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Oct 27, 2026

Offer of Higher-Paying Work Limits Permanent Disability Award

IA Reads No Suitability Requirement into § 85.34(2)(v) The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a commissioner’s decision limiting a drywall worker’s permanent partial disability recovery to his functional impairment after...

Offer of Higher-Paying Work Limits Permanent Disability Award Offer of Higher-Paying Work Limits Permanent Disability Award
Oct 22, 2026

NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard

Subway Cleaner Who Witnessed a Platform Injury A New York appellate court recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision disallowing a subway-station cleaner’s PTSD claim after he witnessed a woman’s...

NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard
Oct 20, 2026

Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding

AL Supreme Court: HR’s Role Was a Jury Question The Alabama Supreme Court, by a 5–4 vote, affirmed liability for retaliatory discharge where the evidence permitted a jury to find...

Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding
Oct 19, 2026

Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim

NY Bus Driver’s Crash and Arrhythmia A New York appellate court has affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board finding that a school bus driver’s injuries and death arose out of his...

Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim

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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
May 18, 2015

Kansas Court Extends Firefighter’s Rule to Bar Tort Recovery by Law Enforcement Officer

Ordinarily, workers are free to pursue civil actions against third parties whose negligence causes work-related injuries. One exception, however, is the so-called “firefighter’s rule,” adopted in a number of states,...

Kansas Court Extends Firefighter’s Rule to Bar Tort Recovery by Law Enforcement Officer Kansas Court Extends Firefighter’s Rule to Bar Tort Recovery by Law Enforcement Officer
May 12, 2015

Nevada Work Release Inmate’s Injuries Are Responsibility of Employer, Not State

Nevada, like a number of other states, provides workers’ compensation benefits for inmates who sustain injuries “while engaged in work in a prison industry or work program,” whether the program...

Nevada Work Release Inmate’s Injuries Are Responsibility of Employer, Not State Nevada Work Release Inmate’s Injuries Are Responsibility of Employer, Not State
May 8, 2015

Kentucky Truck Driver’s Tort Action Against Wal-Mart Barred by Statutory Employer Rules

A truck driver, who alleged that he sustained injuries while delivering merchandise to a Wal-Mart store in Kentucky cannot proceed in his civil action against the large retailer since, under...

Kentucky Truck Driver’s Tort Action Against Wal-Mart Barred by Statutory Employer Rules Kentucky Truck Driver’s Tort Action Against Wal-Mart Barred by Statutory Employer Rules
May 5, 2015

South Carolina Bill Would Make Workers’ Comp Coverage Optional for Most Employers

A bill introduced in the South Carolina Senate on April 16th (2015 Bill Text SC S.B. 674) would make workers’ compensation coverage optional for the vast majority of the state’s...

South Carolina Bill Would Make Workers’ Comp Coverage Optional for Most Employers South Carolina Bill Would Make Workers’ Comp Coverage Optional for Most Employers
May 1, 2015

NY Claimant Fails to Show That Claim Filing Was Delayed by Hurricane Sandy

An employee’s inability to file a timely notice of claim based on his alleged inability to meet with counsel because of the onslaught and aftermath of Hurricane Sandy was an...

NY Claimant Fails to Show That Claim Filing Was Delayed by Hurricane Sandy NY Claimant Fails to Show That Claim Filing Was Delayed by Hurricane Sandy

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