V.R.H. Construction Corp., asserting claims for negligence and violations of the Labor Law.
V.R.H. moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint against i...
If you treat injured workers, there’s no good reason to wait months or weeks for reimbursement.
For the first four months of 2024, daisyData shows that claims administrators paid our provider clients’ bills on average in fewer than nine working days. This is mainly because daisyBill software sends more than 92% of bills electronically; the remaining bills are faxed or emailed, with just 0.5% mailed on physical paper.
But of course, some claims administrators pay faster than others.
We praise the 10 claims administrators with the quickest payme...
A New York appellate court ruled that the defendants in a Labor Law action were entitled to only partial summary judgment in their favor.
Case: Maldonado v. Hines 1045 Avenue of the Americas Investors LLC, No. 152214/15, 05/14/2024, published.
Facts: Mario Maldonado worked as a welder. He suffered injuries while working at a construction site when he tripped over electrical conduit piping that rose from the floor in the lobby of a new building.
Procedural history: Maldonado filed suit against Hines 1045 Avenue of the Americas Investors LLC and Turner Construction Co. He asserted claims for ...
New Jersey lawmakers are considering raising fees for attorneys who represent injured workers.
The Senate last week voted 27-9 to pass bill S2822/A3986, which would increase the cap on attorney fees to 25% of the judgment from 20%.
“Attorneys for injured workers are often compensated on a contingency fee basis, and the original cap of 20% does not take into account additional duties that workers’ compensation attorneys are required to handle since the cap’s establishment,” a statement attached to the bill says.
The Assembly Labor Committee voted 9-2 to pass the bill ...
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division on Friday announced that it updated the form used to request a change of provider to replace the term “physician assistant” with “physician associate.”
The WCD in Bulletin No. 251 said it revised Form 2332, “Request to Change Attending Physician or Authorized Nurse Practitioner” that insurers are required to provide to workers seeking a new provider.
A bill passed earlier this year making several changes to health care laws also codified what is essentially a rebranding effort of those formerly called ph...
New York’s highest court unanimously ruled that when an employee is injured in an attack at work, his injuries are presumed to be compensable and that the lack of evidence as to the motivation for the assault does not rebut the presumption.
On June 30, 2017, Dr. Henry Bello entered the Bronx-Lebanon Hospital wearing a doctor's white medical coat, under which he hid a loaded AR-15 rifle, ammunition magazines and a juice container filled with gasoline.
Bello was a physician at the hospital until his resignation in February 2015 following an allegation that he had ...
The New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division ruled that a worker was entitled to benefits for his injuries from falling while taking a dip in a hotel pool.
Case: Terhune v. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, No. A-3206-22, 05/08/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Albert Terhune Jr. worked for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. On Dec. 14, 2013, Terhune reported for mandatory snow duty at 7 a.m. As part of snow duty, he had to stay at an assigned hotel for 12 hours and then work 12 hours. He was to be compensated for a 24-hour shift.
Terhune went to the hotel, had...
A federal appellate court upheld a finding that a worker’s coal mine employment caused his pneumoconiosis.
Case: Lance Coal Corp. v. OWCP, No. 23-3779, 05/09/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Virgil Combs worked for Lance Coal Corp. for six years as a member of a powder crew. His job involved detonating explosives to blast open rock layers.
Procedural history: Combs filed a claim under the Black Lung Benefits Act, but an administrative law judge denied it, finding pneumoconiosis didn’t cause Combs’ total disability.
Combs filed a request for modification of the denial but di...
The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled that an injured truck driver’s award for a knee injury was not subject to offset due to prior leg injuries.
Case: Cregger v CLW Farms Inc., No. 126,486, 05/10/2024, unpublished.
Facts: Donald Cregger worked for CWL Farms Inc. as a truck driver. He slipped and fell while working in March 2020, breaking his tibial plateau near the left knee.
Cregger underwent surgery on the knee in July 2020. When he was released to return to work in September, he was informed that CLW sold the truck and trailer he operated and that the employer no longer...
IL - Companies Cited for Asbestos Hazards in Hospital Demolition
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Wednesday that it cited a Chicago demolition subcontractor for 36 safety and health violations after federal investigators determined it exposed workers to asbestos hazards in November 2023.
OSHA cited K.L.F. Enterprises for willful and other violations after inspectors discovered that the company had a building survey showing a hospital that its employees were demolishing contained asbestos for fireproofing but that K.L.F. failed to inform workers about the dangers.
The agency issued the company $392,002 in penalties.
OSHA sa...
The Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division announced that maximum temporary total disability benefits and attorney fees are increasing on July 1 along with the threshold used to determine whether employment is casual.
The division said in Bulletin No. 111 that the max TTD benefit is increasing to $1,770.87 from $1,723.49 for workers injured on or after July 1.
Maximum temporary disability benefits are equal to 133% of the state’s average weekly wage, which increased 2.749% to $1,331.48 from $1,295.86.
The cap on attorney fees is also adjusted annually based on changes in the stat...
The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation is hosting a webinar on May 22 to discuss presiding officer directives.
The division said the program will focus on the origin of presiding officer directives as a tool to obtain certifications for maximum medical improvement and impairment ratings.
The webinar will explore the difference between officer directives and letters of clarification, procedural stems for issuing a directive, and real-world examples of how directives were used in workers’ compensation cases.
The program is intended for system users including adjusters, attorn...
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled that if a worker is injured as a passenger in an employer-owned vehicle, and workers’ compensation exclusivity precludes a recovery under the automobile liability policy, the vehicle qualifies as uninsured.
On March 24, 2020, Michael Brian Smith was killed in a single-car accident as a passenger in a company vehicle owned by the Fixtures & Drywall Co. of Oklahoma. Smith’s co-worker, Duane Clark, was driving.
FADCO maintained two policies with Federated Mutal Insurance Co. One provided coverage for all sums FADCO “must pay as damages...