As a member of the Workers' Compensation Department, Ben represents employers, insurance carriers and third-party administrators in defense of workers' compensation claims before the Industrial Accident Board and Delaware courts.
Ben earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Delaware in 2007, and went on to receive his juris doctor from Widener University School of Law in 2012. After law school, he served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable James T. Vaughn, Jr., who was then President Judge of the Delaware Superior Court.
Ben is a member of Delaware Claims Association, Delaware State Bar Association Workers’ Compensation Section and the Randy J. Holland Delaware Workers’ Compensation American Inn of Court. He is admitted to practice in the State of Delaware.
Honors & awards
The Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch, Workers’ Compensation Law - Employers
2024-2025
Top Lawyer, Workers' Compensation Employer Defense, Delaware Today Magazine
November 2022
Year joined
2017
Results
petition to terminate ongoing receipt of TPD benefits granted on basis that claimant voluntarily removed himself from the workforce
Workers' Compensation
October 22, 2025
The Industrial Accident Board (IAB) granted our petition to terminate the ongoing receipt of temporary partial disability (TPD) benefits on the basis that the claimant had voluntarily removed himself from the workforce. The claimant was a correction officer who suffered head injuries in an altercation with an inmate. He was out of work for a time and eventually released to return to work on modified duty. His restrictions were permanent and, because they could not be accommodated by his employer, he was placed on TPD.
Petition to Terminate Temporary Partial Disability Benefits Granted
Workers' Compensation
October 22, 2025
We were successful in having our petition to terminate the ongoing receipt of temporary partial disability benefits granted on the basis that the claimant had voluntarily removed himself from the workforce.
DELAWARE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS THE DECISIONS OF THE IAB AND SUPERIOR COURT, HOLDING THAT AN EMPLOYER CORRECTLY PAID FOR KETAMINE INFUSION TREATMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE DELAWARE FEE SCHEDULE
Workers' Compensation
March 21, 2024
The claimant injured her right wrist in 2016 while working as a teacher for the State. Her injury eventually developed into complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) involving multiple extremities. From 2017 to 2021, the State paid for 23 ketamine infusion treatments to treat the claimant’s CRPS. The treatment was rendered by an out-of-state provider. In 2019, the State contracted with a new bill-review company that paid substantially lower amounts than was previously paid for the same treatment.
Industrial Accident Board grants motion for reimbursement.
Workers' Compensation
November 1, 2022
We succeeded in having the Industrial Accident Board grant reimbursement of an amount of total disability benefits tendered that were offset by contemporaneous short-term disability payments. The Board denied the claimant’s motion to compel production of paystubs that he claimed were required to determine the appropriate offset amount, if any. The Board reasoned that the information provided was sufficient to calculate the overpayment amount and that the Fair Labor Standards Act did not require the pay records be kept in any particular form.
Defense prevails before the Industrial Accident Board.
Workers' Compensation
December 2, 2021
The claimant alleged several injuries. The Board denied the claimant’s petition for additional compensation due on all counts, and granted the employer’s petition for review to terminate total disability benefits. Specifically, the Board concluded that (1) a proposed left ankle reconstruction surgery was not reasonable and necessary, (2) there was insufficient evidence to prove a compensable left knee injury, (3) there was insufficient evidence to prove a compensable lumbar spine injury and (4) the claimant was capable of unrestricted return to work.
Thought Leadership
Industrial Accident Board Denies EMT’s Motion to Amend Injury Date, Citing Statute of Limitations and Inexcusable Neglect
Wilmington
Workers' Compensation
July 1, 2025
The Industrial Accident Board dismissed a workers’ compensation claim after determining that the claimant’s attempt to amend the alleged date of injury was both untimely and the result of inexcusable neglect. What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 29, No.
Petition to terminate total disability benefits for claimant who had light-duty restrictions that could not be accommodated denied; claimant had reasonable expectation of returning to pre-injury job with same employer when his condition improved.
Wilmington
Workers' Compensation
February 1, 2025
On November 4, 2023, the claimant injured his left knee in a compensable work accident that required surgery to his patella. He had to switch doctors after his first treating surgeon passed away. What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 29, No.
Delaware Superior Court reverses Industrial Accident Board decision, holding the Board erred as a matter of law and abused its discretion when it awarded compensation to a claimant whose intoxication proximately caused a motor vehicle accident.
Wilmington
Workers' Compensation
January 1, 2025
On June 8, 2021, at approximately 4 a.m., Mr. Willis was involved in single-vehicle accident when his work truck struck a guardrail. What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 29, No.
TOP 10 DEVELOPMENTS IN DELAWARE WORKERS’ COMPENSATION IN 2024
Wilmington
Workers' Compensation
December 1, 2024
1. The Delaware Supreme Court affirmed an Industrial Accident Board decision that concluded that a COVID-19 workplace exposure at a poultry processing plant did not qualify as a compensable occupational disease. What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 28, No.
Petition for compensability of post-concussion syndrome treatment granted. Petition to terminate total disability benefits, alleging ability to return to work w/restrictions and forfeited right to benefits for refusing reasonable medical treatment, denied
Wilmington
Workers' Compensation
November 1, 2024
Ms. Makowski injured her low back, neck, shoulder, head/brain in a work-related motor vehicle accident on January 22, 2009, and remained on total disability benefits. The Industrial Accident Board later determined that Ms. What’s Hot in Workers’ Comp, Vol. 28, No.
Classes/Seminars Taught
Ethics and the Duty to the Tribunal and Opposing Counsel, panelist, Delaware State Bar Association and the Industrial Accident Board Workers' Compensation Seminar 2023, Wilmington, Delaware, May 2, 2023
Strategies to Limit Exposure and Minimize Risk, Marshall Dennehey Workers' Compensation Seminar, October 27, 2022
Do’s and Don’ts in the Practice of Workers Compensation, Delaware State Bar Association William D. Rimmer Workers’ Compensation Seminar 2022, Wilmington, Delaware, May 3, 2022
Are You Coming or Going - Do You Know Your Course and Scope?, Marshall Dennehey webinar, October 26, 2020
AV Preeminent®: The highest peer rating standard. This rating signifies a large number of the lawyer’s peers rank him
or her at the highest level of professional excellence for their legal knowledge, communication skills and ethical standards.
Distinguished: An excellent rating for a lawyer with some experience. This rating indicates the attorney is widely
respected by their peers for high professional achievement and ethical standards.
Notable: This rating indicates that the lawyer has been recognized by a large number of their peers for strong ethical standards.
