Newest Articles

Oct 7, 2026

Two Boxes Checked “No”

LA Second Circuit Affirms Forfeiture for False Answers on Pre-Hire Questionnaires About Prior Work Accidents and a Recommended Surgery Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed a ruling that...

Two Boxes Checked “No” Two Boxes Checked “No”
Oct 5, 2026

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee

LA Fourth Circuit, 3–2, Holds Dump-Truck Driver Paid 25% of Truck Earnings Was an Employee Despite 1099; Dissent Invokes Manifest-Error Review The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit recently reversed...

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee
Sep 29, 2026

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation

KY Supreme Court Holds the Statutory Presumption Against Recovery for Intoxicating Substances Does Not Apply to Alcohol The Kentucky Supreme Court has affirmed benefits for a traffic flagger who was...

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation
Sep 28, 2026

The Heart Has Wiring, Too

FL First DCA Holds Harlem’s Narrow “Heart Disease” Definition Does Not Bar a Firefighter’s Arrhythmia Claim Under the Heart-Lung Presumption Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has affirmed an award...

The Heart Has Wiring, Too The Heart Has Wiring, Too

All Articles

ARCHIVE
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
May 3, 2022

To Rebut Idaho’s Cancer Presumption Favoring Firefighters, Employer Must Offer Evidence that Cancer was Not Caused by Employment

The Supreme Court of Idaho, construing Idaho Code § 72-438(14)(b), which generally provides firefighters with a rebuttable presumption that certain listed cancers have a causal connection with the employment, held...

To Rebut Idaho’s Cancer Presumption Favoring Firefighters, Employer Must Offer Evidence that Cancer was Not Caused by Employment To Rebut Idaho’s Cancer Presumption Favoring Firefighters, Employer Must Offer Evidence that Cancer was Not Caused by Employment
May 2, 2022

Lay Testimony Insufficient to Establish Causation for MS Claimant

Where a police officer had sustained three prior work-related injuries and sought to receive compensation for an alleged injury to his neck, the burden was on the employee to show...

Lay Testimony Insufficient to Establish Causation for MS Claimant Lay Testimony Insufficient to Establish Causation for MS Claimant
Apr 29, 2022

Florida Court Stresses There is No “Field Employee” Exception to Statutory Going and Coming Rule

A Florida appellate court held that a judge of compensation claims committed error when he determined that a construction worker who sustained severe injuries in a vehicular accident as he...

Florida Court Stresses There is No “Field Employee” Exception to Statutory Going and Coming Rule Florida Court Stresses There is No “Field Employee” Exception to Statutory Going and Coming Rule
Apr 26, 2022

NY Court Says Existence of Medical Restrictions Are Alone Insufficient to Establish Reduced Earnings Claim

A New York appellate court affirmed the state Board’s rescission of a WCLJ’s reduced earnings award where it found that while the workers’ compensation claimant did have medical restrictions following...

NY Court Says Existence of Medical Restrictions Are Alone Insufficient to Establish Reduced Earnings Claim NY Court Says Existence of Medical Restrictions Are Alone Insufficient to Establish Reduced Earnings Claim
Apr 25, 2022

California High Court May Take Another Look at Employer’s Liability for COVID-19 Contracted by Employee’s Family Member

In an important case that may define—at least in California—an employer’s responsibility for injuries sustained when an employee’s family member contracts COVID-19 as a result of an infection that is...

California High Court May Take Another Look at Employer’s Liability for COVID-19 Contracted by Employee’s Family Member California High Court May Take Another Look at Employer’s Liability for COVID-19 Contracted by Employee’s Family Member
Apr 22, 2022

NY Court Affirms Apportionment of Liability Between Special and General Employers

A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that apportioned liability for the benefits due under an injured employee’s workers’ compensation claim between the...

NY Court Affirms Apportionment of Liability Between Special and General Employers NY Court Affirms Apportionment of Liability Between Special and General Employers
Apr 19, 2022

NY Court Disapproves of Board’s Retroactive Disqualification for Lack of Labor Market Attachment

Reversing a portion of a decision by the New York Workers’ Compensation Board, a state appellate court stressed that the appropriate date of a finding of no labor market attachment...

NY Court Disapproves of Board’s Retroactive Disqualification for Lack of Labor Market Attachment NY Court Disapproves of Board’s Retroactive Disqualification for Lack of Labor Market Attachment
Apr 18, 2022

Divided R.I. High Court Says Workers’ Comp Release Was Sufficiently Broad to Bar Discrimination Claim Against Employer

The Supreme Court of Rhode Island, with two justices dissenting, reversed a decision of a county Superior Court judge that had granted summary judgment to a former employee who contended...

Divided R.I. High Court Says Workers’ Comp Release Was Sufficiently Broad to Bar Discrimination Claim Against Employer Divided R.I. High Court Says Workers’ Comp Release Was Sufficiently Broad to Bar Discrimination Claim Against Employer
Apr 4, 2022

Going and Coming Rule Bars Tort Action Filed Against CA Employer

A California appellate court recently affirmed a state trial court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of a security guard services company that had been sued following a motor vehicle...

Going and Coming Rule Bars Tort Action Filed Against CA Employer Going and Coming Rule Bars Tort Action Filed Against CA Employer
Mar 31, 2022

Louisiana Trial Court Errs in Awarding Attorney’s Fees Exceeding $2,000 Per Hour

The Supreme Court of Louisiana affirmed a trial court’s decision to the extent that it ruled it had jurisdiction to hear an employer’s claim for damages and penalties against its...

Louisiana Trial Court Errs in Awarding Attorney’s Fees Exceeding $2,000 Per Hour Louisiana Trial Court Errs in Awarding Attorney’s Fees Exceeding $2,000 Per Hour
Mar 29, 2022

MT Court Weighs Difficult AWW Issues in Concurrent Employment Claim

In a decision that illustrates the tender balance attempted in state Workers’ Compensation Acts between fairness to the injured employee and fairness to the employer and/or carrier, the Workers’ Compensation...

MT Court Weighs Difficult AWW Issues in Concurrent Employment Claim MT Court Weighs Difficult AWW Issues in Concurrent Employment Claim
Mar 22, 2022

Kansas General Contractor Found Liable for Benefits Owed to Uninsured Subcontractor’s Injured Worker

In a complex case that saw the Court opine on the distinction between “judicial dictum” and “obiter dictum,” the Kansas Supreme Court held that a general contractor could be liable...

Kansas General Contractor Found Liable for Benefits Owed to Uninsured Subcontractor’s Injured Worker Kansas General Contractor Found Liable for Benefits Owed to Uninsured Subcontractor’s Injured Worker

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