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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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Feb 23, 2013

New York: Mechanic’s Fatal Heart Attack Sustained on Employer’s Premises, But After Work Shift, Held Not Compensable

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

New York: Mechanic’s Fatal Heart Attack Sustained on Employer’s Premises, But After Work Shift, Held Not Compensable New York: Mechanic’s Fatal Heart Attack Sustained on Employer’s Premises, But After Work Shift, Held Not Compensable
Feb 16, 2013

South Carolina: Supreme Court Adopts Larson’s “Dual Persona” Doctrine

Answering a question certified to it by the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, in Mendenall v. Anderson Hardwood Floors, Inc.,...

South Carolina: Supreme Court Adopts Larson’s “Dual Persona” Doctrine South Carolina: Supreme Court Adopts Larson’s “Dual Persona” Doctrine
Feb 8, 2013

North Carolina: Intentional Tort Action Against Wal-Mart Related to Death of Wal-Mart “Greeter” Barred by Exclusivity

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina affirmed a trial court’s order granting various defendants’ motions for summary judgment on exclusivity grounds in a wrongful death action filed...

North Carolina: Intentional Tort Action Against Wal-Mart Related to Death of Wal-Mart “Greeter” Barred by Exclusivity North Carolina: Intentional Tort Action Against Wal-Mart Related to Death of Wal-Mart “Greeter” Barred by Exclusivity
Feb 5, 2013

Kentucky: Convenience Store Worker’s Access to Premises and Security Codes Provides Causal Link Between His Murder and the Employment

The Court of Appeals of Kentucky recently affirmed an award of death benefits to the administratrix of the estate of a deceased convenience store worker (“Pendleton”) who was found after...

Kentucky: Convenience Store Worker’s Access to Premises and Security Codes Provides Causal Link Between His Murder and the Employment Kentucky: Convenience Store Worker’s Access to Premises and Security Codes Provides Causal Link Between His Murder and the Employment
Jan 24, 2013

Florida: Court Reverses Injured Worker’s $2.7 Million Verdict Against Employer: Injury Was Not “Virtually Certain”

In a workers’ compensation immunity case, the Court of Appeal of Florida (Fourth District) yesterday reversed a $2.7 million jury verdict and final judgment in favor of an employee who...

Florida: Court Reverses Injured Worker’s $2.7 Million Verdict Against Employer: Injury Was Not “Virtually Certain” Florida: Court Reverses Injured Worker’s $2.7 Million Verdict Against Employer: Injury Was Not “Virtually Certain”
Jan 21, 2013

Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable

A Louisiana appellate court recently affirmed the denial of a claim filed by a police sergeant who sustained injuries when he fell in a stairwell at Police Headquarters following a...

Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable
Jan 7, 2013

Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury”

An Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment in favor of a medical center clerk who had received an award of workers’ compensation benefits related to physical...

Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury” Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury”
Jan 4, 2013

Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional

On the last day of 2012, and in a split decision, the Supreme Court of Montana reversed a trial court’s summary judgment decision that had earlier determined that the requirement...

Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional
Jan 4, 2013

D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed

In a case with a number of interesting twists, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a decision by a U.S. District Court that, in relevant part,...

D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed
Dec 31, 2012

Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing

A Missouri appellate court recently affirmed a jury verdict in favor of a former employer on a former employee’s claim of retaliatory discharge and agreed that the former employee was...

Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing
Dec 31, 2012

Michigan Becomes 5th State to Pass Social Media Law Affecting Employers’ Right to Private Information

On December 28, Michigan became the 5th state to pass a social media privacy law. House Bill 5523, entitled the Internet Privacy Protection Act, was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder...

Michigan Becomes 5th State to Pass Social Media Law Affecting Employers’ Right to Private Information Michigan Becomes 5th State to Pass Social Media Law Affecting Employers’ Right to Private Information
Dec 31, 2012

Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable

The Supreme Court of Arkansas, construing the state’s restrictive statute regarding the compensability of repetitive motion injuries, recently reversed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that had denied,...

Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable

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.