Newest Articles

Dec 18, 2024

Arkansas Court Reverses Permanent Benefits Award for COVID-Related Heart Condition

The Arkansas Court of Appeals has reversed a workers’ compensation award for permanent impairment related to atrial fibrillation that developed following a COVID-19 infection [Booneville Hum. Dev. Ctr. v. Foster,...

Arkansas Court Reverses Permanent Benefits Award for COVID-Related Heart Condition Arkansas Court Reverses Permanent Benefits Award for COVID-Related Heart Condition
Dec 17, 2024

MS High Court: Contractor Immune From Tort Claim Filed By Subcontractor’s Officer Who Opted Out of Comp Coverage

A general contractor that contractually required its subcontractors to maintain workers’ compensation insurance is immune from tort liability, even when sued by a corporate officer of the subcontractor who had...

MS High Court: Contractor Immune From Tort Claim Filed By Subcontractor’s Officer Who Opted Out of Comp Coverage MS High Court: Contractor Immune From Tort Claim Filed By Subcontractor’s Officer Who Opted Out of Comp Coverage
Dec 16, 2024

Ohio Supreme Court: Motions for Attorney Fees May Be Filed at any Time

A divided Ohio Supreme Court has held that a workers’ compensation claimant who prevails at trial may file a motion for appellate attorney fees after obtaining a favorable appellate decision,...

Ohio Supreme Court: Motions for Attorney Fees May Be Filed at any Time Ohio Supreme Court: Motions for Attorney Fees May Be Filed at any Time
Dec 12, 2024

West Virginia University Employee’s Long COVID Claim Denied

Adding to the growing body of COVID-19 workers’ compensation jurisprudence, in a memorandum decision, West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of additional medical conditions allegedly stemming...

West Virginia University Employee’s Long COVID Claim Denied West Virginia University Employee’s Long COVID Claim Denied

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Nov 20, 2024

NY Court Affirms Board’s Rejection of Medical Opinion Based on Flawed Work History

In 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 History
Nov 19, 2024

NY Appellate Court Addresses Three Different Types of COVID-19 Claims on Same Day

Nearly 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 Day
Nov 18, 2024

NY: Workers’ Comp Settlement Not Protected from Son of Sam Law Seizure

A 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 Seizure
Nov 14, 2024

Florida: Late Change in Doctor’s Causation Opinion Required Hearing Continuance

Florida’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 Continuance
Nov 13, 2024

KY Court Reverses Board: Nurse Failed to Prove COVID-19 Was Work-Related

A 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-Related
Nov 12, 2024

De Novo, Deference, or Something in Between: The Complex Landscape of Workers’ Compensation Administrative Review

Personal 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 Review
Nov 10, 2024

NY Factory Worker’s COVID-19 Claim Fails: No Showing of Workplace Exposure

In 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 Exposure
Nov 7, 2024

NC Court’s Special Employment Analysis Raises Important Question

On 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
Nov 5, 2024

Iowa: Death Benefits Awarded Where Evidence of Suicide Found Insufficient

The Iowa Court of Appeals recently affirmed a workers’ compensation commissioner’s decision awarding death benefits to a surviving spouse, finding substantial evidence supported the commissioner’s determination that the worker’s fatal...

Iowa: Death Benefits Awarded Where Evidence of Suicide Found Insufficient Iowa: Death Benefits Awarded Where Evidence of Suicide Found Insufficient
Nov 4, 2024

Understanding the Odd-Lot Doctrine in Workers’ Compensation Law: Origins, Evolution, and Modern Application

Origins and Commercial Context Within commercial and financial contexts, the term “odd lot” has long been used to describe non-standard quantities of goods or securities that, because of their irregular...

Understanding the Odd-Lot Doctrine in Workers’ Compensation Law: Origins, Evolution, and Modern Application Understanding the Odd-Lot Doctrine in Workers’ Compensation Law: Origins, Evolution, and Modern Application
Oct 28, 2024

IL Appellate Court Awards TPD Benefits Under Odd-Lot Doctrine

Last week, in an unpublished decision, an Illinois appellate court reversed a Workers’ Compensation Commission’s denial of permanent total disability benefits, holding that a 77-year-old bus driver qualified for benefits...

IL Appellate Court Awards TPD Benefits Under Odd-Lot Doctrine IL Appellate Court Awards TPD Benefits Under Odd-Lot Doctrine
Oct 25, 2024

KY High Court: Injuries Sustained in Las Vegas Slip and Fall While Shopping are Compensable

Yesterday, relying heavily upon the discussion of the “traveling employee exception” to the going and coming rule found in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed decisions of...

KY High Court: Injuries Sustained in Las Vegas Slip and Fall While Shopping are Compensable KY High Court: Injuries Sustained in Las Vegas Slip and Fall While Shopping are Compensable

New Comments

  • 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
  • Thomas A. Robinson: Good point, although the interesting thing about the case--at least to me--is that it discusses the important "injury by accident" issue. That issue, present in at least a plurality of state acts, is largely ignored by Commissions, Boards, and Courts these days. Here, also, the case was so fact-specific that even it had been issued as published, it would be factually distinguishable from many othe...
  • kathlyn gorman: It should have been noted in your discussion that this is an unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Thus, it does not constitute controlling legal authority.
  • Thomas A. Robinson: You're correct. Ordinarily, I can depend upon Alabama to provide me with at least one case for "the List." I'll bet 2022 will unearth something bizarre from the Great State of Alabama. Take care.