Court Denies Worker’s Claim Over Lack of Medical Causation Evidence

• The Tennessee Court of Workers’ Compensation Claims denied benefits to a Tyson Foods worker struck on the back of the neck by frozen chicken that fell from an overhead conveyor in July 2023, even though Tyson never disputed that the accident occurred.
• The worker’s claim failed because he never produced a physician’s opinion connecting his neck injury to the workplace incident to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, as Tennessee law requires; he testified the panel-selected doctor that Tyson provided actually told him his neck problems were age-related.
• Records from the worker’s primary care doctor and an orthopedic specialist were ruled inadmissible hearsay since Tyson had no opportunity to cross-examine those physicians, and the court noted the records wouldn’t have proven work causation even if admitted.
• The court dismissed the claim with prejudice without addressing the worker’s separate assertion that his subsequent firing over cited disciplinary violations was actually retaliation for hiring an attorney, since that issue fell outside the scope of his benefits claim.

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Court Dismisses Employer’s Appeal After Board Amends Bus Driver’s Psych Injury Ruling

• New York’s Appellate Division, Third Department dismissed as moot an appeal by the Manhattan and Bronx Surface Transit Operating Authority challenging a Workers’ Compensation Board decision that established a bus driver’s psychological injury claim.
• Parkinson filed the claim after witnessing a box truck run over and kill a bicyclist while he was stopped at a traffic light; a Workers’ Compensation Law Judge established the claim, and the Board affirmed that decision in a March 26, 2025 ruling.
• While the employer’s appeal of that 2025 decision was pending, the Board issued a new decision on March 16 that denied full Board review but amended and superseded its earlier ruling to add facts and clarify the legal analysis applied to psychological injury claims, again establishing the claim under this revised framework.
• The court found the new 2026 decision was not substantially similar to the one being appealed since it relied on a different legal analysis, meaning the original appeal was rendered moot and the merits of the amended decision were not reviewable in this proceeding.

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Portable Benefits, Worker Classification Drive 2026 Comp Legislation Trends

• NCCI’s 2026 Legislative and Regulatory Trends Report found a notable increase in worker classification-related legislation across the country this year, driven largely by a wave of portable benefits bills for independent contractors across multiple states.
• Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Virginia enacted worker classification laws, while Alaska, California, Colorado, and New Jersey considered legislation that would classify certain workers as independent contractors under specific circumstances. Portable benefits legislation attaches benefits like workers’ compensation, health insurance, retirement plans, and paid leave to the worker rather than a specific employer.
• Mental injury legislation remained a persistent trend, with most 2026 bills continuing to focus on first responders while increasingly addressing who qualifies for coverage, which conditions qualify, and which medical professionals can authorize diagnoses.