workers’ compensation News

Iowa Supreme Ct. Restores Ruling that Rejected Worker’s Expert Report in PTD Claim

The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday reinstated a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner’s decision to bar reports that were submitted too late by experts who weren’t certified, reversing decisions by the district court and Court of Appeals. The high court said …

Medical Biller Charged With Stealing $1 Million in Workers’ Compensation Payments

New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest and arraignment of a New Jersey man for allegedly stealing more than $1 million that was intended to be paid to doctors who provided medical care to injured workers covered under …

Third Conspirator Convicted in Family-Run Check Cashing Fraud Scheme

A third conspirator has been sentenced to prison for her participation in a Florida check-cashing scheme that used shell companies to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and workers’ compensation insurers out of millions of dollars in payroll taxes and workers’ …

Georgia Man Charged with Depriving Liberty Mutual of $9M in Workers’ Comp Premiums

Georgia authorities last week announced the arrest of a contractor charged with underreporting payroll and defrauding Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. of more than $9 million in premiums. Jose Martinez, 56, of Grayson, was charged with insurance fraud after an investigation …

NC Appeals Court Says Injured Off-Duty Law Officers are Joint Employees

The question has arisen many times around the country: Is an injured, off-duty law officer, moonlighting on security or traffic control, considered an employee of the law enforcement division or a private company? The North Carolina Court of Appeals answered …

Wegman’s Has Right to Question Injured Worker’s Doctor, Rules New York’s High Court

Wegman’s Food Markets was wrongly denied an opportunity to cross-examine an injured employee’s doctor, the New York Court of Appeals has ruled, overturning rulings by a workers’ compensation law judge, the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and a lower …

WCRI: Consolidation of Health Care Leads to Higher Costs, Longer Disability Duration

Consolidation of health care services into large corporations that own hospitals, clinics and physician practices may hold the promise of more efficient and better-integrated care, but hasn’t led to better outcomes for workers’ compensation patients, according to a new study …

Maryland’s Workers’ Compensation Bars Non-Dependent Child’s Wrongful Death Claim

A non-dependent adult child whose father died on the job does not have a right to bring a wrongful death claim against her late father’s employer, the Maryland Appellate Court has ruled. The appeals court affirmed a circuit court that …

Viewpoint: California COVID-19 Presumptions Set to Expire

California’s COVID-19 presumptions will expire on Jan. 1, 2024, which means employer-related outbreak reporting and shortened-decision timeframes are going the way of the dinosaur. The last sentence of Labor Code sections 3212.86, 3212.87, and 3212.88 says that they expire on …

Calif. Work Comp Doc, Arrested Before but Not Convicted, Charged with Insurance Fraud Again

A Northern California doctor is charged — once again — with insurance fraud for allegedly overcharging workers’ compensation insurers for services at his pain management practice. The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office charged Dr. Gary Martinovsky and his office assistant …