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Jun 2, 2026

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity

Court Applies Massachusetts Law to Maine Injury, Rejects Immunity Defense in Multi-State Staffing Arrangement A New Hampshire contractor that likely would have enjoyed workers’ compensation immunity under Maine law lost...

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity
Jun 1, 2026

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions

New York’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Appellate Division order blocking defendants in a personal injury action from using a Workers’ Compensation Board causation determination as collateral estoppel, holding...

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions
May 27, 2026

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment

In a case involving a Nebraska truck driver-farm laborer whose treatment for metastatic cancer was allegedly postponed by complications associated with a compensable hip injury and its resulting treatment, the...

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment
May 26, 2026

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

A North Carolina district manager who suffered a stroke while preparing for the opening of a restaurant location—and who allegedly waited hours before coworkers summoned emergency assistance—may not pursue negligence...

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

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Dec 9, 2015

Amendments to Social Security Act in 2000 Do Not Trump Kansas Offset Statute

Overruling Dickens v. Pizza Co., Inc., 266 Kan. 1066, 1071, 974 P.2d 601 (1999), which had adopted an exception to the general rule allowing reduction in workers’ compensation benefits where...

Amendments to Social Security Act in 2000 Do Not Trump Kansas Offset Statute Amendments to Social Security Act in 2000 Do Not Trump Kansas Offset Statute
Dec 8, 2015

Illinois Police Officer’s Back Injury Lifting Duty Bag at Home Found Compensable

A police officer, who injured his back as he lifted his “duty bag” to place it in his personal vehicle prior to leaving his home for work sustained an injury...

Illinois Police Officer’s Back Injury Lifting Duty Bag at Home Found Compensable Illinois Police Officer’s Back Injury Lifting Duty Bag at Home Found Compensable
Dec 2, 2015

Washington Appellate Court Again Says “Tasered Trooper’s” Tort Action Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy Defense

Did Intermediate Appellate Court Abide by Supreme Court’s Remand Instructions? In a case that has ricocheted from a Washington state trial court to an intermediate appellate court and from that appellate court...

Washington Appellate Court Again Says “Tasered Trooper’s” Tort Action Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy Defense Washington Appellate Court Again Says “Tasered Trooper’s” Tort Action Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy Defense
Nov 9, 2015

Widow of Illinois Mesothelioma Victim Finds Herself with Catch–22

The widow of a worker who was diagnosed with mesothelioma some 40 years after his exposure to asbestos may not sue the former employer to recover damages since her exclusive...

Widow of Illinois Mesothelioma Victim Finds Herself with Catch–22 Widow of Illinois Mesothelioma Victim Finds Herself with Catch–22
Nov 5, 2015

Orwellian Equality: Oklahoma’s Controversial Workers’ Comp Opt Out Legislation

Original Workers’ Comp Scheme: Equal Treatment of All Injured Employees Within a State In Orwell’s classic allegorical work, Animal Farm, Snowball and Napoleon, recognizing the horrors of the status quo,...

Orwellian Equality: Oklahoma’s Controversial Workers’ Comp Opt Out Legislation Orwellian Equality: Oklahoma’s Controversial Workers’ Comp Opt Out Legislation
Oct 29, 2015

Divided PA Supreme Court Says Mother/Caregiver’s Injuries at Hands of Knife-Wielding Son Were Not Compensable

In a truly bizarre case, a divided Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that the state’s Commonwealth Court erred in finding that a claimant met her burden of proving that she...

Divided PA Supreme Court Says Mother/Caregiver’s Injuries at Hands of Knife-Wielding Son Were Not Compensable Divided PA Supreme Court Says Mother/Caregiver’s Injuries at Hands of Knife-Wielding Son Were Not Compensable
Oct 20, 2015

Illinois Retaliatory Discharge Claim May Not Be Removed to Federal Court

A retaliatory discharge action filed under 820 Ill. Comp. Stat. Ann. § 305/4(h)—part of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act—may not be removed from an Illinois trial court to a federal...

Illinois Retaliatory Discharge Claim May Not Be Removed to Federal Court Illinois Retaliatory Discharge Claim May Not Be Removed to Federal Court
Oct 15, 2015

Iowa Sole Proprietor Working Alongside Others is Still Employer For Purposes of Workers’ Compensation Exclusive Remedy Defense

An Iowa sole proprietor, who worked alongside his employees, was nevertheless still an employer—and not a co-employee—for purposes of the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Act, held a state appellate court [Mullen...

Iowa Sole Proprietor Working Alongside Others is Still Employer For Purposes of Workers’ Compensation Exclusive Remedy Defense Iowa Sole Proprietor Working Alongside Others is Still Employer For Purposes of Workers’ Compensation Exclusive Remedy Defense
Oct 13, 2015

New York Nurse Awarded 90% Loss of Wage-Earning Capacity Due to Allergic Reaction to Hand Sanitizer

A New York appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that a former critical care nurse suffered a work-related 90 percent loss of wage-earning capacity where...

New York Nurse Awarded 90% Loss of Wage-Earning Capacity Due to Allergic Reaction to Hand Sanitizer New York Nurse Awarded 90% Loss of Wage-Earning Capacity Due to Allergic Reaction to Hand Sanitizer
Oct 12, 2015

Wyoming Employer Need Not Keep Immigration Documentation on Hand

While the workers’ compensation laws of virtually all states include illegally employed persons—e.g., minors and undocumented “aliens”—within the term “employee,” Wyoming’s definition is more restrictive. Only those aliens whom the...

Wyoming Employer Need Not Keep Immigration Documentation on Hand Wyoming Employer Need Not Keep Immigration Documentation on Hand
Sep 28, 2015

Wyoming High Court Adopts “Substantial and Motivating Factor” Test to Judge Retaliatory Discharge Claim

Adopting the “substantial and motivating factor” test to determine if an employer’s decision to terminate a worker’s employment was retaliatory, the Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed a trial court order...

Wyoming High Court Adopts “Substantial and Motivating Factor” Test to Judge Retaliatory Discharge Claim Wyoming High Court Adopts “Substantial and Motivating Factor” Test to Judge Retaliatory Discharge Claim
Sep 22, 2015

PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed.

Last Friday, a deeply divided Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania struck down as unconstitutional the requirement, codified in § 306(a.2) of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act [77 Pa. Stat. Ann. §...

PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed. PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed.

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