The Hawaii Supreme Court vacated an award and recommended that the Labor and Industrial Relations Appeals Board weigh whether a lack of concrete factors to consider when awarding permanent partial disability benefits causes disparate outcomes.
While the board has discretion to determine the amount of an award, linking the decision to the evidence is necessary.
“We do not require agencies to state whether each and every piece of evidence helps or hurts a claimant or petitioner’s cause,” the court said. “But merely listing facts without… Read more »
Workers' compensation exclusivity bars a pharmacist's lawsuit that alleged intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery, a California appeals court ruled.
The 5th District Court of Appeal said workers' compensation is the exclusive remedy for injuries arising from alleged harassment that occurs in the normal course of business, such as a… Read more »
The South Carolina Court of Appeals ruled that a staffing company employee’s injuries from a single-vehicle accident on a private road were compensable because he had been instructed to use the road to access his worksite.
Case: Cook v. Condustrial Inc., No. 2020-001236, 09/10/2025, unpublished.
Facts: Ryan Cook worked for… Read more »
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a denial of benefits for a deputy sheriff’s heart attack.
Case: Willis v. Fayette County Commission, No. 25-ICA-46, 08/29/2025, published.
Facts: William Willis worked for the Fayette County Commission as a deputy sheriff. He went to the hospital on Oct. 29, 2023, with complaints of chest pain.
A cardiac catheterization was… Read more »
The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that a worker was not entitled to benefits for her injuries from falling while using a crosswalk on a public street to move from a public parking lot to her workplace.
Case: Poole v. Quest Diagnostics Inc., No. 0701-24-3, 09/09/2025, published.
Facts: Audra Poole worked for Quest Diagnostics as a phlebotomist at the laboratory inside Carilion’s Roanoke… Read more »
The California Workers' Compensation Institute reported that claims involving functional restoration programs were almost 60% more expensive than common claims, with average medical costs twice as high and indemnity costs 28% higher.
Functional restoration programs are a multi-disciplinary… Read more »
The U.S. Department of Labor fined a Florida roofing contractor $752,846 for allegedly exposing workers to fall hazards by not requiring them to wear fall protection.
The department said it initiated an investigation into Elo Restoration LLC, operating as Elo Roofing, after learning that a worker at a site in St. Johns was hospitalized after falling through a residential roof while removing… Read more »
The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries is proposing to increase the average hourly rate employers and workers pay for workers' compensation coverage by 4.9%.
The department is recommending an average rate of $1.37 per full-time employee.
The increase is less than what the department said it would need to cover 2026… Read more »
The rise of artificial intelligence in the legal field is beginning to make waves in California’s workers’ compensation system.
As with other areas of law, the use of AI can be helpful in assisting with streamlining tasks like grammar, drafting summaries or reviewing lengthy medical records. However, like all programs, it is not perfect, and recent cases have… Read more »