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A general contractor’s volunteer work was incidental to his professional employment, so the injuries he sustained during the volunteer work must be covered under the Indiana Worker’s Compensation Act. That was the Indiana Court of Appeals’ decision in John C. Morris v. Custom Kitchen & Baths, 93A02-1601-EX-179. John Morris obtained his general contractor’s license in 2011 and formed a sole…

New York State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott and Cayuga County District Attorney Jon E. Budelmann announced today the indictment and arraignment of a central New York heavy equipment operator accused of stealing more than $75,000 in Workers' Compensation insurance benefits to which he was not entitled while also failing to provide his own logging company's employees with required coverage.…

A U.S. judge almost halved the award in a December jury verdict that ordered Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N) and its DePuy Orthopaedics unit to pay more than $1 billion to plaintiffs in six lawsuits who said they were injured by DePuy’s Pinnacle hip implants. U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade in Dallas cited “constitutional considerations” that limit how much plaintiffs may…

World Wrestling Entertainment is asking a federal judge to dismiss the sixth lawsuit filed on behalf of a former wrestler who claims he suffered a traumatic brain injury. The Connecticut Law Tribune reports that the 47-page brief filed in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport on Friday, also asks the judge to sanction the wrestler's attorney, Konstantine Kyros, and for Kyros…

Monroe, WI (WorkersCompensation .com) - Federal investigators found a local medical clinic failed to tell maintenance workers they were being exposed to hazardous asbestos material – which the company identified in 2008 – and did not provide workers with protective equipment. An investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration found The Monroe Clinic Inc. violated…

On Dec. 27, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued B-Way Corp. one repeated and one serious safety violation, carrying proposed penalties of $81,062, following its investigation of the most recent injury. On Sept. 10, 2016, a machine amputated a 52-year-old temporary worker's right middle finger tip when it came in contact with the machine's…

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has reached an agreement with United Airlines that will eliminate a series of hazardous conditions in the carrier’s baggage-handling operation at Newark Airport, and could potentially trigger ergonomic improvements for baggage handlers at airports throughout the country. OSHA, a division of the Department of Labor, says this week's agreement settles a lawsuit against United,…

The federal court case brought by 38 former National Football League players seeking to force the NFL to recognize chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) as a covered disease under workers’ compensation has been withdrawn. Instead of pursuing their joint case, the players will file separate workers’ compensation claims in individual states, according to their lawyer. On Dec. 21, in the U.S.…