Driscoll Agrees with the Larson Standard, Then Affirms Without Needing It The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who developed...
Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another DayDriscoll Agrees with the Larson Standard, Then Affirms Without Needing It The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who developed...
Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another DayIn *Sairafianpour v. Loudoun County Public Schools*, 2026 Va. App. LEXIS 430 (Aug. 11, 2026), the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision awarding medical benefits...
VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable Accident VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable AccidentIn Granite School District v. Young, 2026 UT 29, 2026 Utah LEXIS 113 (Aug. 13, 2026), the Utah Supreme Court affirmed an award of permanent total disability benefits to a...
UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection Settlement UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection SettlementUntil a number of my high school classmates began to plan our 40th reunion gala several years ago, I had successfully avoided Facebook® and the other social media (I’m still...
Facebook Party Pics Help Defeat Worker’s Claim for Benefits Facebook Party Pics Help Defeat Worker’s Claim for BenefitsIn the great majority of jurisdictions, voluntary intoxication that renders an employee incapable of performing his or her work is a departure from the course of employment sufficient to defeat...
In Spite of Statutory Presumptions, Proof of Positive Drug Test May Not Be Enough to Defeat Claims In Spite of Statutory Presumptions, Proof of Positive Drug Test May Not Be Enough to Defeat ClaimsAn Ohio appellate court recently found that medical evidence presented in a death claim case was too speculative to support the required causal connection between a worker’s fatal heart attack...
Ohio: Cautious Medical Testimony Dooms Death Benefits Claim Related to “Poster Child for Heart Disease” Ohio: Cautious Medical Testimony Dooms Death Benefits Claim Related to “Poster Child for Heart Disease”Virtually every jurisdiction’s comp act has a “by accident” provision of some sort in its definition of compensable injury [for an extended discussion, see Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 42.01,...
“By Accident,” the Oft-Ignored Provision in Workers’ Compensation Law “By Accident,” the Oft-Ignored Provision in Workers’ Compensation LawA Pennsylvania nurse assistant, who claimed she suffered emotional distress when she was fired for getting pregnant, may not pursue her tort claim against the former employer in federal court,...
Nurse Assistant’s Allegations That She Was Fired For Getting Pregnant Cannot Support Emotional Distress Claim Against Former Employer Nurse Assistant’s Allegations That She Was Fired For Getting Pregnant Cannot Support Emotional Distress Claim Against Former EmployerLast Thursday, a New York appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that had determined that a worker’s death was causally related to his employment...
New York: Apportionment Not Available Between Work-Related Asbestosis and Non-Work-Related Thyroid Cancer in Death Benefits Case New York: Apportionment Not Available Between Work-Related Asbestosis and Non-Work-Related Thyroid Cancer in Death Benefits CaseRecognizing that no matter how competent and reasonable a commission or board’s determination of a claimant’s medical condition and level of disability might be at the time of a hearing,...
Virginia Court: Removal of Ankle Prosthesis, Without its Replacement, Does Not Trigger Reopening Statute Virginia Court: Removal of Ankle Prosthesis, Without its Replacement, Does Not Trigger Reopening StatuteLast Wednesday, a Georgia appellate court, holding the State Board of Workers’ Compensation had utilized an “erroneous theory” regarding what conduct constitutes a deviation from employment that will bar compensation...
Georgia Appellate Court: Effort to Stop Runaway Car is Not a Deviation From the Employment Georgia Appellate Court: Effort to Stop Runaway Car is Not a Deviation From the EmploymentIn a split decision, the Arkansas Court of Appeals yesterday affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that an injured worker failed to rebut the statutory presumption that...
Arkansas Court Affirms Denial of Benefits; Explosion Caused By Worker’s Marijuana Use Arkansas Court Affirms Denial of Benefits; Explosion Caused By Worker’s Marijuana UseA New York appellate court, in Nichols v. Hale Creek ASACTC, 2012 N.Y. App. LEXIS 79 (Jan. 5, 2012) has affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a superintendent...
New York Correctional Facility Superintendent’s Achilles Tendon Injury While Coaching Volleyball Team is Compensable In Spite of Statute Limiting Definition of “Injury” New York Correctional Facility Superintendent’s Achilles Tendon Injury While Coaching Volleyball Team is Compensable In Spite of Statute Limiting Definition of “Injury”A New York decision reported yesterday, Satalino v. Dan’s Supreme Supermarket, 2012 NY Slip Op 86, 2012 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 63 (Jan. 5, 2012), illustrates the important distinction between...
New York Case Illustrates That Correlation Between Years of Heavy Work and Back Problems Is Insufficient to Support Compensability New York Case Illustrates That Correlation Between Years of Heavy Work and Back Problems Is Insufficient to Support CompensabilityA divided Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s final judgment that denied a dump truck driver’s claim for post traumatic stress disorder (“PTSD”) in spite of strong medical...
Ohio Court Nixes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Claim in Spite of Close Ties With Truck Driver’s Compensable Physical Injuries Ohio Court Nixes Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Claim in Spite of Close Ties With Truck Driver’s Compensable Physical Injuries
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