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Mar 16, 2026

Federal Court (E.D. Ky.) Rejects Workers’ Comp Retaliation Claim Despite Sympathetic Facts

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 Facts
Mar 12, 2026

Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold Case

Small 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 Case
Mar 10, 2026

Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act

In 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 Act
Mar 6, 2026

New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits

Every 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 Benefits

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Jun 9, 2014

Florida Court Says PTSD Patient’s Ability to Communicate Directly With Psychologist is Not “Medical Necessity”

What if an injured worker was legally prevented from discussing his or her medical condition directly with the worker’s doctor, if the worker was required instead to listen to the...

Florida Court Says PTSD Patient’s Ability to Communicate Directly With Psychologist is Not “Medical Necessity” Florida Court Says PTSD Patient’s Ability to Communicate Directly With Psychologist is Not “Medical Necessity”
Jun 4, 2014

NFL Free Agent Injured in Minicamp Tryout Has No Comp Claim

A National Football League “free agent,” who had been released from his contract by the Philadelphia Eagles and who agreed, along with 15 other free agents, to attend a three-day...

NFL Free Agent Injured in Minicamp Tryout Has No Comp Claim NFL Free Agent Injured in Minicamp Tryout Has No Comp Claim
Jun 3, 2014

Wisconsin Lawyer’s Poker Playing and “Rainmaking” Insufficiently Connected to Employment to Support Serious Injury Claim from Motorcyle Accident

An attorney and shareholder of a law firm was appropriately denied workers’ compensation benefits in connection with a motorcycle accident that rendered him a quadriplegic, since his “rainmaking” activities was...

Wisconsin Lawyer’s Poker Playing and “Rainmaking” Insufficiently Connected to Employment to Support Serious Injury Claim from Motorcyle Accident Wisconsin Lawyer’s Poker Playing and “Rainmaking” Insufficiently Connected to Employment to Support Serious Injury Claim from Motorcyle Accident
Jun 2, 2014

Wyoming Court Says Division’s Rule Setting Arbitrary Limitation on TTD Benefits Is Invalid

Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27–14–404 limits awards of TTD benefits to twenty-four months, but gives the Wyoming Worker’s Safety and Compensation Division (the Division) discretionary authority to extend the time...

Wyoming Court Says Division’s Rule Setting Arbitrary Limitation on TTD Benefits Is Invalid Wyoming Court Says Division’s Rule Setting Arbitrary Limitation on TTD Benefits Is Invalid
May 29, 2014

Virginia Court: “Firefighter’s Presumption” Requires Showing of Entitlement to Some Form of Economic Indemnity

Virginia, like a number of other states [see the discussion in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 52.07], has a special presumption favoring firefighters (and police officers) as to death or...

Virginia Court: “Firefighter’s Presumption” Requires Showing of Entitlement to Some Form of Economic Indemnity Virginia Court: “Firefighter’s Presumption” Requires Showing of Entitlement to Some Form of Economic Indemnity
May 21, 2014

New Mexico Court Orders Employer to Reimburse Worker For Medical Marijuana

In what appears to be a case of first impression for any state appellate court, a New Mexico appellate court, in Vialpando v. Ben’s Automotive Servs., 2014 N.M. App. LEXIS...

New Mexico Court Orders Employer to Reimburse Worker For Medical Marijuana New Mexico Court Orders Employer to Reimburse Worker For Medical Marijuana
May 20, 2014

Nebraska Extends Heightened “Heart Attack” Causation Standard to Blood Clot and Embolism

Due to the difficulties in attributing the cause of a heart attack to the claimant’s work, a number of states, including Nebraska, require the employee or the employee’s dependents to...

Nebraska Extends Heightened “Heart Attack” Causation Standard to Blood Clot and Embolism Nebraska Extends Heightened “Heart Attack” Causation Standard to Blood Clot and Embolism
May 5, 2014

After Florida’s Adoption of Daubert Rule, Physician’s Opinion as to Cause of Employee’s Placental Abruption Was Inadmissible

Noting that with its 2013 amendment to § 90.702, Fla. Stat., the Florida legislature had clearly jettisoned both “the Frye test” and the “pure opinion” rule [Flannagan v. State, 625...

After Florida’s Adoption of Daubert Rule, Physician’s Opinion as to Cause of Employee’s Placental Abruption Was Inadmissible After Florida’s Adoption of Daubert Rule, Physician’s Opinion as to Cause of Employee’s Placental Abruption Was Inadmissible
May 2, 2014

Arkansas Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Related to Drug Overdose

An Arkansas appellate court recently affirmed a denial of workers’ compensation death benefits to the surviving beneficiaries of a deceased worker who overdosed on methadone in 2009 while being treated...

Arkansas Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Related to Drug Overdose Arkansas Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Related to Drug Overdose
Apr 22, 2014

Mississippi Executive’s Survivors Awarded Death Benefits in Spite of His Decision Not to Secure Required Coverage for Firm

The affirmative decision by the managing partner and president of a CPA firm not to secure workers’ compensation coverage for the firm, in spite of the fact that the firm...

Mississippi Executive’s Survivors Awarded Death Benefits in Spite of His Decision Not to Secure Required Coverage for Firm Mississippi Executive’s Survivors Awarded Death Benefits in Spite of His Decision Not to Secure Required Coverage for Firm
Apr 15, 2014

Nebraska Retail Worker Awarded TTD Benefits and Continued Medical Care to Deal With PTSD and Drug Dependency Following Work-Related Shooting

In a recent case with rather bizarre underlying facts, the Supreme Court of Nebraska affirmed an award of temporary total disability benefits for an employee’s PTSD condition and inpatient treatment...

Nebraska Retail Worker Awarded TTD Benefits and Continued Medical Care to Deal With PTSD and Drug Dependency Following Work-Related Shooting Nebraska Retail Worker Awarded TTD Benefits and Continued Medical Care to Deal With PTSD and Drug Dependency Following Work-Related Shooting
Mar 31, 2014

New York: Vehicle Owner Shielded from Contribution By Exclusive Remedy Defense

Answering a question certified to it by the U.S. Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit), the Court of Appeals of New York, in Isabella v. Koubek, 2014 N.Y. LEXIS 569 (Mar....

New York: Vehicle Owner Shielded from Contribution By Exclusive Remedy Defense New York: Vehicle Owner Shielded from Contribution By Exclusive Remedy Defense

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