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 DeathsBackground On September 28, 1973, at approximately 2:30 a.m., James Hawk II, the president, sole stockholder, and chief operating officer of Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., died when his private airplane...
Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979) Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979)In a decision that underscores the high bar for pursuing civil remedies alongside a workers’ compensation claim, the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment against the estate...
NC Court Rejects Tort Claim for Workplace Fatality NC Court Rejects Tort Claim for Workplace FatalityWhat happens when a claims adjuster clicks the wrong box in the third-party administrator’s software—and it accidentally binds the employer to a workers’ compensation claim? In City of Philadelphia v....
PA Court Upholds Medical-Only Notice of Compensation Payable Issued by Mistake PA Court Upholds Medical-Only Notice of Compensation Payable Issued by MistakeRethinking the Limits of “Course of Employment” In traditional workers’ compensation doctrine, an injury must not only “arise out of” employment but also occur “in the course of” employment. Courts...
Throwback Thursday: Graybeal v. Board of Supervisors (1975) Throwback Thursday: Graybeal v. Board of Supervisors (1975)In a bizarre case that turned on the precise wording of N.Y. Workers' Comp. Law § 10(1), a state appellate court affirmed a Board decision awarding benefits to a claimant...
Rear-Ended While Intoxicated—and Still Covered: A Careful Reading of NY’s § 10(1) Rear-Ended While Intoxicated—and Still Covered: A Careful Reading of NY’s § 10(1)Texas Court Applies Motor Carrier Exception to General Contractor Rule A Texas appellate court has affirmed a trial court’s take-nothing judgment in favor of Texas Mutual Insurance Company, concluding that...
Independent Contractor Peace Officer Not Covered by Workers’ Compensation Independent Contractor Peace Officer Not Covered by Workers’ CompensationBackground The early 20th century saw a seismic shift in how American society approached workplace injuries. Before the widespread adoption of workers' compensation laws, injured workers typically had to sue...
Throwback Thursday: New York Central R. Co. v. White (1917) Throwback Thursday: New York Central R. Co. v. White (1917)In Muse v. Daimler Trucks N. Am., 2025 N.C. App. LEXIS 113 (Mar. 19, 2025), the North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the Industrial Commission’s denial of workers’ compensation benefits...
Routine Disciplinary Meeting Not a Compensable “Accident” Under NC’ Comp Act Routine Disciplinary Meeting Not a Compensable “Accident” Under NC’ Comp ActIn what I think is an unprecedented decision, the Connecticut Supreme Court has held that a workers’ compensation commissioner may award ongoing temporary partial incapacity benefits even after a claimant...
CT Supreme Court: Temporary Partial Benefits May Continue After MMI CT Supreme Court: Temporary Partial Benefits May Continue After MMIIn a closely watched decision, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania affirmed the Commonwealth Court’s ruling that a workers’ compensation claimant may be reimbursed for the cost of physician-prescribed cannabidiol (CBD)...
PA Supreme Court Affirms Cannabidiol Reimbursement for Injured Attorney PA Supreme Court Affirms Cannabidiol Reimbursement for Injured AttorneyBackground In 2000, Fernando Correa, an undocumented worker employed at Waymouth Farms, Inc., suffered a back injury while lifting a box in the company’s warehouse. His employer initially accepted the...
Throwback Thursday: Correa v. Waymouth Farms, Inc. (2003) Throwback Thursday: Correa v. Waymouth Farms, Inc. (2003)In Matter of Hanson v. General Electric Co., 2025 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 1397 (3d Dept. Mar. 13, 2025), a New York appellate court reversed the Workers’ Compensation Board’s decision...
NY Appellate Court Reverses Board’s Decision in Death Benefits Case NY Appellate Court Reverses Board’s Decision in Death Benefits Case
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