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

All Articles

ARCHIVE
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
May 5, 2026

Federal Court Holds PA’s Exclusivity Bars Tortious Interference Claim

Workers’ compensation exclusivity is often discussed in broad terms, but difficult questions sometimes arise at the margins—particularly when an employee alleges misconduct not in causing the original injury, but in...

Federal Court Holds PA’s Exclusivity Bars Tortious Interference Claim Federal Court Holds PA’s Exclusivity Bars Tortious Interference Claim
May 1, 2026

Substance Over Form: TN Court Looks Past Contract Label in Borrowed Employee Dispute

Lawyers are paid to draft agreements carefully. Contracts define relationships, allocate risk, and—at least in theory—clarify who stands in what legal posture to whom. But in workers’ compensation law, labels...

Substance Over Form: TN Court Looks Past Contract Label in Borrowed Employee Dispute Substance Over Form: TN Court Looks Past Contract Label in Borrowed Employee Dispute
Apr 30, 2026

Texas Court Rejects COVID-19 Death Claim

No Reliable Proof of Increased Occupational Risk As the first wave of COVID-19 workers’ compensation litigation begins to settle into the books, appellate courts are leaving behind decisions that will...

Texas Court Rejects COVID-19 Death Claim Texas Court Rejects COVID-19 Death Claim
Apr 28, 2026

FL Court Rejects Workers’ Comp Immunity Defense Where No Subcontract Ever Existed

Workers’ compensation immunity is often described as the product of a grand bargain: employers assume no-fault liability for workplace injuries, and in return receive protection from civil tort suits. But...

FL Court Rejects Workers’ Comp Immunity Defense Where No Subcontract Ever Existed FL Court Rejects Workers’ Comp Immunity Defense Where No Subcontract Ever Existed
Apr 27, 2026

Delaware High Court Clarifies What Counts as “Claiming” Workers’ Compensation

Reporting an Injury Alone Does Not Trigger Retaliation Protection In Delaware, an employee does not “claim” or “attempt to claim” workers’ compensation benefits merely by informing an employer of an...

Delaware High Court Clarifies What Counts as “Claiming” Workers’ Compensation Delaware High Court Clarifies What Counts as “Claiming” Workers’ Compensation
Apr 24, 2026

Federal Reclassification of Marijuana: A Development to Watch in Workers’ Comp

DOJ Moves Marijuana to Schedule III, but Practical Effects Remain Uncertain In a development that may have implications for workers’ compensation claims involving medical marijuana, the U.S. Department of Justice...

Federal Reclassification of Marijuana: A Development to Watch in Workers’ Comp Federal Reclassification of Marijuana: A Development to Watch in Workers’ Comp
Apr 23, 2026

NY Court Affirms Claim Where Workplace Injury Unwitnessed but Supported by Circumstantial Evidence

Third Department Emphasizes Board’s Fact-Finding Authority and Strength of § 21 Presumption A workplace injury need not be witnessed to be compensable where circumstantial evidence supports the occurrence of an...

NY Court Affirms Claim Where Workplace Injury Unwitnessed but Supported by Circumstantial Evidence NY Court Affirms Claim Where Workplace Injury Unwitnessed but Supported by Circumstantial Evidence
Apr 20, 2026

What Do Provider Networks Actually Do? WCRI Offers Some Answers

Medical provider networks now dominate the delivery of care in workers’ compensation. In most states, the majority of medical dollars flow through them. Yet for all their ubiquity, clear evidence...

What Do Provider Networks Actually Do? WCRI Offers Some Answers What Do Provider Networks Actually Do? WCRI Offers Some Answers
Apr 16, 2026

Illinois Court Reverses Death Benefits Award

Wrong Legal Test Applied to Traveling Employee Reversing the circuit court and setting aside the Commission’s award of death benefits, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District, held that the...

Illinois Court Reverses Death Benefits Award Illinois Court Reverses Death Benefits Award
Apr 14, 2026

NH Supreme Court Affirms CAB’s Fact-Finding Discretion in Divided Decision on Workplace Death

Pulmonary Embolism Deemed Sole Cause; Water Aspiration Not a Substantial Factor In a divided, nonprecedential order, the New Hampshire Supreme Court affirmed the denial of death benefits where the Compensation...

NH Supreme Court Affirms CAB’s Fact-Finding Discretion in Divided Decision on Workplace Death NH Supreme Court Affirms CAB’s Fact-Finding Discretion in Divided Decision on Workplace Death
Apr 9, 2026

FL: Horizontal Immunity Requires a True Contractor–Subcontractor Relationship

In Teed v. Everest Campus East, LLC, 2026 Fla. App. LEXIS 2662 (Fla. 2d DCA Apr. 8, 2026), a Florida appellate court reversed summary judgment for a property manager, holding...

FL: Horizontal Immunity Requires a True Contractor–Subcontractor Relationship FL: Horizontal Immunity Requires a True Contractor–Subcontractor Relationship
Apr 8, 2026

Ohio Intentional Tort Claims: Pleading the Deliberate Intent Standard Under R.C. 2745.01

In Harris v. Tri-Tech Laboratories, LLC, 2026-Ohio-1152, 2026 Ohio App. LEXIS 1197 (Ohio Ct. App., 5th Dist. Mar. 31, 2026), the Fifth District affirmed dismissal of an employee’s intentional tort...

Ohio Intentional Tort Claims: Pleading the Deliberate Intent Standard Under R.C. 2745.01 Ohio Intentional Tort Claims: Pleading the Deliberate Intent Standard Under R.C. 2745.01

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