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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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Apr 9, 2015

PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage

On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania appellate court held that a claimant, whose purported husband had been killed in a work-related rollover accident at a ski resort, had presented clear and convincing...

PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage
Apr 9, 2015

Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset

The 6.5% assessment, payable by a Maryland employer or insurer to the state’s Subsequent Injury Fund on: (i) each award for permanent disability or death, or (ii) each amount payable...

Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset
Apr 8, 2015

Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment

A hospital nurse, who fractured her humerus in a fall in her employer’s emergency room when her coat apparently became ensnarled in a wheelchair, did not sustain an injury arising...

Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment
Apr 7, 2015

Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits

As I mentioned in an earlier post, juries in two civil actions pending before a federal court sitting in California will be allowed to determine if Uber and Lyft have...

Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits
Apr 6, 2015

Kentucky Contractor Immune From Suit Filed by Employee of Subcontractor

Applying Kentucky’s “up-the-ladder immunity” doctrine, a state appellate court vacated a trial court’s refusal to grant summary judgment in favor of a defendant corporation that had been sued in tort...

Kentucky Contractor Immune From Suit Filed by Employee of Subcontractor Kentucky Contractor Immune From Suit Filed by Employee of Subcontractor
Apr 3, 2015

Virginia Employee Who Cures Light Work Refusal Entitled to Comp Benefits

In a decision that has been not been designated for publication, the Court of Appeals of Virginia held that an employee cured his refusal of selective employment (“light work”) where,...

Virginia Employee Who Cures Light Work Refusal Entitled to Comp Benefits Virginia Employee Who Cures Light Work Refusal Entitled to Comp Benefits
Apr 2, 2015

Federal Court Must Sever and Remand Oklahoma Retaliatory Discharge Claim

On Tuesday, a federal district court in Oklahoma, noting that claims arising under the workers’ compensation laws of any state are not removable under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1445(c), held that...

Federal Court Must Sever and Remand Oklahoma Retaliatory Discharge Claim Federal Court Must Sever and Remand Oklahoma Retaliatory Discharge Claim
Apr 1, 2015

New York: Apportionment Inappropriate Where 1981 Injury Remained Symptomatic But Was Not Disabling

Where Claimant sustained a severe sprain to his right shoulder while working as a police officer in 1981 and returned to work without any schedule of loss (“SLU”) or other...

New York: Apportionment Inappropriate Where 1981 Injury Remained Symptomatic But Was Not Disabling New York: Apportionment Inappropriate Where 1981 Injury Remained Symptomatic But Was Not Disabling
Mar 31, 2015

New York: Long-Term Exposure to Cold Found Insufficient to Support Occupational Disease Claim

A state park grounds-keeper, who worked outside—often in cold conditions—for more than 35 years, and who developed a diabetic ulceration with a secondary formation of osteomyelitis—an infection in a bone...

New York: Long-Term Exposure to Cold Found Insufficient to Support Occupational Disease Claim New York: Long-Term Exposure to Cold Found Insufficient to Support Occupational Disease Claim
Mar 30, 2015

Pennsylvania Nurse Due Partial Benefits Because of Allergy to Hospital Floor Wax

Where a registered nurse suffered multiple allergic attacks caused by exposure to a chemical component of a floor wax product used by the hospital employing her, she was entitled to...

Pennsylvania Nurse Due Partial Benefits Because of Allergy to Hospital Floor Wax Pennsylvania Nurse Due Partial Benefits Because of Allergy to Hospital Floor Wax
Mar 24, 2015

Surveillance Video Sinks Ohio Claimant’s Odd-Lot Claim

Surveillance video spanning a period of almost three years that showed that the claimant, a former dockworker and truck driver, engaged in numerous physical activities, including riding a motorcycle, attending...

Surveillance Video Sinks Ohio Claimant’s Odd-Lot Claim Surveillance Video Sinks Ohio Claimant’s Odd-Lot Claim
Mar 23, 2015

South Carolina Supreme Court Says Exotic Dancer Was an Employee of Nightclub

In a split decision, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, reversing a majority decision by the state’s Court of Appeals, held that an exotic dancer was an employee—not an independent...

South Carolina Supreme Court Says Exotic Dancer Was an Employee of Nightclub South Carolina Supreme Court Says Exotic Dancer Was an Employee of Nightclub

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