Florida: Shooting does not fall under workers’ comp

• A Florida appeals court rejected workers’ compe benefits for a general manager of an Orlando rental-car agency who was shot seven times while on the job.
• A panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal, in a 2-1 decision, said Mohammed Bouayad had not shown a “causal link” between the injuries he suffered and the work he performed for Value Car Rental.
• Bouayad was shot as he carried paperwork from a rental-car kiosk in a hotel to another building late at night.
• Bouayad sought workers’ compensation benefits, but Value and its insurer, Normandy Insurance Co., denied he was entitled because of a confrontation the day before the shooting over an alleged debt.
  Read more

Long COVID affected 6% of workers

• A new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute found that 6% of workers with COVID-19 developed long COVID, and many of these workers continued receiving medical care a year after their infections.
• This study expands prior evidence from early in the pandemic, showing persistent rates of long COVID for infections through 2021.
• Among all workers with COVID-19 claims, 6 percent received treatment for long COVID conditions, some more than a year after the initial infection.
• At an average of 18 months of post-infection experience, these workers received more than 20 weeks of temporary disability benefits and received about $29,000 in medical care.
  Read more

North Carolina lacks heat protections

• North Carolina has no standards or regulations to protect workers from heat.
• Advocates are calling for a change in light of perceived global warming.
• The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that an average of 43 outdoor workers die of heat exposure each year.
• According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, only five states have heat standards for outdoor workers — California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, and Minnesota.
  Read more

Vacancy in workers’ comp administration

• New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration Director Robert E. Doucette, Jr. announced the vacancy of one administrative law judge in the agency’s Albuquerque office.
• Judge Reginald C. Woodard has decided not to seek reappointment.
• Woodard’s term is set to expire on November 24, 2023. His last day in the office will be Monday, October 16, 2023.
• Workers’ compensation judges hear and decide disputes over benefits due to injured workers throughout New Mexico. WCA judicial positions are exempt with an initial one-year appointment and a possible reappointment to a five-year term,
  Read more