West Virginia law caps damages

• New legislation was passed in West Virginia to cap damages in deliberate intent cases.
• The amendments limit noneconomic damages to $500,000 and heighten the burden of proof in deliberate intent cases based on occupational pneumoconiosis.
• The maximum amount recoverable as compensatory damages for noneconomic loss in any deliberate intent lawsuit may not exceed the higher of two times the economic damages before the workers’ compensation offset or $500,000 for each person.
• The damages are payable regardless of the number of plaintiffs or defendants or, in the case of wrongful death, the number of distributees.
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Rates rise in Washington

• Rates for workers’ compensation in the agricultural sector in Washington State rose 5% in 2022 and 6% in 2023.
• The average proposed increase for 2024 is nine percent.
• Several agricultural work categories will see double-digit increases including a 21% increase for farm internship program B, a 10% increase for orchards, a 12% increase for vineyards, and a 12% increase for livestock farms and stables.
• “It’s good for workers that wages are rising, but that means the cost of replacing wages when a worker gets hurt goes up too,” Washington State Department of Labor & Industries Director Joel Sacks said.
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Man wins fight for workers’ comp

• Bismarck Castro was working for Allstate Construction & Builder LLC in Cedar Rapids, Iowa when he fell from a second-floor balcony. He hit his head on a wood piece before coming to rest on the concrete.
• Allstate representatives told the hospital the injuries didn’t happen on the job — so workers’ compensation insurance isn’t paying the medical costs.
• When Castro was released from the hospital, company representatives took him to a Cedar Rapids house and would not let him leave, according to the lawsuit.
• De Leon’s employer eventually reported the injuries happened on the job, which means workers’ compensation pays for medical care and disability benefits. By receiving these benefits, employees agree not to sue their employer.
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Newsom signs last remaining safety bill

• California Gov, Gavin Newsom signed the only remaining occupational safety and health bill left this legislative season.
• The bill, AB 521 sponsored by Assemblyman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda), requires the Cal/OSHA Standards Board to draft potential rulemaking requiring at least one single-user toilet facility on all construction sites designated for “employees who self-identify as female or nonbinary.”
• The board has a deadline of December 31st, 2025, to adopt the regulation.
• The “nonbinary” language was added at the committee level to make the bill “more inclusive.” AB 521 states that shared bathrooms pose sanitation and safety barriers to underrepresented groups in construction.
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