MO - Second Injury Fund Not Liable for Worker's PTD
05/28/2024 | 0
The Missouri Court of Appeals upheld a determination that the Second Injury Fund was not liable for a worker’s permanent total disability benefits for a claimed psychological injury.
Norma Huffman worked for WireCo World Group for approximately 28 years. During this time, she began taking prescription medication for migraines. Over the years, she would miss work because of chronic migraines and debilitating headaches.
Huffman also suffered from anxiety, depression, diabetes and hypertension. She took Prozac and clonazepam for her anxiety.
Huffman took a six-month voluntary layoff...
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The Montana Workers’ Compensation Court ruled that the Department of Labor & Industry needed to make a finding as to the reasonableness of a worker’s refusal to attend a therapy appointment before the agency could allow a carrier to suspend benefits.
Case: Neisinger v. New Hampshire Insurance Co., No. 2024-00340, 05/22/2024, published.
Facts: Michael Neisinger sustained injuries in May 2015 when a high-pressure water jet stream tore into his left leg, spun him around and knocked him off a platform.
Neisinger’s employer had workers’ compensation coverage with New ...
A New York appellate court upheld the summary dismissal of a worker’s Labor Law claims against property owners for an alleged injury from closing the door of a vehicle on her finger.
Case: Marshall v. Manuel, No. 2022-02223, 05/22/2024, published.
Facts: Laniece Marshall allegedly suffered injuries when she closed her right pinky finger in the door of a vehicle parked near premises owned by Virginia and William Manuel.
Marshall asserted that her injury occurred in the course of her employment as a meter installer for Aclara Technologies LLC.
Procedural history: Marshall filed suit ag...
A New York appellate court partially revived a worker’s Labor Law claim and ruled that he should have been granted leave to amend it.
Case: Gonzalez v. City of New York, No. 2020-07216, 05/22/2024, published.
Facts: Juan Gonzalez allegedly was injured while dismantling scaffolding outside a New York City public school in Queens.
Procedural history: Gonzalez filed suit against the city and others, asserting claims for negligence and violations of the Labor Law.
After the defendants moved for dismissal, Gonzalez moved for leave to amend his claim to add another violation of the In...
Last month, I had my own claims adjuster experience. I will not go into the name of my homeowner’s policy insurance carrier or the nature of my claim.
My insurance carrier ranks in the top five nationwide. The claim was weather-related. I was not able to stay in the house due to the damage.
My claims adjuster experience started with going on an app that I downloaded from the carrier years ago. The process was easy to accomplish; most of the info automatically filed in as I went through the screens.
The start of my claims adjuster experience began wit...
The New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration is accepting applications from attorneys who want to serve as judges.
Judge Leonard Padilla is retiring on Aug. 30 after more than 10 years with the WCA.
Padilla’s departure creates a vacancy that will be filled with an initial one-year appointment followed by possible reappointment for a five-year term. Applicants must be licensed in New Mexico and have five years of experience practicing law.
Attorneys interested in applying for the judge vacancy must complete a judicial application and submit it to the WCA along with a r...
NATL. - WCRI: Comp Hospital Outpatient Payments Lower in Fee Schedule States
Hospital outpatient payments in workers’ compensation claims are lower and growing at a slower rate in states with fixed reimbursement fee schedules compared with states that have no fee schedules, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
The study, “Hospital Outpatient Payment Index: Interstate Variations and Policy Analysis, 13th Edition,” looked at hospital payments for common workers' comp outpatient surgeries in 36 states, which the WCRI says represent 88% of workers’ comp benefits paid across the country.
Researc...
The California Senate passed a bill that would create a presumption that heat-related injuries and illnesses arose out of employment for outdoor agricultural workers if the employer failed to comply with heat illness prevention standards.
The Senate on Wednesday voted 29-9 to pass SB 1299, by Sen. Dave Cortese, D-Campbell.
The bill declares the intentions of the California Legislature to prevent increasing farmworker heat-related injuries as climate change raises temperatures and by persuading employers to do whatever is necessary to prevent heat injuries.
The United Farm Workers, which is ...
The U.S. Department of Labor announced a $13,500 settlement with a New Jersey contractor it says could have prevented a fatal fall.
The department said a 39-year-old worker fell five stories after unloading materials at a multi-unit residential construction project.
Granite & Marble Services LLC had not secured the work platform to prevent it from tipping or being dislodged by a telehandler, the department said. The company also failed to provide legally required fall protection.
The department cited the company in April 2024 and the businesses requested an informal conference with the ...
A Florida appellate court overturned a judge’s decision denying an employer’s motion for costs as a prevailing party on a worker’s claim.
Frances Smith worked for the Palm Beach County School District. She allegedly injured her back and tailbone at work in June 2017.
Smith filed a petition for benefits, seeking treatment for her back and tailbone.
The School District agreed to accept and treat the tailbone injury in exchange for Smith withdrawing with prejudice her claim for compensability of the back injury.
The parties stipulated to Smith’s entitlement to attorney...
A Florida appellate court ruled that a judge erred in failing to find that a worker’s claim for additional benefits was time-barred.
Case: American Airlines Group v. Lopez, No. 1D2023-0379, 05/22/2024, published.
Facts and procedural history: Alejandro Lopez worked for American Airlines Group. He suffered injuries at work in August 2019 and filed two petitions for benefits.
AA eventually paid medical and indemnity benefits to Lopez. It last paid a medical bill on Sept. 22, 2020, and made its last indemnity payment on Nov. 13, 2020.
AA later stipulated to Lopez’s entitlemen...
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment on a worker’s Labor Law claim for his motorized scaffold accident.
Case: De Los Santos v. Carlyle House Inc., No. 28573/17, 05/21/2024, published.
Facts: Joel De Los Santos suffered injuries while working on a motorized scaffold during a construction project.
According to De Los Santos, the scaffold misleveled while descending, causing him to slip on leaking motor oil and fall nearly two stories to a sidewalk bridge below.
Procedural history: De Los Santos filed suit against Carlyle House Inc., asserting claims for violati...
A New York appellate court ruled that summary judgment could not be granted on the Labor Law and indemnification claims arising from a worker’s fall through an opening with an unsecured cover.
Case: Munoz v. JDS Seagirt LLC, No. 154427/17, 05/21/2024, published.
Facts: Jose Guillermo Munoz worked for Pro Star Heating & Plumbing. While Munoz was working at a home construction site in Far Rockaway, he fell through an opening with an unsecured cover.
The property was owned, and construction was overseen, by JDS Seagirt LLC, JDS Development LLC and JDS Construction Group.
Sampog...
The California Senate passed a bill requiring temporary disability benefits for those who miss work to receive medical treatment after an occupational injury becomes permanent and stationary.
The Senate on Wednesday voted 29-8 to pass SB 1205, by Sen. John Laird D-Santa Cruz, which would require employers to provide temporary disability benefits in addition to transportation, meals and lodging incidental to medical treatment.
Those who have returned to work would be entitled to one day of TD benefits for each day of lost wages or a percentage of one day of TD benefits representative of ...
The North Carolina Senate unanimously confirmed the reappointment of James C. Gillen to the state Industrial Commission.
The Carolina Journal reports that the Senate on Thursday voted 45-0 to confirm Gillen’s appointment for a six-year term that expires June 30, 2030.
Gillen started his career with the Industrial Commission in 1994 as an agency legal specialist. He served as a deputy commissioner from 2005 and was nominated to serve as a commissioner in 2019.
He earned his bachelor’s degree from North Carolina State University and his law degree from Campbell University.
...
Working-age Massachusetts residents who died between 2011 and 2020 were 35% more likely to have succumbed to an opioid-related overdose if they had previously been injured at work, according to data released Thursday by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.
In linking the aftermath of work-related injuries to opioid-related overdose deaths, DPH compiled public health information about individuals’ employment and work-related injury statuses from their workers’ compensation claims and linked it with data from death certificates.
By linking these data sets, DPH found ...