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 SettlementIn Hernandez v. Associated Wholesale Grocers, 2025 Neb. App. LEXIS 374 (Neb. Ct. App. July 1, 2025) (not designated for permanent publication). the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed the Workers’...
Nebraska Court Affirms Denial of Benefits for Post-Accident Knee Surgery Nebraska Court Affirms Denial of Benefits for Post-Accident Knee SurgerySurveillance 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 Requirements
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