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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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Jul 7, 2015

NY Cage Dancer Forfeits Right to Future Comp Benefits

A New York appellate court has refused to vacate a portion of a county court’s judgment that, following a defendant’s guilty plea to fraudulent practices (N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law §...

NY Cage Dancer Forfeits Right to Future Comp Benefits NY Cage Dancer Forfeits Right to Future Comp Benefits
Jul 3, 2015

How One State Bucked Trend of Allowing Former Spouse to Access Post-Divorce Workers’ Comp Benefits

With the divorce rate for U.S. marriages hovering at almost 50 percent, courts and legislatures are called upon to weigh two conflicting rules related to workers’ compensation benefits when it...

How One State Bucked Trend of Allowing Former Spouse to Access Post-Divorce Workers’ Comp Benefits How One State Bucked Trend of Allowing Former Spouse to Access Post-Divorce Workers’ Comp Benefits
Jun 25, 2015

New Mexico Court Finds State’s “Farm and Ranch Laborer” Exclusion Unconstitutional

In Rodriguez v. Brand West Dairy, 2015 N.M. App. LEXIS 69 (June 22, 2015), a divided Court of Appeals of New Mexico recently held that the exclusion of coverage afforded...

New Mexico Court Finds State’s “Farm and Ranch Laborer” Exclusion Unconstitutional New Mexico Court Finds State’s “Farm and Ranch Laborer” Exclusion Unconstitutional
Jun 24, 2015

Florida Appellate Court Throws Out Judge Cueto’s “Padgett” Decision on Procedural Grounds

Earlier today (June 24th), Florida’s Third District Court of Appeal reversed and completely repudiated the decision of Judge Jorge E. Cueto, Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, that had, on August 19,...

Florida Appellate Court Throws Out Judge Cueto’s “Padgett” Decision on Procedural Grounds Florida Appellate Court Throws Out Judge Cueto’s “Padgett” Decision on Procedural Grounds
Jun 23, 2015

Maryland: Electronic Submission of Claim Does Not Toll Statute of Limitations

In Hranicka v. Chesapeake Surgical, Ltd., 2015 Md. LEXIS 413 (June 18, 2015), the Court of Appeals of Maryland held that an employee’s claim was time-barred under Md. Code Ann.,...

Maryland: Electronic Submission of Claim Does Not Toll Statute of Limitations Maryland: Electronic Submission of Claim Does Not Toll Statute of Limitations
Jun 15, 2015

Colorado High Court Ok’s Firing of Worker For State-Authorized Use of Medical Marijuana

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Colorado, affirming a split decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, held that under the plain language of Colo. Rev. Stat. § 24–34–402.5, Colorado’s...

Colorado High Court Ok’s Firing of Worker For State-Authorized Use of Medical Marijuana Colorado High Court Ok’s Firing of Worker For State-Authorized Use of Medical Marijuana
Jun 12, 2015

Iowa Court Affirms Rejection of “Uncontradicted” Expert Testimony

An commissioner’s award of permanent total disability benefits to an HVAC employee who claimed he suffered an electric shock while servicing a unit at a customer’s residence was supported by...

Iowa Court Affirms Rejection of “Uncontradicted” Expert Testimony Iowa Court Affirms Rejection of “Uncontradicted” Expert Testimony
Jun 10, 2015

Ohio Worker Injured Having “Kick Ass Time” May Not Sue Co-Worker

An Ohio restaurant employee may not pursue a negligence action against a co-worker for personal injuries sustained in a golf cart accident that occurred on an island resort where the...

Ohio Worker Injured Having “Kick Ass Time” May Not Sue Co-Worker Ohio Worker Injured Having “Kick Ass Time” May Not Sue Co-Worker
Jun 9, 2015

Arkansas Truck Driver’s Fatal Injuries Sustained While Crossing Street After Break Are Compensable

An Arkansas tanker-truck driver sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of the employment when he was struck by a vehicle as the truck driver exited a...

Arkansas Truck Driver’s Fatal Injuries Sustained While Crossing Street After Break Are Compensable

Arkansas Truck Driver’s Fatal Injuries Sustained While Crossing Street After Break Are Compensable

Jun 8, 2015

South Dakota: Horseplay Injury During Lull In Workday Found Compensable

Applying the four Larson factors to determine whether an act of horseplay was or was not a substantial deviation from the employment [see Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 23.01], the...

South Dakota: Horseplay Injury During Lull In Workday Found Compensable South Dakota: Horseplay Injury During Lull In Workday Found Compensable
Jun 5, 2015

Florida Court Says Judge Should Have Disqualified Himself For Bias

In Kline v. JRD Management Corp., 2015 Fla. App. LEXIS 8364 (1st DCA, June 2, 2015), a Florida appellate court recently held that a judge of compensation claims (“JCC”) erred...

Florida Court Says Judge Should Have Disqualified Himself For Bias Florida Court Says Judge Should Have Disqualified Himself For Bias
May 29, 2015

California Court: Leasing Employers and Temporary Service Employers May Not Self-Insure

Earlier this month, a California appellate court struck down a challenge by two staffing companies that had sued the state, alleging that Cal. Lab. Code § 3701.9, added in 2012...

California Court: Leasing Employers and Temporary Service Employers May Not Self-Insure California Court: Leasing Employers and Temporary Service Employers May Not Self-Insure

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