OH - Worker Can Get SLU Award for Loss Caused by Brain Injury
04/29/2024 | 0
An Ohio appellate court ruled that an award for a worker’s loss of use of his limbs may be available when medical evidence shows that loss is the result of brain injury, not direct trauma to the extremities.
Bohdanus Byk was a laborer for Republic Steel. He slipped and fell from a platform in August 2012, suffering severe head injuries, which caused trauma to his brain.
Byk underwent a right frontal decompressive craniectomy, but he remained in a persistent vegetative state for almost three years until he died.
Before Byk’s death, an application was filed with the Industria...
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A Florida appellate court ruled that an employer was barred from raising a workers’ compensation exclusivity defense to a worker’s civil suit over his shooting by a colleague.
Case: Bottling Group LLC v. Bastien, No. 3D23-1298, 04/24/2024, published.
Facts: Giovanni E. Bastien worked for Bottling Group LLC at a Pepsi packaging and distribution facility in Medley. In November 2020, he was shot by a colleague.
According to local media reports, Bastien had gotten into an argument with Jimmy Lee Franklin, 29, over union issues. The men agreed to fight, then clocked out of work and d...
The Delaware Superior Court upheld a determination that an injured worker’s treatments were reasonable and necessary even though they allegedly fell outside the parameters of the state’s administrative health care practice guidelines.
Case: Amazon.com SVCS LLC v. Rook, No. N23A-04-003 KMM, 04/25/2024, published.
Facts: Hector Rook worked for Amazon.com SVCS LLC in the packaging department. On May 24, 2022, Rook allegedly suffered a back injury at work.
Rook went to the Amazon in-house medical unit on May 25, where he was diagnosed with sciatica and a lumbar strain. Rook was...
A New York appellate court overturned a grant of summary judgment for a worker on his Labor Law claim for an alleged eye injury.
Case: Chuqui v. Cong. Ahavas Tzookah V'Chesed Inc., No. 2021-03104, 04/24/2024, published.
Facts: Jose D. Chuqui allegedly suffered injuries while working as a carpenter on a remodeling project at premises owned by Cong. Ahavas Tzookah V'Chesed Inc. According to Chuqui, he was operating a nail gun to attach wood plates to a roof when debris from a metal wire flew off the nails and hit his right eye.
Procedural history: Chuqui filed suit against Cong. ...
On April 11, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed CS/CS/HB 433. That designation, as we have noted previously, has meaning.
The "CS" reflects that the bill that was signed is not the same as the one that was introduced in the House of Representatives. The "CS" stands for "committee substitute," and since this bill has that twice in the name, there is evidence of significant effort and alteration between filing and passage. What eventually passed was the second committee substitute.
The "HB" is noteworthy also. That tells the reader that the bill originate...
CA - Building Maintenance Owner Ordered to Pay $687,560 for Comp Fraud
The owner of a building maintenance company in Northern California was ordered to pay $687,560 in restitution after being convicted of workers’ compensation fraud for underreporting payroll.
The Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced that Jorge Maldonado was convicted of felony work comp fraud charges in April. He was ordered to pay restitution to Employers Preferred Insurance Co., Markel Corp. and Atlas General Insurance Services after a hearing on Thursday.
Maldonado owns Pro-Care Building Maintenance.
He was accused of underreporting the number of his employee...
Dave North will retire from his role as executive chairman of Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. on June 30 but will remain on the board of directors, the company announced Thursday.
North has spent 29 years with Memphis, Tennessee-based Sedgwick, where he served as the third-party administrator’s president and chief executive officer from 1995 to 2020.
North began his insurance industry career in 1978 as a fire protection engineer at Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co.
During his time at Sedgwick, where he led numerous acquisitions, the company grew from the eighth-largest third-...
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore signed bills revising the criteria for measuring work-related hearing loss.
The governor on Thursday signed HB 669/SB 843, which increase the number of frequencies that must be included in hearing tests and alter how age is factored into the calculation.
Current law tests hearing loss across four frequency bands ranging from 500 hertz to 3,000 hertz. The process also includes an offset that accounts for nonindustrial hearing loss that generally occurs with age.
The bills Moore signed require testing up to 4,000 hertz. They also require the nonoccupatio...
The California Assembly unanimously approved a bill that would require employers to notify workers that they have a right to consult an attorney to discuss workplace injuries.
The Assembly on Thursday voted 75-0 to pass AB 1870, by Assemblymember Liz Ortega, D-San Leandro, which would modify the requirements for posters employers are required to display in the workplace.
The bill would require the posters to mention that an injured worker has a right to consult an attorney and that in most cases, attorney fees will be paid from the injured worker’s recovery.
Posters are already requir...
The Mississippi Court of Appeals upheld the denial of a worker’s claim for additional benefits and a second alleged workplace injury.
Mary Tillman worked for Home Depot. She injured her back at work in January 2016 while helping a customer lift floor tiles onto a cart. Tillman reported her injury to the assistant manager, who then reported it to a store manager.
Tillman filled out an incident report and continued to work the rest of her shift. The next day, she went to the emergency room seeking treatment for back pain, but she continued to report to work in the days that followed.
In...
A Missouri appellate court ruled that a worker’s challenge to the dismissal of her claim had to be dismissed as untimely.
Case: Godfrey v. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, No. ED111833, 04/23/2024, published.
Facts and procedural history: Tamar Godfrey worked for the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District. She allegedly suffered an injury at work in November 2015 and filed a workers’ compensation claim in April 2021.
Godfrey failed to produce any evidence in support of her workers’ compensation claim despite being granted multiple continuances. The district then reque...
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of partial summary judgment in favor of a worker for his injuries from a demolition accident.
Case: Mata v. 371 1st Street LLC, No. 20700/17, 04/23/2024, published.
Facts: Jonathan Mata was engaged in the demolition of flooring when the subfloor collapsed. He fell several stories and onto a scaffold, suffering injuries.
Procedural history: Mata filed suit against multiple defendants, asserting claims for negligence and violations of the Labor Law.
The defendants moved for summary judgment dismissing the claims, and Mata moved for summary judgment o...
A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment to a worker for his injuries from a fall through a duct hole.
Case: Guaraca v. West 25th Street Housing Development Fund Corp., No. 24945/17, 43004/18, 04/23/2024.
Facts: Segundo Juan Guaraca was instructed to build a wall around a trash chute hole that was adjacent to an air conditioning duct on the second floor of a building.
When Guaraca allegedly jumped on a piece of plywood covering the duct hole to test its strength, the unsecured planking cracked, and he fell two stories to the basement, seriously injuring himself.
Proced...
A California Senate committee recently passed a bill that would relieve contractors of the requirement to carry workers’ compensation and provide proof of coverage when seeking a license, even if they have no employees.
The Senate Business, Professions and Economic Development Committee voted 12-0 on Monday to pass SB 1071, by Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa.
A law set to take effect in 2026 would require all contractors to provide proof of work comp coverage when applying for a license. The requirement to carry work comp coverage and provide proof is set to apply regardless of whether a contra...
The California Assembly Appropriations Committee unanimously passed a bill that would allow electronic signatures in proceedings before the Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board.
The committee on Wednesday voted 14-0 to pass bills on its consent file, which included Assembly Bill 2337, by Assemblymember Diane Dixon, R-Newport Beach. An analysis prepared for the committee projects that the costs of authorizing electronic signatures would be negligible.
The WCAB allowed electronic signatures during the COVID-19 pandemic but reverted to requiring so-called “wet” signatures ...
The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau on Thursday said it submitted its annual advisory pure premium rate filing to the California Department of Insurance.
The WCIRB is recommending that the department increase the advisory pure premium rate by 0.9%. The average proposed advisory rate for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1 is $1.42 per $100 of payroll, up from $1.41.
The WCIRB said there are three key drivers of the increase.
“First, a higher medical severity trend was selected based on consideration of short-term trends, long-term trends and a recent shift ...
