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Jan 6, 2025

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim

In Collins v. Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART), 2024 Iowa App. LEXIS 918 (Dec. 18, 2024), the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed denial of workers’ compensation benefits to...

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim
Jan 6, 2025

Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence

In Spisa-Kline v. Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital, 2024 Neb. App. LEXIS 750 (Dec. 31, 2024), the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the employer in a workers’ compensation...

Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence
Dec 31, 2024

Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits

Appeals Court Examines Going and Coming Rule The Oregon Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a Workers’ Compensation Board decision that had denied benefits to a worker injured while...

Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits
Dec 30, 2024

NC Court of Appeals Reverses $28.9 Million Tort Judgment

Insurer Had No Duty to Defend Intentional Tort Claim Against Co-Employee In Ortez v. Penn Nat’l Sec. Ins. Co., 2024 N.C. App. LEXIS 1017 (Dec. 17, 2024), the North Carolina...

NC Court of Appeals Reverses $28.9 Million Tort Judgment NC Court of Appeals Reverses $28.9 Million Tort Judgment

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Apr 19, 2013

Rhode Island: Utilizing “Street-Peril” or Street Risk Doctrine, Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim by Verizon Employee Assaulted by Random Stranger

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island recently quashed a decree by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court Appellate Division that in turn had affirmed a denial of workers’ compensation benefits to...

Rhode Island: Utilizing “Street-Peril” or Street Risk Doctrine, Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim by Verizon Employee Assaulted by Random Stranger Rhode Island: Utilizing “Street-Peril” or Street Risk Doctrine, Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim by Verizon Employee Assaulted by Random Stranger
Apr 17, 2013

New Mexico: Late Filing of Death Benefits Claim May Be Excused Where Delay Was Due, In Part, to Actions of Employer

The Supreme Court of New Mexico recently held that a death benefits claim filed by the widow of an off-duty police officer, who drowned while rescuing a twelve-year-old boy from...

New Mexico: Late Filing of Death Benefits Claim May Be Excused Where Delay Was Due, In Part, to Actions of Employer New Mexico: Late Filing of Death Benefits Claim May Be Excused Where Delay Was Due, In Part, to Actions of Employer
Apr 16, 2013

Minnesota: Costs to Modify Injured Worker’s Residence to Allow For Installation of Lift System Was Limited to Statutory Max of $60K

Installation of a lift system to enable paraplegic to transfer to and from her wheelchair more safely and to live more independently were remodeling costs subject to the $60,000 limit...

Minnesota: Costs to Modify Injured Worker’s Residence to Allow For Installation of Lift System Was Limited to Statutory Max of $60K Minnesota: Costs to Modify Injured Worker’s Residence to Allow For Installation of Lift System Was Limited to Statutory Max of $60K
Apr 9, 2013

Louisiana: Police Officer Fails To Establish Acute Appendicitis Claim Was Connected to Fall at Police Station

A Louisiana appellate court recently affirmed a finding by the Office of Workers’ Compensation that granted an employer police department’s motion for summary judgment regarding a claim filed by a...

Louisiana: Police Officer Fails To Establish Acute Appendicitis Claim Was Connected to Fall at Police Station Louisiana: Police Officer Fails To Establish Acute Appendicitis Claim Was Connected to Fall at Police Station
Apr 8, 2013

Montana’s Hutterite Colony Seeks Review by U.S. Supreme Court of Decision Requiring it to Provide Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Colony’s Workers

On April 1, the Hutterite Colony, a small religious sect in Montana, asked the United States Supreme Court to review and overturn a decision by the Supreme Court of Montana...

Montana’s Hutterite Colony Seeks Review by U.S. Supreme Court of Decision Requiring it to Provide Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Colony’s Workers Montana’s Hutterite Colony Seeks Review by U.S. Supreme Court of Decision Requiring it to Provide Workers’ Compensation Coverage for Colony’s Workers
Apr 8, 2013

Arkansas: Health Care Technician Fails to Establish Corneal Ulcer Was Associated With Work-Related Urine Splash

An Arkansas appellate court recently affirmed a decision denying a claim filed by a patient-care technician who contended that her corneal ulcer resulted from or was exacerbated by a workplace...

Arkansas: Health Care Technician Fails to Establish Corneal Ulcer Was Associated With Work-Related Urine Splash Arkansas: Health Care Technician Fails to Establish Corneal Ulcer Was Associated With Work-Related Urine Splash
Mar 29, 2013

Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified

On Tuesday, a Virginia appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that reinstated disability benefits to a convenience store employee who refused to undergo recommended surgery–a...

Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified Virginia: Employee’s Refusal of Second Knee Surgery Justified
Mar 27, 2013

Maine: Employer Not Entitled to Offset Incapacity Benefits Against Specific Loss Award for Amputation

The Supreme Judicial Court of Maine recently reversed an award by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that had granted an employee specific loss benefits for the amputation of a finger,...

Maine: Employer Not Entitled to Offset Incapacity Benefits Against Specific Loss Award for Amputation Maine: Employer Not Entitled to Offset Incapacity Benefits Against Specific Loss Award for Amputation
Mar 25, 2013

New York: No Death Benefits Awarded Where Work-Related Heart Attack Occurred 24 Years Earlier

A New York appellate court recently affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that ruled that the death of claimant’s husband was not causally related to his employment...

New York: No Death Benefits Awarded Where Work-Related Heart Attack Occurred 24 Years Earlier New York: No Death Benefits Awarded Where Work-Related Heart Attack Occurred 24 Years Earlier
Mar 23, 2013

Ohio: Appellate Court Distinguishes Case from Earlier Moorehead Decision: No Loss of Use of Trucker’s Legs Where He May Have Survived Wreck for Brief Period of Time

An Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state’s Industrial Commission that had denied additional workers’ compensation benefits for the scheduled loss of use of both of a...

Ohio: Appellate Court Distinguishes Case from Earlier Moorehead Decision: No Loss of Use of Trucker’s Legs Where He May Have Survived Wreck for Brief Period of Time Ohio: Appellate Court Distinguishes Case from Earlier Moorehead Decision: No Loss of Use of Trucker’s Legs Where He May Have Survived Wreck for Brief Period of Time
Mar 19, 2013

Ohio: Truck Driver’s Termination For Causing Accident in Which He Sustained Injuries Does Not Disqualify Him From TTD Benefits

In State ex rel. Haddox v. Industrial Comm’n, 2013 Ohio 794, 2013 Ohio LEXIS 618 (Mar. 12, 2013), the Supreme Court of Ohio recently affirmed an appellate court’s decision that...

Ohio: Truck Driver’s Termination For Causing Accident in Which He Sustained Injuries Does Not Disqualify Him From TTD Benefits Ohio: Truck Driver’s Termination For Causing Accident in Which He Sustained Injuries Does Not Disqualify Him From TTD Benefits
Feb 24, 2013

Washington: School Custodian’s Tort Claim Against Employer for PTSD Resulting From Clean-up Duties Following Student’s Suicide Is Barred by Exclusivity

Last Thursday, a Washington state appellate court affirmed the dismissal of a civil action filed by a school custodian against her employer, a school district and its superintendent, alleging intentional...

Washington: School Custodian’s Tort Claim Against Employer for PTSD Resulting From Clean-up Duties Following Student’s Suicide Is Barred by Exclusivity Washington: School Custodian’s Tort Claim Against Employer for PTSD Resulting From Clean-up Duties Following Student’s Suicide Is Barred by Exclusivity

New Comments

  • 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
  • Thomas A. Robinson: Good point, although the interesting thing about the case--at least to me--is that it discusses the important "injury by accident" issue. That issue, present in at least a plurality of state acts, is largely ignored by Commissions, Boards, and Courts these days. Here, also, the case was so fact-specific that even it had been issued as published, it would be factually distinguishable from many othe...
  • kathlyn gorman: It should have been noted in your discussion that this is an unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Thus, it does not constitute controlling legal authority.
  • Thomas A. Robinson: You're correct. Ordinarily, I can depend upon Alabama to provide me with at least one case for "the List." I'll bet 2022 will unearth something bizarre from the Great State of Alabama. Take care.