Month: November 2025

Nov 24, 2025

NY Court Reaffirms Limits on Board’s Authority to Reject Uncontroverted Medical Testimony

New York’s Appellate Division, Third Department, has again emphasized an important constraint on the Workers’ Compensation Board’s fact-finding prerogative: while the Board may weigh competing medical opinions, it may not...

NY Court Reaffirms Limits on Board’s Authority to Reject Uncontroverted Medical Testimony NY Court Reaffirms Limits on Board’s Authority to Reject Uncontroverted Medical Testimony
Nov 21, 2025

Idaho High Court Affirms Denial of COVID-19 Death Benefits Claim

The Idaho Supreme Court recently affirmed denial of workers’ compensation death benefits to the widow of a county road equipment operator who died from COVID-19 complications in October 2021, holding...

Idaho High Court Affirms Denial of COVID-19 Death Benefits Claim Idaho High Court Affirms Denial of COVID-19 Death Benefits Claim
Nov 19, 2025

Washington Court Rejects Attempt to Reduce Social Security Offset Based on Attorney Fees

In an unpublished decision, the Washington Court of Appeals has affirmed that the Department of Labor and Industries is not required to account for a claimant’s attorney fees when calculating...

Washington Court Rejects Attempt to Reduce Social Security Offset Based on Attorney Fees Washington Court Rejects Attempt to Reduce Social Security Offset Based on Attorney Fees
Nov 18, 2025

NV Supreme Court: Special Occupational Lung Disease Statute Does Not Cover COVID-19 Claims

The Nevada Supreme Court has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a correctional officer who contracted COVID-19 from a coworker, holding that Nevada’s special occupational lung disease statute...

NV Supreme Court: Special Occupational Lung Disease Statute Does Not Cover COVID-19 Claims NV Supreme Court: Special Occupational Lung Disease Statute Does Not Cover COVID-19 Claims
Nov 17, 2025

NY Claimant’s Social Media Posts Undermine His Misrepresentation Defense

In Matter of Qureshi v. Rite Aid Corp., 2025 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 6383 (3rd Dept. Nov. 13, 2025), a New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s...

NY Claimant’s Social Media Posts Undermine His Misrepresentation Defense NY Claimant’s Social Media Posts Undermine His Misrepresentation Defense
Nov 14, 2025

Tort Plaintiff Relies on Comp Doctrine to Establish Employer Vicarious Liability

The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Third Circuit, recently held that a tort plaintiff could rely on a workers’ compensation doctrine—the “special mission” exception to the going-and-coming rule—to establish an employer’s...

Tort Plaintiff Relies on Comp Doctrine to Establish Employer Vicarious Liability Tort Plaintiff Relies on Comp Doctrine to Establish Employer Vicarious Liability
Nov 13, 2025

FL Court: Misrepresentation Bar Limited to Specific Claim

In Pinellas County Transit Authority v. Jackson, 2025 Fla. App. LEXIS 8502 (1st DCA Nov. 12, 2025) a Florida appellate court held that the misrepresentation bar under § 440.105, Fla....

FL Court: Misrepresentation Bar Limited to Specific Claim FL Court: Misrepresentation Bar Limited to Specific Claim
Nov 11, 2025

Alabama Court Upholds 15 Percent Attorney Fee Cap in Comp Cases

The Alabama Court of Civil Appeals has rejected a constitutional challenge to Alabama’s statutory cap on claimant attorney fees, reaffirming the long-standing 15 per cent limitation in Ala. Code §...

Alabama Court Upholds 15 Percent Attorney Fee Cap in Comp Cases Alabama Court Upholds 15 Percent Attorney Fee Cap in Comp Cases
Nov 10, 2025

Delaware High Court Reaffirms Limits on Subrogation in UIM Awards

In ProAssurance Grp. v. Manz, 2025 Del. LEXIS 416 (Del. Nov. 7, 2025), the Delaware Supreme Court recently reaffirmed that workers’ compensation carriers’ subrogation rights against third-party recoveries extend only...

Delaware High Court Reaffirms Limits on Subrogation in UIM Awards Delaware High Court Reaffirms Limits on Subrogation in UIM Awards
Nov 7, 2025

Virginia Court Finds Dog Bite Compensable Under “Actual Risk” Doctrine

Utilizing what it calls the “actual risk” doctrine, the Virginia Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission ruling that a camp employee’s dog bite injury arose out of...

Virginia Court Finds Dog Bite Compensable Under “Actual Risk” Doctrine Virginia Court Finds Dog Bite Compensable Under “Actual Risk” Doctrine
Nov 5, 2025

NY: Brief School Hallway Contact Insufficient to Prove COVID-19 Work Exposure

A school custodian’s limited contact with students passing through hallways while mopping did not constitute the sort of “elevated risk of exposure” necessary to establish a compensable COVID-19 claim, send...

NY: Brief School Hallway Contact Insufficient to Prove COVID-19 Work Exposure NY: Brief School Hallway Contact Insufficient to Prove COVID-19 Work Exposure
Nov 3, 2025

Iowa Court: Skin Grafts for Two Body Parts are Scheduled—Not Unscheduled Injury

A workplace injury requiring skin grafting from one body part to repair another doesn’t automatically become an unscheduled whole-body claim, the Iowa Court of Appeals held in Laguerre v. JBS...

Iowa Court: Skin Grafts for Two Body Parts are Scheduled—Not Unscheduled Injury Iowa Court: Skin Grafts for Two Body Parts are Scheduled—Not Unscheduled Injury