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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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Jan 24, 2013

Florida: Court Reverses Injured Worker’s $2.7 Million Verdict Against Employer: Injury Was Not “Virtually Certain”

In a workers’ compensation immunity case, the Court of Appeal of Florida (Fourth District) yesterday reversed a $2.7 million jury verdict and final judgment in favor of an employee who...

Florida: Court Reverses Injured Worker’s $2.7 Million Verdict Against Employer: Injury Was Not “Virtually Certain” Florida: Court Reverses Injured Worker’s $2.7 Million Verdict Against Employer: Injury Was Not “Virtually Certain”
Jan 21, 2013

Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable

A Louisiana appellate court recently affirmed the denial of a claim filed by a police sergeant who sustained injuries when he fell in a stairwell at Police Headquarters following a...

Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable Louisiana: Police Sergeant’s Short Trip to Headquarters To Get Cash From Credit Union Was Deviation From Employment; Injuries in Stairwell Not Compensable
Jan 7, 2013

Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury”

An Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment in favor of a medical center clerk who had received an award of workers’ compensation benefits related to physical...

Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury” Ohio: Appellate Court Affirms Award for PTSD in Spite of State’s Limiting Definition of “Injury”
Jan 4, 2013

Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional

On the last day of 2012, and in a split decision, the Supreme Court of Montana reversed a trial court’s summary judgment decision that had earlier determined that the requirement...

Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional Divided Supreme Court of Montana Says Statute Defining Religious Order as Employer (For Workers’ Compensation Purposes) is Not Unconstitutional
Jan 4, 2013

D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed

In a case with a number of interesting twists, the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently affirmed a decision by a U.S. District Court that, in relevant part,...

D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed D.C. Circuit Court: Personal Representative’s Civil Action Against Employer for Negligent Provision of Firearm to Suicide Victim/Employee May Not Proceed
Dec 31, 2012

Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing

A Missouri appellate court recently affirmed a jury verdict in favor of a former employer on a former employee’s claim of retaliatory discharge and agreed that the former employee was...

Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing Missouri: Retaliatory Discharge Statute Requires Former Employee to Establish that Exercise of Rights Was Exclusive, Not Merely a Contributing, Factor in Firing
Dec 31, 2012

Michigan Becomes 5th State to Pass Social Media Law Affecting Employers’ Right to Private Information

On December 28, Michigan became the 5th state to pass a social media privacy law. House Bill 5523, entitled the Internet Privacy Protection Act, was signed by Gov. Rick Snyder...

Michigan Becomes 5th State to Pass Social Media Law Affecting Employers’ Right to Private Information Michigan Becomes 5th State to Pass Social Media Law Affecting Employers’ Right to Private Information
Dec 31, 2012

Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable

The Supreme Court of Arkansas, construing the state’s restrictive statute regarding the compensability of repetitive motion injuries, recently reversed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that had denied,...

Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable Arkansas: Diabetic Ulcer Claim Related to Toe Blister From Employee-Supplied Boots Found Compensable
Dec 20, 2012

Florida: Truck Driver Is Employed During Two-Day “Orientation” and is Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits

A truck driver, who sustained injuries in an automobile accident as he traveled to lunch on the second day of a two-day orientation program was an employee of the trucking...

Florida: Truck Driver Is Employed During Two-Day “Orientation” and is Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits Florida: Truck Driver Is Employed During Two-Day “Orientation” and is Entitled To Workers’ Compensation Benefits
Dec 19, 2012

Kentucky: Teacher’s Tort Action Against Snake-Handling Assistant Principal Barred by Exclusivity

The Court of Appeals of Kentucky recently affirmed a state trial court’s summary judgment in favor of a high school assistant principal and a county board of education in a...

Kentucky: Teacher’s Tort Action Against Snake-Handling Assistant Principal Barred by Exclusivity Kentucky: Teacher’s Tort Action Against Snake-Handling Assistant Principal Barred by Exclusivity
Dec 16, 2012

US: Office Worker’s Tort Action Against Dentist Employer Alleging Sexual Assault Not Barred by Exclusivity

In Painter v. Atwood, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 176655 (D. Nev., Dec. 12, 2012), a federal district court from Nevada recently held, in relevant part, that a civil action filed...

US: Office Worker’s Tort Action Against Dentist Employer Alleging Sexual Assault Not Barred by Exclusivity US: Office Worker’s Tort Action Against Dentist Employer Alleging Sexual Assault Not Barred by Exclusivity
Dec 5, 2012

Georgia: Claimant Required to Consent to Ex Parte Communications Between Treating Physician and Employer or Employer’s Representative

Reversing the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Georgia has ruled that an employee who filed a claim under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act, must authorize her treating...

Georgia: Claimant Required to Consent to Ex Parte Communications Between Treating Physician and Employer or Employer’s Representative Georgia: Claimant Required to Consent to Ex Parte Communications Between Treating Physician and Employer or Employer’s Representative

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