The Chartwell Chronicles: Occupational Exposure Claims
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With California once again expecting extreme heat conditions this summer, state officials are ramping up efforts to protect agricultural workers by punishing employers who don’t comply with heat standards. The state is...more
In February 2024, California State Senator Dave Cortese introduced Senate Bill (SB) 1299. The bill would add section 3212.81 to the California Labor Code to establish a workers’ compensation presumption related to heat...more
This week the 3rd Department released four new cases with a particular focus on psychological injuries. Learn more below. First is Anderson v. City of Yonkers, the 3rd Dept. examined the way the Board reviews psychological...more
Hudson v. Beebe Medical Center, S23A-10-002 NEP, 2024 WL 36063 (Del. Super. Jan. 3, 2024). Ms. Hudson worked as a front-line nurse for the employer on its COVID-19 floor in the Fall of 2020. She contracted COVID at some...more
Matter of Fernandez v. NYCTA. CV-23-0309 - The 3rd Dept. affirmed the Board’s decision to disallow this COVID-19 death claim. In this case, it involved an essential worker in the early days of COVID-19. The decedent was a...more
With summer in full swing accompanied by record-high temperatures, employers should consider developing and implementing measures to mitigate the risk of employees developing heat-related illnesses while working outside....more
Superior Court of Delaware, New Castle - Plaintiff Jeffery Saunders filed an action against numerous defendants, alleging that he was exposed to asbestos-containing products and sustained resulting injuries...more
In Herold v. University of Pittsburgh, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed a Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County decision, holding that: (1) common law claims for occupational diseases occurring four years...more
In Episode 3 of The Chartwell Chronicles, hosts Colin Davis and Brittany Atkinson discuss Occupational Exposure Claims. Topics of discussion include the different types of occupational claims, how Judges decide Motions, who...more
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in occupational exposure claims filed for employees who allege they have contracted COVID-19 in the course and scope of their employment. However, unlike other workers’...more
In light of the pandemic and its widespread impact on employee populations, many states have grappled with their workers’ compensation laws and regulations. These impacts are associated often with substantial medical costs...more
Key Takeaways - As of September 2020, New Jersey law created a “rebuttable presumption” that COVID-19 is work-related and fully compensable for the purposes of workers’ compensation—assuming the petitioner is an essential...more
A recent California appellate court decision provides insight into the surprising reach of employers’ liability with respect to employee COVID-19 infections. In See’s Candies, Inc. v. Superior Ct. of Cal., 73 Cal.App.5th...more
COVID-19 brought a heightened interest to the treatment of communicable diseases in casualty insurance policies during 2020. The Delta and Omicron variants have renewed attention to communicable disease exclusions and...more
The Delta variant of COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on businesses nationwide. Clients are contacting us daily with urgent questions as to how to deal with Delta and its impact on operations. As we ride the Delta wave, we...more
Washington has adopted new laws that presume workers’ compensation coverage for “frontline employees,” creating reporting requirements, and provide additional protections for “high risk” workers designed to better prepare the...more
As COVID-19-related litigation increases, courts are being called upon to interpret the scope of employers’ duties to protect their employees with relation to the virus. Last week, a California federal judge dismissed a...more
If an employee can establish a direct causal connection to its exposure to COVID-19 via its workplace, the employee may now have a valid claim for workers’ compensation coverage. On April 13, 2020, the Illinois Workers’...more
1. WCL § 2(15): Occupational Disease - “The Nature of Employment” - Matter of Renko v. NY State Police, 185 AD3d 1198 (3d Dept 2020) - • Facts: Claimant, an auto body mechanic, alleged that he developed prostate cancer...more
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. courts are wrestling with a growing number of new legal theories related to COVID-19. Not surprisingly, California – the most populous state with some of the most employee friendly...more
In the midst of the worldwide pandemic, mass layoffs and high unemployment, many workers are grateful to still have a job. But what happens when an employee contracts COVID-19 in the workplace, brings it home and infects one...more
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1159 into law on September 17, 2020. The law became effective immediately as of September 17, 2020 and created a presumption of compensability for workers compensation...more
This 26th edition of Unprecedented, our weekly update on COVID-19-related litigation, sees us returning to now-familiar topics involving liability protection for businesses, wrongful death lawsuits (particularly those...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: September 30 was Governor Newsom’s last day to sign or veto bills the Legislature passed by its August 31 deadline. Some new laws—including COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave and workers’ compensation...more
Q: Is there new legislation that expands COVID-19 protections to California employees? A: Since the beginning of 2020, employers have had to make significant changes to their operations due to an increasing number of newly...more