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 BenefitsAn oral agreement whereby one party (Cornett) was allowed to board horses on property owned by another (Schumacher) and pay the latter a portion of the boarding fees received as...
Informal Arrangement Regarding Boarding of Horses Did not Create Employer-Employee Relationship Informal Arrangement Regarding Boarding of Horses Did not Create Employer-Employee RelationshipWhere the only conditions precedent to receiving an annual bonus was simply being an “active employee on November 30th of the year the bonus was paid and the condition precedent...
Annual Service Bonus is Part of Iowa Employee’s Average Weekly Wage Computation Annual Service Bonus is Part of Iowa Employee’s Average Weekly Wage ComputationA Louisiana appellate court has affirmed an Order of the state’s Office of Workers’ Compensation that heavily sanctioned a workers’ compensation claimant for fraud in violation of La. R. S....
Louisiana Claimant Gets Hit With Forfeiture of Benefits and Stiff Penalties for Misrepresentations Louisiana Claimant Gets Hit With Forfeiture of Benefits and Stiff Penalties for MisrepresentationsThe Supreme Court of Nebraska recently held that for purposes of assigning liability among several employers for a dental hygienist’s repetitive trauma injury, the injury manifested itself on the day...
Nebraska High Court Clarifies “Manifestation” Date in Repetitive Trauma Cases Nebraska High Court Clarifies “Manifestation” Date in Repetitive Trauma CasesAcknowledging that agitation and physical aggression are common late-stage symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, that injuries to caregivers are not unusual, and that California and other jurisdictions had previously established the...
Divided California Supreme Court Says In-Home Caregivers May Not Sue Alzheimer’s Patients For Injuries Divided California Supreme Court Says In-Home Caregivers May Not Sue Alzheimer’s Patients For InjuriesOn Friday, the Supreme Court of Alaska, in Harris v. Millennium Hotel, 2014 Alas. LEXIS 149 (July 25, 2014), held that the state’s workers’ compensation death benefits statute, Alaska Stat....
Alaska: Same-Sex Partner of Deceased Worker Entitled to Death Benefits In Spite of State’s “Marriage Amendment” Alaska: Same-Sex Partner of Deceased Worker Entitled to Death Benefits In Spite of State’s “Marriage Amendment”On Monday, in Cruz v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Kennett Square Specialties), 2014 Pa. LEXIS 1772 (July 21, 2014), the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania held that as to the proper...
Pennsylvania: Claimant’s Invocation of Self-Incrimination Rights Cannot, Standing Alone, Furnish Sufficient Evidence to Suspend Comp Benefits Pennsylvania: Claimant’s Invocation of Self-Incrimination Rights Cannot, Standing Alone, Furnish Sufficient Evidence to Suspend Comp BenefitsAcknowledging that there are three categories of risk to which an employee may be exposed: (1) risks distinctly associated with her employment; (2) personal risks; and (3) neutral risks which...
Illinois Court Says “Ordinary” Reaching Activity is Nevertheless Risk of Employment Illinois Court Says “Ordinary” Reaching Activity is Nevertheless Risk of EmploymentA New York appellate court has affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that awarded workers compensation benefits for a stress-related injury sustained by a cardiothoracic physician’s assistant...
New York Court Affirms PTSD Award to Physician’s Assistant Threatened by Surgeon During Surgical Procedure New York Court Affirms PTSD Award to Physician’s Assistant Threatened by Surgeon During Surgical ProcedureAcknowledging that two employees who had been embroiled in a shouting match during the work day had been treated different by the employer–the employee who apparently started the argument received...
Ohio: Trouble-Maker Fails to Prove Discharge Was Because of Workers’ Compensation Claims Ohio: Trouble-Maker Fails to Prove Discharge Was Because of Workers’ Compensation ClaimsIn a case of first impression, an Illinois appellate court, reversing a decision by a state trial court, has ruled that neither the exclusive remedy provisions of the Illinois Workers’...
Illinois: Tort Action Against Employer Not Barred Where Workers’ Comp Claim Was Time-Barred Before Employee Ever Learned of It Illinois: Tort Action Against Employer Not Barred Where Workers’ Comp Claim Was Time-Barred Before Employee Ever Learned of ItIn what is likely the last few days of the current term of the United States Supreme Court, an army of prognosticators are looking up from their tea leaves into...
Oooops! In Ruling on Collateral Estoppel Issue, What Does a Court Do if Its Earlier Decision Was Actually Wrong? Oooops! In Ruling on Collateral Estoppel Issue, What Does a Court Do if Its Earlier Decision Was Actually Wrong?
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