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 DeathsConstruing an exception to New York’s cap on permanent partial disability (PPD) benefits [see N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law, § 35(3)], which allows—in certain situations—reclassification of the claimant’s disability to permanent...
NY Court Clarifies When Financial Hardship Justifies Total Disability NY Court Clarifies When Financial Hardship Justifies Total DisabilityIn a decision reemphasizing the boundaries of compensability for commuting injuries, the California Court of Appeal (Third Appellate District) has annulled a WCAB award awarding workers’ compensation benefits to a...
California Court Reverses WCAB’s Award for Carpool Injuries Sustained During Commute California Court Reverses WCAB’s Award for Carpool Injuries Sustained During CommuteRefusal of Life-Saving Treatment Within Workers’ Compensation Context In Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission, 147 Cal. App. 2d 137, 304 P.2d 828 (Cal. Ct. App. 1956), the California Court of...
Throwback Thursday: Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission (1956) Throwback Thursday: Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission (1956)In a decision underscoring the rigid statutory structure governing death benefits in workers’ compensation law, the Arkansas Court of Appeals recently affirmed the denial of benefits to the parents of...
Arkansas Court Enforces Strict Dependency Hierarchy Despite Estrangement Arkansas Court Enforces Strict Dependency Hierarchy Despite EstrangementIn Diaz Arriola v. Coleman, 2025 Ga. App. LEXIS 161 (Apr. 24, 2025), the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of an injured employee’s assigned negligence and breach of...
Georgia Court Blocks Assigned Negligence Claim Over Lapsed Workers’ Compensation Coverage Georgia Court Blocks Assigned Negligence Claim Over Lapsed Workers’ Compensation CoverageThe Hawai’i Supreme Court recently held that a tenant who performed maintenance work on rental property, in exchange for reduced rent and occasional payment, was an employee—not a volunteer—and accordingly...
Hawaii Supreme Court Clarifies Employee Status in Workers’ Compensation Context Hawaii Supreme Court Clarifies Employee Status in Workers’ Compensation ContextThe Rise of the Odd-Lot Doctrine In the world of workers’ compensation, some of the most influential doctrines arise not from statutory overhaul or regulatory edict, but from judicial insight...
Throwback Thursday: Lee v. Minneapolis Street Railway Co. (1950) Throwback Thursday: Lee v. Minneapolis Street Railway Co. (1950)Reverses Factual Findings Where Evidence Was in Deposition Form In a split decision, the South Dakota Supreme Court reversed—in relevant part—a Department of Labor determination that had ruled a claimant’s...
SD Supreme Court Weighs Conflicting Medical Evidence SD Supreme Court Weighs Conflicting Medical EvidenceIn a thoughtful and clarifying opinion, the Minnesota Supreme Court has reaffirmed the case-specific nature of the statutory retirement presumption applicable to permanent total disability (PTD) claims under Minn. Stat....
MN High Court Reaffirms Case-Specific Standard in PTD Retirement Presumption Cases MN High Court Reaffirms Case-Specific Standard in PTD Retirement Presumption CasesIntroduction In 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc., 340 U.S. 504, 71 S.Ct. 470, 95 L.Ed.483 (1951). The case involved a claim...
Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951) Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951)In a ruling that reaffirms Arkansas’ strict interpretation of its “employment services” requirement, the state’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision denying benefits to the family...
Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band Director Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band DirectorIn a decision that further defines the barriers to pursuing civil remedies in workplace injury cases within the Louisiana, a state appellant court recently affirmed summary a trial court judgment...
Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace Attack Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace Attack
New Comments