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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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Feb 3, 2025

GA Court: Refusal of Light-Duty Work Might Be Justified By COVID-19 Health Concerns

A Georgia appellate court recently reversed a state Workers’ Compensation Board decision that denied temporary total disability (TTD) benefits to an employee who refused light-duty work due to COVID-19 health...

GA Court: Refusal of Light-Duty Work Might Be Justified By COVID-19 Health Concerns GA Court: Refusal of Light-Duty Work Might Be Justified By COVID-19 Health Concerns
Jan 30, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Whetro v. Awkerman (1970)

When Mother Nature Met Workers’ Compensation On Palm Sunday 1965, a devastating series of tornadoes tore through southern Michigan. Among the victims were two workers: Carl Whetro, injured when the...

Throwback Thursday: Whetro v. Awkerman (1970) Throwback Thursday: Whetro v. Awkerman (1970)
Jan 28, 2025

“Traveling Employee” Exception Not Applicable in Third-Party Tort Action Against Ohio Employer

An Ohio employer cannot be held liable under the doctrine of respondeat superior for an employee’s negligent driving during a commute to work, even where the employee might reasonably be...

“Traveling Employee” Exception Not Applicable in Third-Party Tort Action Against Ohio Employer “Traveling Employee” Exception Not Applicable in Third-Party Tort Action Against Ohio Employer
Jan 27, 2025

IL Supreme Court: Widow Can Sue in Tort Although Husband’s Exposure to Toxins Occurred Before 2019 Legislative Change

An Illinois widow may pursue a civil action against her deceased husband’s employer for his asbestos-related death, even though his exposure occurred decades before a 2019 amendment to the state’s...

IL Supreme Court: Widow Can Sue in Tort Although Husband’s Exposure to Toxins Occurred Before 2019 Legislative Change IL Supreme Court: Widow Can Sue in Tort Although Husband’s Exposure to Toxins Occurred Before 2019 Legislative Change
Jan 23, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Booker v. Duke Medical Center (1979)

Background In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Robert Booker worked as a laboratory technician at Duke Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, performing routine chemical tests on blood specimens....

Throwback Thursday: Booker v. Duke Medical Center (1979) Throwback Thursday: Booker v. Duke Medical Center (1979)
Jan 20, 2025

No PTSD Benefits for NY City Bus Driver

Passenger’s Attack Just Part of Driver’s “Normal Work Environment” In Matter of Waddy v. Manhattan & Bronx Surface Tr. Auth., 2025 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 244 (3rd Dept. Jan. 16,...

No PTSD Benefits for NY City Bus Driver No PTSD Benefits for NY City Bus Driver
Jan 14, 2025

MN: Driver’s Co-Employee Immunity Doesn’t Shield Vehicle Owners From Liability

Yesterday, reversing a trial court’s decision granting defendant vehicle owners’ motion for summary judgment, in Niebuhr v. Sieberg, 2025 Minn. App. LEXIS 4 (Jan. 13, 2025), the Minnesota Court of...

MN: Driver’s Co-Employee Immunity Doesn’t Shield Vehicle Owners From Liability MN: Driver’s Co-Employee Immunity Doesn’t Shield Vehicle Owners From Liability
Jan 13, 2025

VT High Court Upholds Administrative Rule on Concurrent Employment Wage Calculations

In a unanimous decision, Hill v. Agri-Mark, Inc., 2025 VT 3, 2025 Vt. LEXIS 2 (Jan. 10, 2025), the Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed the state Department of Labor’s authority...

VT High Court Upholds Administrative Rule on Concurrent Employment Wage Calculations VT High Court Upholds Administrative Rule on Concurrent Employment Wage Calculations
Jan 7, 2025

What Should the Tort Jury Know About Comp Benefits Already Received?

NC Court Should Not Disclose Power of Court to Reduce Employer’s Comp Lien The North Carolina Court of Appeals recently held that despite the statutory requirement that a trial judge...

What Should the Tort Jury Know About Comp Benefits Already Received? What Should the Tort Jury Know About Comp Benefits Already Received?
Jan 6, 2025

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim

In Collins v. Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART), 2024 Iowa App. LEXIS 918 (Dec. 18, 2024), the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed denial of workers’ compensation benefits to...

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim
Jan 6, 2025

Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence

In Spisa-Kline v. Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital, 2024 Neb. App. LEXIS 750 (Dec. 31, 2024), the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the employer in a workers’ compensation...

Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence
Dec 31, 2024

Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits

Appeals Court Examines Going and Coming Rule The Oregon Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a Workers’ Compensation Board decision that had denied benefits to a worker injured while...

Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits

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