Newest Articles

Jun 2, 2026

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity

Court Applies Massachusetts Law to Maine Injury, Rejects Immunity Defense in Multi-State Staffing Arrangement A New Hampshire contractor that likely would have enjoyed workers’ compensation immunity under Maine law lost...

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity
Jun 1, 2026

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions

New York’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Appellate Division order blocking defendants in a personal injury action from using a Workers’ Compensation Board causation determination as collateral estoppel, holding...

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions
May 27, 2026

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment

In a case involving a Nebraska truck driver-farm laborer whose treatment for metastatic cancer was allegedly postponed by complications associated with a compensable hip injury and its resulting treatment, the...

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment
May 26, 2026

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

A North Carolina district manager who suffered a stroke while preparing for the opening of a restaurant location—and who allegedly waited hours before coworkers summoned emergency assistance—may not pursue negligence...

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

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Mar 3, 2025

PA Court Rules on COVID-19 “E-Time” Payments in Workers’ Comp Case

In a recent Pennsylvania workers’ compensation case, the state’s Commonwealth Court ruled that pandemic-related “excused time” payments, such as Philadelphia’s “E-Time” program, do not constitute “payments in lieu of compensation”...

PA Court Rules on COVID-19 “E-Time” Payments in Workers’ Comp Case PA Court Rules on COVID-19 “E-Time” Payments in Workers’ Comp Case
Feb 27, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Waters v. William J. Taylor Co. (1916) – The Humanitarian Rescue Doctrine

Background In 1916, the New York Court of Appeals issued a groundbreaking decision that would fundamentally shape how workers’ compensation law treats rescue attempts. The case, Waters v. William J....

Throwback Thursday: Waters v. William J. Taylor Co. (1916) – The Humanitarian Rescue Doctrine Throwback Thursday: Waters v. William J. Taylor Co. (1916) – The Humanitarian Rescue Doctrine
Feb 26, 2025

Florida Court Nixes Worker’s Comp Award for Spouse’s Household Chores

Yesterday, in Girardin v. An Fort Myers Imps., LLC (2025 Fla. App. LEXIS 1292, Feb. 19, 2025), Florida’s First District Court of Appeal struck down an award for attendant care...

Florida Court Nixes Worker’s Comp Award for Spouse’s Household Chores Florida Court Nixes Worker’s Comp Award for Spouse’s Household Chores
Feb 20, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Krause v. Swartwood (1928) – When Lunch is Part of the Job

Background In 1928, the Minnesota Supreme Court issued a decision that would help establish important principles about when off-premises lunch injuries fall within the scope of workers’ compensation coverage. The...

Throwback Thursday: Krause v. Swartwood (1928) – When Lunch is Part of the Job Throwback Thursday: Krause v. Swartwood (1928) – When Lunch is Part of the Job
Feb 19, 2025

NY Court Upholds Permanent Benefits Ban Based on Surveillance Evidence

In a decision that reinforces the potential consequences of misrepresenting one’s physical condition, a New York appellate court has upheld the permanent disqualification from wage replacement benefits of a workers’...

NY Court Upholds Permanent Benefits Ban Based on Surveillance Evidence NY Court Upholds Permanent Benefits Ban Based on Surveillance Evidence
Feb 18, 2025

Drug Test Delay Dooms Kansas Employer’s Attempt to Deny Benefits

In an unpublished decision, a Kansas appellate court has struck down an employer’s attempt to deny workers’ compensation benefits to an employee who refused a drug test 18 days after...

Drug Test Delay Dooms Kansas Employer’s Attempt to Deny Benefits Drug Test Delay Dooms Kansas Employer’s Attempt to Deny Benefits
Feb 14, 2025

Cautious Medical Testimony Dooms NY Teacher’s Stroke Claim

In Matter of Tudor v. Whitehall Cent. Sch. Dist., 2025 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 827 (3d Dept., Feb. 13, 2025), the New York Appellate Division, Third Department, affirmed the state...

Cautious Medical Testimony Dooms NY Teacher’s Stroke Claim Cautious Medical Testimony Dooms NY Teacher’s Stroke Claim
Feb 13, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Kelly v. Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (1949)

Background On May 21, 1946, Kelly fell and injured his left knee in an accident which arose out of and in the course of his employment with the employer. He...

Throwback Thursday: Kelly v. Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (1949) Throwback Thursday: Kelly v. Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (1949)
Feb 10, 2025

Florida Workers’ Comp Lien Includes Post-Settlement Benefits

A Florida appellate court has ruled that a workers’ compensation carrier’s statutory lien rights extend to all benefits paid through the date of equitable distribution, not merely those paid through...

Florida Workers’ Comp Lien Includes Post-Settlement Benefits Florida Workers’ Comp Lien Includes Post-Settlement Benefits
Feb 7, 2025

SC Supreme Court Rebukes Comp Comm’n in Change of Condition Dispute

In Russell v. Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., 2025 S.C. LEXIS 13 (Jan. 29, 2025), the South Carolina Supreme Court reversed a Workers’ Compensation Commission ruling that denied an injured worker additional...

SC Supreme Court Rebukes Comp Comm’n in Change of Condition Dispute SC Supreme Court Rebukes Comp Comm’n in Change of Condition Dispute
Feb 6, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Bailey v. American General Ins. Co. (1955)

The Case and Its Context The 1955 Texas Supreme Court decision in Bailey v. American General Insurance Co., 154 Tex. 430, 279 S.W.2d 315 (1955), represents a landmark in the...

Throwback Thursday: Bailey v. American General Ins. Co. (1955) Throwback Thursday: Bailey v. American General Ins. Co. (1955)
Feb 4, 2025

Illinois: Work-Related Pain from Asymptomatic Preexisting Condition is Compensable

In a case of first impression, an Illinois appellate court has held that work-related pain alone—without accompanying structural change or worsening—can constitute a compensable aggravation of a pre-existing asymptomatic condition...

Illinois: Work-Related Pain from Asymptomatic Preexisting Condition is Compensable Illinois: Work-Related Pain from Asymptomatic Preexisting Condition is Compensable

New Comments

  • ramivou: They hid behind a flawed "reading" of this statute for a decade. I am glad the SC finally put an end to the misconception that it was a "first six months only" filing requirement, rather than an ongoing responsibility.
  • trob: Thanks for the query. New York's going and coming doctrine is similar to that in place in the majority of jurisdictions. That is to say that for employees with a fixed place of work and who are on a relatively consistent work schedule, the commute to and from the residence is outside the course and scope of the employment. Often overlooked is the fact that the employee must generally have a fixed ...
  • ramivou: Is coming and going covered in NY?
  • trob: Excellent question. My thought is that the employer was following what it assumed was the typical practice of seeking to protect its "subrogation" interest in state court; in virtually all jurisdictions, the state trial courts are where subrogation issues are litigated. What differed here, of course, was that it wasn't a standard subrogation case, i.e., the employee's work-related injury wasn't ca...
  • ramivou: Why didn't they file it with the state Commission instead?
  • Thomas A. Robinson: I suspect that ACME could seek contractual indemnity, as you note, either from the staffing agency or its carrier. The goal of the Board or agency generally is to see to the proper award of benefits for compensable injuries. Allowing the "aggrieved" parties to sort it out later is completely consistent with the overall theory of workers' compensation. Many thanks for the comment. Best wishes.
  • Barry Stinson: I wonder if Acme's insurer could seek contractural indemnity from Variety's insurer outside of the WC system.
  • Michael C. Duff: The conceptual distinction is between joint causation and presumptive single causation.
  • Thomas A. Robinson: Sorry, I don't/can't provide legal advice. Best wishes, however.
  • Ken Smith: What can I do when my attorney blows my case with an incomplete RB89