Minnesota Supreme Court makes major workers’ comp ruling
- A mental illness did not alter the finding that a man’s attack on a hotel employee was intentional and personal, the Minnesota Supreme Court held.
- This decision affirmed the findings of the Workers Compensation Court of Appeals that the claim fell within the scope of the state’s assault exception for a covered injury.
- In June 2018, while the employee was cleaning a hotel room, he was attacked by an acquaintance with whom he had previously worked at a different employer.
- The attacker falsely believed that the employee was involved in killing his uncle. The employee was severely injured and filed a claim for workers’ comp benefits.
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Connecticut House approves workers’ comp bill
- Connecticut’s House of Representatives approved a bill that would implement a study of several aspects of the state’s workers’ compensation system.
- The way the bill was originally drafted had costly implications for Connecticut employers.
- The bill increased additional partial permanent disability payments by 500% and increased the maximum benefits period from 520 weeks to 780 weeks.
- However, the bill was amended to study the effects of increasing these benefits as well as the delay of medical records in workers’ comp cases.
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Former police officer accused of fraud
- A former Gary, Indiana, police corporal has been accused of falsifying the extent of his injuries from an accident to collect workers’ comp.
- Nicholas T. Sanchez, 43, was charged with two felony and two misdemeanor counts of fraud, according to Lake Criminal Court.
- Sanchez was caught on video playing pickleball in January at a sports facility in Griffith while he was supposedly injured.
- He was paid more than $10,000 of his salary and $7,000 in workers’ compensation medical expenses while off duty for his injuries, according to court documents.
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Webinar examines workers’ comp medical fee schedule
- The WCRI will be hosting a 30-minute webinar on Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 2 p.m. ET on its study Designing Workers’ Compensation Medical Fee Schedules, 2022.
- The study highlights the important design choices faced in adopting, reforming, and updating a workers’ compensation medical fee schedule.
- Dr. Olesya Fomenko will discuss the study’s findings and take audience questions.
- The study shows how the 44 states with fee schedules and the District of Columbia have resolved these fee schedule design choices, as of March 31, 2022.
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