Worker Recoups Cost Of Surgery 

• A Bureau of Prisons’ employee recouped over half-million dollars for a surgery to correct an industrial injury. 

• The federal Department of Labor had rescinded approval for the surgery after it had been performed.  

• The employee appealed and ultimately a hearing officer found the claims adjuster failed to share medical documentation supporting the surgery.
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Federal Bill To Allow Pas/NPs To Treat Federal Employees  

• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) introduced the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation For Injured Federal Workers Act. 

• The bill proposes allowing physician assistants (Pas) and nurse practitioners (NPs) to certify workers’ comp claims by federal employees and oversee their care. 

• Currently, the Federal Employees Compensation Act only allows physicians to diagnose and certify an industrial injury and determine the proper treatment.  

• The American Association of Nurse Practitioners, American Academy of Physician Associates and the National Association of Letter Carriers are supporting the bill. 
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New York Store Manager Awarded Workers’ Comp after Contracting COVID  

• A store manager who contracted COVID-19 in 2020 and experienced a stroke a week later was recently granted workers’ compensation benefits.  

• The manager contended that daily interactions with the public during the pandemic, without sufficient protective measures, constituted an extraordinarily high risk of exposure compared to the general public.  

• Medical evidence supported a connection between his getting COVID and having a stroke.  

• The New York Court of Appeals affirmed the decision, ruling that the infection and consequential stroke were a compensable accidental injury arising from employment. 
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Court rules General Liability Policy Doesn’t Cover Employee 

• A convenience store clerk was shot during a robbery in the employer-mandated parking lot after his shift.  

• He secured a $1.1 million negligence judgment against his employer and sought payment from their general liability policy. 

• The Appeals Court reversed a lower court’s decision, ruling the GL policy’s “employer’s liability” exclusion barred coverage.  

• Because Alabama law classifies injuries in employer parking lots as employment-related, the GL exclusion applied. 
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