What 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 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)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 BenefitsIn 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 DisputeThe 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)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 CompensableA 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 ConcernsWhen 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)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 EmployerAn 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 ChangeBackground 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)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 DriverYesterday, 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
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