State Supreme Court reviews of workers’ compensation cases are rare, but in Kentucky last week, the state high court handed down no fewer than three opinions – all of which emphasize long-established case law. The court ruled against an insurer in one case and in favor of the carriers in two other cases.
In one of the most severe cases of COVID-19 infection, in which a steel mill worker died after receiving a double-lung transplant, the court upheld an administrative law judge and the state Workers’ Compensation Board. The high court found that the estate of the unvaccinated worker did not prove that the disease was work-related, absolving the insurer of the responsibility for benefits...

If Perkins' estate had prevailed in the case, his survivors would likely have been eligible for up to $110,000 in burial expenses, one of the most generous burial benefits in the country, according to the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute. His spouse also would have been eligible for 40% of his average weekly wage, up to the maximum allowed for total disability.

Read the full article from Insurance Journal here.  The WCRI study cited is our recent publication Workers’ Compensation Laws as of January 1, 2025.