Every dollar spent on workers’ compensation falls into one of two broad categories: benefits paid to injured workers—medical care and wage replacement—and the costs of delivering those benefits. The second...
New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering BenefitsIn Motors v. Bayly (Red House Motors d/b/a Bayly’s Garage), 2026 Del. LEXIS 92 (Mar. 2, 2026), the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a Superior Court decision that the high court...
Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor CoverageIn Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. Department of Financial Services, 2026 Fla. App. LEXIS 1469 (Fla. 1st DCA Feb. 25, 2026), the First District Court of Appeal recently held that...
Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy Provision Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy ProvisionThe Florida First District Court of Appeal has reversed an award of 24-hour attendant care benefits where the only “prescription” supporting the award appeared in an Independent Medical Examiner’s report...
Florida Court: IME Report Is Not a “Prescription” for Attendant Care Florida Court: IME Report Is Not a “Prescription” for Attendant CareA New Jersey appellate court has affirmed a compensation judge’s determination that a public school teacher who died from COVID-19 qualified as an “essential employee” under the state’s special pandemic...
NJ Court Finds Teacher’s COVID-19 Death Compensable Under State’s “Essential Employee” Presumption NJ Court Finds Teacher’s COVID-19 Death Compensable Under State’s “Essential Employee” PresumptionThe Oregon Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision awarding benefits to an 85-year-old worker who fainted while waiting for an employer-mandated vaccination [SAIF Corp. v. Kelkay,...
Oregon Court Affirms Award Where Elderly Worker Fainted For Unknown Reason Oregon Court Affirms Award Where Elderly Worker Fainted For Unknown ReasonThe Intermediate Court of Appeals of Hawai’i recently held that while an employee’s negligent supervision claim against his employer was barred by workers’ compensation exclusivity, he should have been given...
Hawaii: Defamation Claims Against Employer Not Barred by Workers’ Compensation Exclusivity Hawaii: Defamation Claims Against Employer Not Barred by Workers’ Compensation ExclusivityIn Borough of Hollidaysburg v. Detwiler, 2024 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 243 (Nov. 19, 2024), a divided Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania held that to enjoy the state’s presumption of compensability, volunteer...
Divided PA Court Says “Continuous Service,” Not Level of Activity, Key to Firefighter Cancer Benefits Divided PA Court Says “Continuous Service,” Not Level of Activity, Key to Firefighter Cancer BenefitsIn a decision highlighting the importance of accurate work histories in medical causation opinions, a New York appellate court has upheld the Workers’ Compensation Board’s denial of death benefits in...
NY Court Affirms Board’s Rejection of Medical Opinion Based on Flawed Work History NY Court Affirms Board’s Rejection of Medical Opinion Based on Flawed Work HistoryNearly four years after COVID-19 first disrupted workplaces across America, courts continue to refine their approach to pandemic-related workers’ compensation claims. Three recent decisions from New York’s Appellate Division, Third...
NY Appellate Court Addresses Three Different Types of COVID-19 Claims on Same Day NY Appellate Court Addresses Three Different Types of COVID-19 Claims on Same DayA New York appellate court held that the Workers’ Compensation Law’s exemption of benefits from creditor claims does not shield settlement funds from the state’s Son of Sam Law [Matter...
NY: Workers’ Comp Settlement Not Protected from Son of Sam Law Seizure NY: Workers’ Comp Settlement Not Protected from Son of Sam Law SeizureFlorida’s First DCA recently vacated a workers’ compensation order awarding benefits after finding that a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) abused his discretion by not granting a continuance that had...
Florida: Late Change in Doctor’s Causation Opinion Required Hearing Continuance Florida: Late Change in Doctor’s Causation Opinion Required Hearing ContinuanceA Kentucky appellate court has reversed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision that would have allowed a hospital nurse’s COVID-19 claim to proceed under a relaxed causation standard. The Board had...
KY Court Reverses Board: Nurse Failed to Prove COVID-19 Was Work-Related KY Court Reverses Board: Nurse Failed to Prove COVID-19 Was Work-RelatedPersonal Observation In 1977, I stood before the North Carolina Industrial Commission as a young workers’ compensation defense attorney, barely a year into practice, challenging a deputy commissioner’s credibility determination....
De Novo, Deference, or Something in Between: The Complex Landscape of Workers’ Compensation Administrative Review De Novo, Deference, or Something in Between: The Complex Landscape of Workers’ Compensation Administrative ReviewIn another decision highlighting the difficulties faced by workers seeking COVID-19 compensation benefits in jurisdictions lacking a presumption of compensability, a New York appellate court has affirmed the state Board’s...
NY Factory Worker’s COVID-19 Claim Fails: No Showing of Workplace Exposure NY Factory Worker’s COVID-19 Claim Fails: No Showing of Workplace ExposureOn Tuesday, in an unpublished decision, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s denial of summary judgment for a corporate defendant in a civil action filed against...
NC Court’s Special Employment Analysis Raises Important Question NC Court’s Special Employment Analysis Raises Important Question
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