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 SettlementImported Quarrels and the Boundaries of Employment Risk In Bridges v. Elite, Inc., 212 S.C. 514, 48 S.E.2d 497 (S.C. 1948), the Supreme Court of South Carolina reversed a decision...
Throwback Thursday: Bridges v. Elite, Inc. (S.C. 1948) Throwback Thursday: Bridges v. Elite, Inc. (S.C. 1948)Construing 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 Director
New Comments