In Spade v. Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49799 (E.D. Ky. Mar. 11, 2026), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary...
Federal Court (E.D. Ky.) Rejects Workers’ Comp Retaliation Claim Despite Sympathetic Facts Federal Court (E.D. Ky.) Rejects Workers’ Comp Retaliation Claim Despite Sympathetic FactsSmall contractors sometimes believe that keeping their payroll lean — two employees instead of three — will keep them outside the reach of the workers’ compensation statute. But the Virginia...
Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold Case Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold CaseIn Garcia v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 6549 (2d Cir. Mar. 5, 2026), the Second Circuit denied a petition for review filed by a...
Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore ActEvery dollar spent on workers’ compensation falls into one of two broad categories: benefits paid to injured workers—medical care and wage replacement—and the costs of delivering those benefits. The second...
New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering BenefitsSenate Bill 721 On Wednesday, state senator Mark Green (Republican from Clarksville), introduced Senate Bill 721 to the Tennessee legislature. If enacted, many Tennessee employers would be allowed to opt-out...
Workers’ Comp “Opt-Out” Bill Introduced in Tennessee Legislature Workers’ Comp “Opt-Out” Bill Introduced in Tennessee LegislatureArguments were held last week in connection with motions pending in a federal lawsuit [O’Connor v. Uber, 13–3826, U.S. District Court, N.D. Cal.- San Francisco] that could put an ugly...
Could Employee Classification Issues Uberwhelm the Uber Business Model? Could Employee Classification Issues Uberwhelm the Uber Business Model?Illustrating the point that for telecommuting employees, who are often tethered to their employers by ubiquitous cell phones and tablets, the line between the employment world and private life is...
Maine Home Treadmill Fatality Found Compensable Maine Home Treadmill Fatality Found CompensableAn authorized treating health care provider’s “certification” authorizing the use of medical marijuana under New Mexico’s Compassionate Use Act [N.M. Stat. Ann. § 26–2B–1 et seq.] is the functional equivalent...
New Mexico: Health Care Provider’s “Certification” of Medical Marijuana is Functional Equivalent of Prescription for Injured Worker New Mexico: Health Care Provider’s “Certification” of Medical Marijuana is Functional Equivalent of Prescription for Injured WorkerThe Supreme Court of South Carolina, reversing the state court of appeals, recently held that an office worker who sustained injuries when she fell as she walked down an unobstructed,...
South Carolina Supreme Court Adopts What Amounts to Positional Risk Standard in Slip and Fall Cases South Carolina Supreme Court Adopts What Amounts to Positional Risk Standard in Slip and Fall CasesIn a split decision dealing with the application of the personal comfort doctrine described in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 21.01, et seq., a majority of the Supreme Court of...
Kentucky High Court Splits in Case Involving Personal Comfort Doctrine Kentucky High Court Splits in Case Involving Personal Comfort DoctrineA Federal District Court in Texas has refused to grant a motion for summary judgment filed by Defendant BP Products North America, Inc. (“BP Products”) in a civil action arising...
For Now, Exclusivity Does Not Bar Workers’ Tort Cases Against BP Products Following 2011 Chemical Release at Refinery For Now, Exclusivity Does Not Bar Workers’ Tort Cases Against BP Products Following 2011 Chemical Release at RefineryNY Employer’s Surveillance of Injured Worker Fails to Establish Fraud
A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that an employer’s surveillance videos and testimony of its private investigator, which primarily showed a workers’...
NY Employer’s Surveillance of Injured Worker Fails to Establish Fraud
NY Employer’s Surveillance of Injured Worker Fails to Establish Fraud
A New York appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that a claimant had not voluntarily withdrawn from the labor market by refusing a light duty...
New York Court Finds Worker’s Refusal of Light-Work Justified New York Court Finds Worker’s Refusal of Light-Work JustifiedReiterating the Ohio rule that that a pre-injury infraction undetected until after the injury is not grounds for concluding that a claimant voluntarily abandoned his employment so as to preclude...
Ohio Worker May Receive TTD Benefits In Spite of Positive Drug Test After Injury Ohio Worker May Receive TTD Benefits In Spite of Positive Drug Test After InjuryIn an action alleging bad-faith denial of insurance benefits filed by an undocumented worker who sustained severe injuries in a work-related accident, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, construing Iowa...
8th Circuit: Insurer’s Refusal to Pay for Injured Undocumented Worker’s Groceries and Cable TV Not Bad-Faith Denial of Insurance Benefits 8th Circuit: Insurer’s Refusal to Pay for Injured Undocumented Worker’s Groceries and Cable TV Not Bad-Faith Denial of Insurance BenefitsThe Court of Appeals of Kentucky, in Roberts v. Sticklen, 2014 Ky. App. LEXIS 186 (Dec. 12, 2014) held that the plain language of Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 342.320(2)(a)...
Kentucky Court Affirms Limitation of Attorney’s Fee in Comp Claim Involving Multiple Beneficiaries Kentucky Court Affirms Limitation of Attorney’s Fee in Comp Claim Involving Multiple Beneficiaries
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