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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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Dec 23, 2013

Federal Court (Wisconsin) Allows IIED Claim to Move Forward; Exclusivity Did Not Apply Since Plaintiff Was On Administrative Leave

Construing Wisconsin’s exclusive remedy defense, a federal district court recently refused to dismiss a civil action filed by a former principal against a school district alleging, among other things, intentional...

Federal Court (Wisconsin) Allows IIED Claim to Move Forward; Exclusivity Did Not Apply Since Plaintiff Was On Administrative Leave Federal Court (Wisconsin) Allows IIED Claim to Move Forward; Exclusivity Did Not Apply Since Plaintiff Was On Administrative Leave
Dec 20, 2013

Illinois: Divided High Court Finds Injured Employee was Not a “Traveling Employee”

Construing the “traveling employee” rule, the Supreme Court of Illinois, in a divided decision, yesterday held that a worker who took a position with an employer located some 200 miles...

Illinois: Divided High Court Finds Injured Employee was Not a “Traveling Employee” Illinois: Divided High Court Finds Injured Employee was Not a “Traveling Employee”
Dec 18, 2013

Board Lacks Subject Matter Jurisdiction Where Former WBNA Player Involved in Only One Game During 34-Game Career

A former basketball player in the Women’s National Basketball Association, who never resided in California, played just one of her 34-game career within the state, and who suffered no specific...

Board Lacks Subject Matter Jurisdiction Where Former WBNA Player Involved in Only One Game During 34-Game Career Board Lacks Subject Matter Jurisdiction Where Former WBNA Player Involved in Only One Game During 34-Game Career
Dec 17, 2013

Oklahoma High Court Rejects Initial Challenge to Opt Out Law

Yesterday (December 16), the Supreme Court of Oklahoma rejected an initial constitutional challenge to the controversial overhaul of the state’s workers’ compensation system via Senate Bill 1062, which allows, among...

Oklahoma High Court Rejects Initial Challenge to Opt Out Law Oklahoma High Court Rejects Initial Challenge to Opt Out Law
Nov 18, 2013

Iowa: Undocumented Workers Are Protected by the Workers’ Compensation Act

The Supreme Court of Iowa recently held in relevant part that undocumented workers are not excluded from the Workers’ Compensation Act’s definition of “employee” and that the contract of employment...

Iowa: Undocumented Workers Are Protected by the Workers’ Compensation Act Iowa: Undocumented Workers Are Protected by the Workers’ Compensation Act
Nov 2, 2013

“Mental-Mental” Claims: Within Which Category Does West Virginia Fall?

As you may know, later this month (Nov. 20–22), attorneys, academics, claims managers, risk consultants, and others will gather at the 22nd Annual National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference &...

“Mental-Mental” Claims: Within Which Category Does West Virginia Fall? “Mental-Mental” Claims: Within Which Category Does West Virginia Fall?
Oct 25, 2013

Florida: First DCA Certifies Constitutional Question After Affirming $165 Fee for 107 Hours of Work

Reluctantly affirming a decision by a Judge of Compensation Claims that had awarded claimant’s counsel an attorney’s fee of only $164.54 for 107.2 hours of legal work reasonably necessary to...

Florida: First DCA Certifies Constitutional Question After Affirming $165 Fee for 107 Hours of Work Florida: First DCA Certifies Constitutional Question After Affirming $165 Fee for 107 Hours of Work
Oct 24, 2013

Virginia: Self-Treatment by Rehab Professor Nixes Benefits for Subsequent Injuries

While Scripture may say, “Physician, heal thyself” [Luke 4:23, King James Version], that advice should apparently be avoided by professors of rehabilitation counseling. In a case replete with irony, the...

Virginia: Self-Treatment by Rehab Professor Nixes Benefits for Subsequent Injuries Virginia: Self-Treatment by Rehab Professor Nixes Benefits for Subsequent Injuries
Oct 23, 2013

Illinois: Excess Coverage Policies Enjoy Same Exclusion From Guaranty Fund “Cap” on Payment as Primary Coverage Policies

Like every other state, Illinois has established an insolvent insurance fund–the Illinois Insurance Guaranty Fund–that steps in, under appropriate circumstances, to pay claims when an insurance company authorized to transact...

Illinois: Excess Coverage Policies Enjoy Same Exclusion From Guaranty Fund “Cap” on Payment as Primary Coverage Policies Illinois: Excess Coverage Policies Enjoy Same Exclusion From Guaranty Fund “Cap” on Payment as Primary Coverage Policies
Oct 21, 2013

Pennsylvania: Massage Therapy By LPN Held to be Compensable Expense

A Pennsylvania appellate court, reversing a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board, recently held that since a licensed practical nurse (LPN) was a “health care provider” under §...

Pennsylvania: Massage Therapy By LPN Held to be Compensable Expense Pennsylvania: Massage Therapy By LPN Held to be Compensable Expense
Oct 15, 2013

Wyoming: Employee’s Intentional Tort Action Against Supervisors Fails

Construing the intentional injury exception to the exclusive remedy provisions of the Wyoming Workers’ Compensation Act [Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 27–14–104(a) (LexisNexis 2013)], the state’s Supreme Court recently affirmed a...

Wyoming: Employee’s Intentional Tort Action Against Supervisors Fails Wyoming: Employee’s Intentional Tort Action Against Supervisors Fails
Oct 13, 2013

Louisiana: Boilermaker’s 39-Day Work Schedule, With One Day Off, Found to Cause Stroke

In Louisiana, when an employee seeks to recover workers’ compensation benefits for a heart-related or perivascular injury, he or she must prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that: (i) The...

Louisiana: Boilermaker’s 39-Day Work Schedule, With One Day Off, Found to Cause Stroke Louisiana: Boilermaker’s 39-Day Work Schedule, With One Day Off, Found to Cause Stroke

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