Nevada considers new law for workers comp

• Janira Varty, a Police detective in Reno, Nevada, was injured in 2019 during a car accident when she slid on black ice while on duty.
• Despite doctors attesting that her injuries were a result of the on-duty accident, her workers’ compensation claim was repeatedly denied.
• Varty later testified in support of Senate Bill 274, which would revise the workers’ compensation system by allowing injured workers to sue insurers and third-party administrators for acting in bad faith when denying their claims or delaying payment to workers.
• During the committee hearing, police unions and other labor representatives testified in support of the legislation, while representatives of insurers and chambers of commerce testified in opposition.
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Wrongful death and Worker’s Disability Compensation Act

• Defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit in Michigan were awarded summary disposition on the ground that they did not commit an intentional tort under the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act.
• The judgment should be affirmed because the plaintiff’s evidence does not support a reasonable inference that the defendants had actual knowledge of an injury certain to occur and that they willfully disregarded that knowledge, according to Michigan Lawyers Weekly.
• In this wrongful death action, the plaintiff, as personal representative of the decedent’s estate, appeals as of right the order granting the defendant’s motion for summary disposition.
• The plaintiff contends on appeal that the trial court erred by the defendants committing an intentional tort under the Worker’s Disability Compensation Act.
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Florida contractor 35 violations since 2019

• Federal workplace safety inspectors have found that an Ocala framing contractor’s history of defying required safety standards continues with their employees’ safety and lives at risk.
• OSHA completed 11 inspections of Domingos 54 Construction Inc.’s worksites and identified four willful, eight repeat, 19 serious, and four other-than-serious violations.
• OSHA’s warnings about workplace falls were ignored by the company in March 2020 when a 53-year-old employee suffered a fatal, 10-foot fall from the roof of a Tampa residence, a preventable tragedy as fall protection would have likely saved his life.
• OSHA cited the company for three willful violations and one repeat violation and proposed penalties totaling $464,079.
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‘No-fault’ impact on workers comp

• Workers Compensation works on a ‘no fault’ basis is an important safety net for employees when they are injured on the job or as a result of their job.
• Its “no-fault” feature is a give and take between the employee and employer, the employer agrees to pay, and the employee generally can’t sue for damages.
• Rules vary from state to state for the number of employees a business has that will trigger coverage requirements, as well as how the coverage works.
• Filing a workers compensation claim is much like filing an insurance claim.
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