Court: Firefighter’s AFib Counts as Heart Disease under Presumption Law
- Florida’s First District Court of Appeal, in a published opinion filed Nov. 4, held that atrial fibrillation is “heart disease” under the state’s firefighter heart-lung presumption in § 112.18 and set aside the denial of Joseph Durden’s AFib claim against St. Johns County Fire Rescue / Preferred Governmental Claims Solutions (No. 1D2024-1623).
- Durden, a firefighter/paramedic since 2007, awoke on vacation Aug. 24, 2023, with palpitations, was diagnosed with AFib and discharged the same day. He sought workers’ compensation for AFib and hypertension. The employer/carrier conceded a clean pre-employment physical and disability if AFib qualified as heart disease, and withdrew its rebuttal of the occupational presumption.
- A judge of compensation claims had denied the AFib claim, reading an earlier case (Harlem) to limit “heart disease” to structural weakening of vessels or valves. Both independent medical examiners testified AFib is heart disease.
- The First DCA remanded for the remaining AFib benefit issues. The hypertension denial, which was unchallenged, stands.
Court Affirms Specific-Loss Award for Worker’s Right-Eye Vision Loss
- The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania on Nov. 6 affirmed the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board’s order awarding an injured worker specific-loss and related benefits against Johnson Service Group, Inc.
- The worker, Fitzrupert Dowridge, filed a claim petition Nov. 1, 2021, alleging a September 2021 work injury, which the employer disputed. A workers’ compensation judge found loss of use of the right eye for all practical intents and purposes and awarded specific loss (275 weeks) plus a 10-week healing period and later 50 weeks for disfigurement.
- The Board affirmed the specific-loss and healing awards, denied total disability for separate injuries, and remanded on disfigurement. After remand the Board again affirmed the disfigurement award.
- The employer argued the remand decision lacked substantial evidence and that any vision award should be cut to about 27.5 weeks because of pre-injury right-eye deficits. The court affirmed both Board orders.
Alabama Filing Seeks 2.2% Loss-Cost Cut, 1.6% Assigned-Risk Increase for 2027
- The National Council on Compensation Insurance on Oct. 7 submitted a proposal to Alabama’s Department of Insurance to decrease voluntary-market loss costs 2.2% and increase assigned-risk rates 1.6% effective March 1, 2027.
- The filing uses policy years 2021–2024 experience evaluated at year-end 2025. NCCI says the loss-cost drop was driven mainly by a long-term decline in lost-time claim frequency. Also, severity after wage inflation has been roughly flat, while an uptick in large losses from 2022 through 2024 added upward pressure.
- The assigned-risk increase is tied to higher assigned-risk expenses and a larger uncollectible-premium provision.
New Jersey Approves 1.9% Workers’ Comp Rate Cut for 2027
- New Jersey’s Department of Banking and Insurance has approved the state’s Compensation Rating & Inspection Bureau’s recommendation for a 1.9% decrease in workers’ compensation rates and rating values on policies incepting on or after Jan. 1, 2027.
- The bureau originally proposed a 1.3% cut, but after talks with the department, the filing was revised to a two-year policy average, producing the 1.9% decrease. The decreases was driven by declining loss experience, which was offset by a small increase in benefit amounts.
- Weekly maximum benefits move from $1,199 to $1,241 and the minimum from $320 to $331, while the permanent-partial weekly floor remains at $35. Industry-group averages include manufacturing, −3.1%; contracting, −1.4%; office and clerical, +3.5%; and goods and services, −3.2%.