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Oct 5, 2026

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee

LA Fourth Circuit, 3–2, Holds Dump-Truck Driver Paid 25% of Truck Earnings Was an Employee Despite 1099; Dissent Invokes Manifest-Error Review The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit recently reversed...

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee
Sep 29, 2026

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation

KY Supreme Court Holds the Statutory Presumption Against Recovery for Intoxicating Substances Does Not Apply to Alcohol The Kentucky Supreme Court has affirmed benefits for a traffic flagger who was...

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation
Sep 28, 2026

The Heart Has Wiring, Too

FL First DCA Holds Harlem’s Narrow “Heart Disease” Definition Does Not Bar a Firefighter’s Arrhythmia Claim Under the Heart-Lung Presumption Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has affirmed an award...

The Heart Has Wiring, Too The Heart Has Wiring, Too
Sep 24, 2026

“Closed” Under Old Rules, Reprocessed Under New

Oregon Court Applies New Claim-Closure Requirements to Case Pending on Judicial Review The Oregon Court of Appeals has held that 2022 amendments limiting retroactive “medically stationary” determinations apply to a...

“Closed” Under Old Rules, Reprocessed Under New “Closed” Under Old Rules, Reprocessed Under New

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Mar 9, 2017

S.C. Supreme Court Says Return to Work Insufficient to Rebut Presumption of PTD Where Impairment to Back is Greater Than 50 Percent

Yesterday, in a divided decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, overruling an earlier decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, held that evidence of subsequent employment is insufficient by...

S.C. Supreme Court Says Return to Work Insufficient to Rebut Presumption of PTD Where Impairment to Back is Greater Than 50 Percent S.C. Supreme Court Says Return to Work Insufficient to Rebut Presumption of PTD Where Impairment to Back is Greater Than 50 Percent
Mar 2, 2017

Virginia Employer Proves Employee Was Intoxicated, But Still Loses Case

The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently reiterated that in order to defeat a claim for workers’ compensation benefits, it is not enough to show that an employee was intoxicated...

Virginia Employer Proves Employee Was Intoxicated, But Still Loses Case Virginia Employer Proves Employee Was Intoxicated, But Still Loses Case
Mar 1, 2017

$841,200 Fine Against Small Colorado Employer Was Unconstitutionally Excessive

While upholding the facial constitutionality of Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8–43–409, which provides for the imposition of fines against certain employers that fail to maintain workers’ compensation insurance, a Colorado...

$841,200 Fine Against Small Colorado Employer Was Unconstitutionally Excessive $841,200 Fine Against Small Colorado Employer Was Unconstitutionally Excessive
Mar 1, 2017

Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies “Willful Misconduct” Doctrine

Reversing a decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia, in Telecom v. Burdette, 2017 Ga. LEXIS 103 (Feb. 27, 2017), held that while the mere...

Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies “Willful Misconduct” Doctrine Georgia Supreme Court Clarifies “Willful Misconduct” Doctrine
Feb 16, 2017

Wyoming Worker Fails to Connect the Dots Between Original Surgery and Subsequent Procedure to Alleviate Continued Pain

The Supreme Court of Wyoming affirmed a finding by a state district court that an injured worker failed to establish a causal connection between her 2013 need for shoulder surgery...

Wyoming Worker Fails to Connect the Dots Between Original Surgery and Subsequent Procedure to Alleviate Continued Pain Wyoming Worker Fails to Connect the Dots Between Original Surgery and Subsequent Procedure to Alleviate Continued Pain
Feb 13, 2017

Ohio Employee’s Personal Delivery of FMLA Documents Was Not in Course and Scope of Employment

An Ohio appellate court affirmed a trial court’s finding that injuries sustained by an employee when she slipped and fell while descending a stairway as she left her employer’s HR...

Ohio Employee’s Personal Delivery of FMLA Documents Was Not in Course and Scope of Employment Ohio Employee’s Personal Delivery of FMLA Documents Was Not in Course and Scope of Employment
Feb 10, 2017

Like Oil & Water, Oxycodone and Xanax Don’t Mix

Nebraska Worker’s Death From Apparent Suicide is Not Compensable In a case that is heartbreaking from multiple points of view, the family of an injured Nebraska employee was denied workers’...

Like Oil & Water, Oxycodone and Xanax Don’t Mix Like Oil & Water, Oxycodone and Xanax Don’t Mix
Jan 26, 2017

NCCI May Not Impose Bankrupt Staffing Company’s Experience Rating on Purchaser in Court-Approved Sale of Assets

A debtor’s workers’ compensation experience rating is the sort of “interest” of which the debtor’s assets can be sold free and clear, under § 363 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code,...

NCCI May Not Impose Bankrupt Staffing Company’s Experience Rating on Purchaser in Court-Approved Sale of Assets NCCI May Not Impose Bankrupt Staffing Company’s Experience Rating on Purchaser in Court-Approved Sale of Assets
Jan 20, 2017

National Conference Session Points to Increase Use of Telemedicine for Injured Workers

In the past few years, a great deal of appropriate attention has been spent pondering various ways in which access to medical care could be improved for injured workers. Various...

National Conference Session Points to Increase Use of Telemedicine for Injured Workers National Conference Session Points to Increase Use of Telemedicine for Injured Workers
Jan 19, 2017

Lousiana Court Sustains Worker’s West Nile Virus Claim as Accidental Injury

A Louisiana appellate court affirmed, in relevant part, a ruling by a state workers’ compensation judge that a worker sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course...

Lousiana Court Sustains Worker’s West Nile Virus Claim as Accidental Injury Lousiana Court Sustains Worker’s West Nile Virus Claim as Accidental Injury
Jan 16, 2017

Book Review: Does Pop Culture’s PTSD Discussion Give You Combat Fatigue?

Martin Klug’s New Book Provides Important Insight During a famous incident that occurred in Sicily during August 1943, General George S. Patton, in two separate incidents, slapped U.S. Army privates...

Book Review: Does Pop Culture’s PTSD Discussion Give You Combat Fatigue? Book Review: Does Pop Culture’s PTSD Discussion Give You Combat Fatigue?
Jan 12, 2017

Memo to Worker’ Comp Carrier: Standing on Your Rights Can Result in Scorched Feet

Tennessee Appeals Panel Affirms $27K Attorney’s Fee Related to $187 Medical Claim In Grissom v. UPS, 2017 Tenn. LEXIS 4 (Jan. 9, 2017), the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel of the...

Memo to Worker’ Comp Carrier: Standing on Your Rights Can Result in Scorched Feet Memo to Worker’ Comp Carrier: Standing on Your Rights Can Result in Scorched Feet

New Comments

  • ramivou: They hid behind a flawed "reading" of this statute for a decade. I am glad the SC finally put an end to the misconception that it was a "first six months only" filing requirement, rather than an ongoing responsibility.
  • trob: Thanks for the query. New York's going and coming doctrine is similar to that in place in the majority of jurisdictions. That is to say that for employees with a fixed place of work and who are on a relatively consistent work schedule, the commute to and from the residence is outside the course and scope of the employment. Often overlooked is the fact that the employee must generally have a fixed ...
  • ramivou: Is coming and going covered in NY?
  • trob: Excellent question. My thought is that the employer was following what it assumed was the typical practice of seeking to protect its "subrogation" interest in state court; in virtually all jurisdictions, the state trial courts are where subrogation issues are litigated. What differed here, of course, was that it wasn't a standard subrogation case, i.e., the employee's work-related injury wasn't ca...
  • ramivou: Why didn't they file it with the state Commission instead?
  • Thomas A. Robinson: I suspect that ACME could seek contractual indemnity, as you note, either from the staffing agency or its carrier. The goal of the Board or agency generally is to see to the proper award of benefits for compensable injuries. Allowing the "aggrieved" parties to sort it out later is completely consistent with the overall theory of workers' compensation. Many thanks for the comment. Best wishes.
  • Barry Stinson: I wonder if Acme's insurer could seek contractural indemnity from Variety's insurer outside of the WC system.
  • Michael C. Duff: The conceptual distinction is between joint causation and presumptive single causation.
  • Thomas A. Robinson: Sorry, I don't/can't provide legal advice. Best wishes, however.
  • Ken Smith: What can I do when my attorney blows my case with an incomplete RB89