Minnesota Study Looks at PTSD Claims

A new study by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) claims in the workers’ compensation system found that some claims are denied early in the process, often before a definitive diagnosis has been established by a qualified mental health professional.
The delayed onset of PTSD, combined with the complexity of mental health assessments, presents challenges for the timely and accurate processing of PTSD claims.
Such early denials may lead to more claims being resolved through legal settlements, which can increase both financial and emotional burdens on workers, rather than administrative adjudication.
Additionally, current administrative data do not consistently include specific markers to identify mental injury claims, which limits the ability to monitor trends and outcomes effectively.
Recommendations include improving data quality on the First Report of Injury (FROI) for mental injury claims.
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A West Virginia mining industry worker has succeeded in establishing that asthma is an occupational disease.
In an Aug. 6 opinion, the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Review that Harold Woods Jr. established by a preponderance of the evidence that he sustained the occupational disease
of asthma in the course of and resulting from his employment by Blackhawk Mining.
The board had determined that Woods’ work exposed him to coal dust, magnetite,
welding fumes, flocculant, sandstone dust, and other irritants.
The Board also noted that the citations issued against Blackhawk stated that some of the mine conditions exposed miners to respirable dust hazards and that there was no indication that Woods was equally exposed to these hazards outside of his employment.
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The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board said it has updated the “Resolution of Outstanding Medical Bills” section of the Waiver Agreement – Section 32 WCL (Form C-32).
This section requires parties to agree to a date by which all medical treatment bills for established sites, in cases resolved by the agreement, shall or shall not be deemed the liability of the carrier and set forth any applicable exceptions.
Beginning Nov. 24, 2025, the WCB will no longer accept Form C-32 with earlier version dates.
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Terra, which provides a cloud platform for workers’ compensation software, said it’s partnering with Gradient AI to give its adjuster customers earlier visibility into high-risk cases and help improve outcomes across the claims lifecycle.
Terra said the collaboration will help adjusters to triage cases faster, focusing on those most at risk and reduce claim costs while supporting better recovery for injured workers.
“Workers’ compensation adjusters are under constant pressure to make fast, accurate decisions with limited resources,” said Stan Smith, CEO of Gradient AI. “The data-driven approach will improve both operational efficiency and outcomes for injured workers.”
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