PA Court Finds a 15-Minute Break’s Brevity Outweighs Its Formality The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a pharmacy technician struck by a...
Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid BreakIdaho Federal Court Finds Surveillance and a Full-Duty Release Defeat Workers' Comp Retaliatory Discharge Claim The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho recently granted summary judgment for a...
Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay FieldRisk-Exposure Evidence Alone Can Establish the Causal Link, Justices Hold Last Thursday, In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Muñiz, the Supreme Court of Florida held that a workplace assault...
FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault ClaimsSupervisors Who Allegedly Blocked Exits Fell Outside the Workers’ Comp Act’s Exclusive Remedy The Kentucky Court of Appeals has revived tort claims brought by survivors of the December 2021 tornado...
KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado DeathsSurveillance footage doesn’t always tell the whole story—but sometimes it tells just enough. In a recent decision, the Court of Appeals upheld the state Industrial Commission’s denial of workers’ compensation...
Caught on Camera: Surveillance Undermines NC Claimant’s Testimony Caught on Camera: Surveillance Undermines NC Claimant’s TestimonyTwo recent decisions from the New Mexico Supreme Court—Pena v. State, 2025-NMSC-007, 2025 N.M. LEXIS 138 (June 27, 2025), and Hanrahan v. State, 2025-NMSC-008, 2025 N.M. LEXIS 139 (June 27,...
Who Sets the Fee? Two New Mexico Decisions Clarify the State’s Comp Law Who Sets the Fee? Two New Mexico Decisions Clarify the State’s Comp LawIn a case of first impression, a deeply divided (4–3) Maryland Supreme Court recently held that the exclusive remedy provisions of the state’s Workers' Compensation Act bar a wrongful death...
Maryland High Court Bars Wrongful Death Suit Against Employer by Non-Dependent Child Maryland High Court Bars Wrongful Death Suit Against Employer by Non-Dependent ChildA recent decision from the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania offers important guidance for workers’ compensation practitioners navigating COVID-19 vaccination mandate disputes. The court held that an employee’s well-documented religious and...
PA Court: Good Faith COVID Vaccination Refusal Doesn’t Amount to Wilful Misconduct PA Court: Good Faith COVID Vaccination Refusal Doesn’t Amount to Wilful MisconductWhen Retaliatory Discharge First Became Judicially Recognized Before 1973, in many states that followed the common-law doctrine of employment-at-will, a worker fired for asserting the right to workers’ compensation benefits...
Throwback Thursday: Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Co. (Ind. 1973) Throwback Thursday: Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Co. (Ind. 1973)The Louisiana Supreme Court recently clarified the scope of the state’s unique “manual labor exception” to workers’ compensation immunity, holding that the exception does not extend to the employees or...
Louisiana Supreme Court Narrows State’s “Manual Labor Exception” Louisiana Supreme Court Narrows State’s “Manual Labor Exception”In Fox v. Sarasota County School Board, 2025 Fla. App. LEXIS 4851 (Fla. 1st DCA June 25, 2025), the Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed a Judge of Compensation...
Florida JCC Must Approve Fee Stipulation Absent Legitimate Grounds to Invalidate Agreement Florida JCC Must Approve Fee Stipulation Absent Legitimate Grounds to Invalidate AgreementThe New York Appellate Division, Third Department, has resolved an important fee calculation issue for workers’ compensation practitioners. In Matter of Cooper v. New York City Health & Hospital Corp.,...
NY Court: Attorney Fees Must Reflect Actual Claimant Recovery NY Court: Attorney Fees Must Reflect Actual Claimant RecoveryIn a tragic case involving a fatal explosion at a metal processing plant, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s refusal to grant summary judgment to the...
NC Court Rejects “Woodson” Claim After Zirconium Explosion Death NC Court Rejects “Woodson” Claim After Zirconium Explosion DeathPre-Existing Conditions, Aggravation, and the Enduring Reach of Larson’s Rule In the evolving history of American workers’ compensation, few doctrines have proven more enduring—or more contentious—than the rule that employers...
Throwback Thursday: Cowart v. Pearl River Tung Co. (Miss. 1953) Throwback Thursday: Cowart v. Pearl River Tung Co. (Miss. 1953)In a case of apparent first impression, the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal has held that employees may not unilaterally declare workplace injuries non-compensable under workers’ compensation law and...
Florida Court Reinforces Exclusivity Doctrine and Procedural Requirements Florida Court Reinforces Exclusivity Doctrine and Procedural RequirementsMight Awards for the Common Cold or Flu be Next? In Foster v. Primecare Med. of W. Va., Inc., 2025 W. Va. LEXIS 187 (W. Va. May 27, 2025), a...
W. Va. Supreme Court Reinstates COVID-19 Award for Nurse W. Va. Supreme Court Reinstates COVID-19 Award for Nurse
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