WA - Employer Hit With $1.7 Million Judgment for Misclassifying Workers, Underpaying Premiums
05/02/2024 | 0
The Washington Court of Appeals upheld a $1.7 million judgment against an employer for deliberately misclassifying its workers and underpaying its premiums.
O.M.A. Construction Inc. is a contractor and subcontractor for public works projects. Its employees drive dump trucks loaded with materials to, from and within construction or reclamation sites. Approximately 70%-75% of its employees’ driving is on or within construction sites, and the drivers primarily stay in the cab of the truck and do not run excavation equipment.
In June 2015, the Department of Labor and Industries audited O.M...
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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court will weigh in on the question of whether cannabinoid oil and dietary supplements qualify as “medical services” or “medicines and supplies” for purposes of the state Workers’ Compensation Act.
A workers’ compensation judge ruled that an injured attorney was entitled to have his firm foot the bill for his doctor-prescribed CBD products. The Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board disagreed and reversed, but the Commonwealth Court in November reinstated the award to Mark Schmidt.
Schmidt injured his back in April 2017...
A Louisiana appellate court tossed a worker’s challenge to the denial of his request for additional benefits as untimely.
Case: Lumar v. Central Transport LLC, No. 2023 CA 0980, 04/26/2024, published.
Facts: Roydall Lumar worked for Central Transport LLC as a delivery driver. He suffered injuries at work in March 2020.
Central Transport paid for Lumar's medical care as well as indemnity benefits. After Lumar’s doctors released him to light-duty work, Central Transport offered Lumar light-duty employment at his pre-accident wage, starting Aug. 13, 2021.
When Lumar did not ac...
The Oklahoma Supreme Court adopted a decision of the Court of Civil Appeals finding that an attorney could not get out of a fee-splitting deal just because the agreement violated the Rules of Professional Conduct.
Case: Garrett v. Bell, No. 120,999, filed 10/27/2023, mandate issued 04/25/2024, published.
Facts: Richard Bell of the Bell Law Firm and David Garrett of the Garrett Law Office represent claimants in workers’ compensation cases.
In 2005, an attorney with the Garrett firm died, and the office agreed to refer workers’ compensation cases to Bell in exchange for a por...
In the ever-changing world of health care economics, one thing is becoming more of a norm: high hospital costs. Crazy facility fees coupled with hospital/health system consolidation are leading to higher prices for payers.
Facility fees, viewed by some as the latest gimmick to generate additional revenue for hospitals, are accounting for upwards of 40% of countrywide workers' comp medical expenses.
Making matters worse is hospital/health system consolidation. Consolidation often leads to higher prices; the Federal Trade Commission’s director of the Bureau of Economics...
NATL. - NCCI Says Lost Costs Decreasing Due to Payroll Changes
Workers’ compensation bureau loss costs are decreasing, mostly due to changes in payroll used to calculate premiums, along with a continued decline in injury claim frequency, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance.
Workers’ comp costs have been increasing recently at a slower pace than wage inflation, resulting in decreased loss costs, the report says. Additionally, injury claim frequency has been decreasing “over a long period,” it says.
“Workers’ compensation average claim costs generally increase,”...
The Minnesota Legislature passed a bill that would implement Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council recommendations to revise certain wage and benefit calculations and increase attorney fees.
The Senate on Tuesday voted 60-2 to pass HF 4661, which has not been amended since the state House of Representatives voted 129-0 to pass it on April 24.
Provisions in the bill would:
Increase the maximum temporary disability payment to 108% of the statewide average weekly wage, from 102%.
Increase the cap on attorney fees to 20% of the first $275,000 in compensation awarded, from 20% of the f...
Texas Mutual Insurance Co. announced that its board of directors approved a $350 million dividend for qualifying policyholders.
The carrier said about 69,000 business owners will receive a dividend, representing about 90% of its policyholders.
Texas Mutual said this is the 26th consecutive dividend awarded and that it has returned more than $4.4 billion to policyholders since 1999.
TMIC said it plans to distribute dividends in June.
...
The Colorado General Assembly passed a bill that would increase statutory caps on disability benefits and require annual adjustments for inflation, starting in 2025.
The Senate on Tuesday voted 24-11 to pass HB 1220, by Rep. Lindsey Daugherty, D-Arvada. The bill has not been amended since the state House of Representatives voted 42-18 to pass it on April 11.
Colorado law limits combined temporary disability benefits and permanent partial disability benefits to $75,000 for injured workers with a rating of 19% or lower. HB 1220 would increase that to $185,000.
The bill would also raise th...
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday signed a bill requiring the state Office of Management and Enterprise Services to run the Volunteer Firefighter Group Insurance Pool.
Stitt signed SB 1333, transferring oversight of the risk pool that provides workers’ compensation for volunteer firefighters to the state from CompSource Mutual Insurance Co.
CompSource will keep any reserves from the pool to cover costs for existing claims.
SB 1333 also creates the Volunteer Firefighter Group Insurance Pool Revolving Fund and authorizes the Office of Management and Enterprise Services to coll...
An Ohio appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a worker’s intentional tort claim against his employer, as well as the denial of post-judgment relief based on the employer’s misconduct.
Eugene Moore worked for ThorWorks Industries Inc. He suffered serious injuries in July 2019 when he fell into an unguarded mixer.
Three months before the accident, an official from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration informed management that the openings to the mixing tank needed to be guarded.
After the accident, Moore testified that he had almost fallen into the mixer...
A divided Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled that a sales representative for a product vendor could not pursue a civil remedy from the store where he was injured.
Case: Coblentz v. Tractor Supply Co., No. M2023-00249-COA-R3-CV, 04/26/2024, published.
Facts: Brian Coblentz worked as an outside sales representative for Stanley National Hardware. The job required him to visit various hardware stores in his region every four to six weeks.
On Aug. 29, 2012, Coblentz visited a Tractor Supply store in Fayetteville, Tennessee. He suffered injuries when a 12-foot steel barn door track fell out of the ...
A New York appellate court overturned a denial of benefits to a court employee for his participation in the World Trade Center rescue, recovery and cleanup operations.
Case: Matter of Liotta v. New York State Unified Court System, No. CV-23-0103, 04/25/2024, published.
Facts: Robert Liotta is a senior court officer at 100 Centre St. in New York City. He was at work on Sept. 11, 2001, when the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center occurred.
According to Liotta, as the attack on the WTC unfolded, he assisted in evacuating the courthouse and the building across the street, movin...
A New York appellate court upheld a decision denying reconsideration of a worker’s rejected claim due to her failure to provide timely notice.
Case: Matter of Medina v. American Maintenance Inc., No. CV-23-0370, 04/25/2024, published.
Facts: Delmi Medina worked for American Maintenance Inc. as a housekeeper. She filed a workers’ compensation claim in February 2022, asserting that she suffered injuries to her back and knees the previous February.
Procedural history: A workers’ compensation law judge found that Medina had suffered a compensable injury to her back and kn...
The Oklahoma state House of Representatives passed bills that would require the Court of Civil Appeals to take up responsibility for legacy comp claims and exempt public safety workers from the prohibition on so-called “mental-mental” claims.
Both SB 1456 and SB 1457 were amended before the House passed them and will have to return to the Senate for concurrence. The amendments don't change anything substantive in the bills but represent a common legislative maneuver to funnel them into a conference committee.
The House on Thursday voted 77-0 to pass SB 1456, by...
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is reportedly planning to reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III controlled substance, according to an Associated Press story citing anonymous sources.
Cannabis is currently a Schedule I controlled substance, indicating that it has no accepted or recognized medical use and a high potential for abuse. The AP reports that five people familiar with the matter said the DEA is proposing to classify the drug alongside codeine, ketamine and some steroids as a Schedule III drug, indicating that it has medical uses and a moderate or low potential for abuse.
The...