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Jul 21, 2026

Utah High Court: Suspension, Not Dismissal, Is the Only Sanction for Obstructing an IME

Statute’s Specific Remedy Overrides Rule 37 Discovery Sanctions, Even After Three Failed Medical Exams The Supreme Court of Utah has held that dismissal is not an available sanction for a...

Utah High Court: Suspension, Not Dismissal, Is the Only Sanction for Obstructing an IME Utah High Court: Suspension, Not Dismissal, Is the Only Sanction for Obstructing an IME
Jul 16, 2026

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break

PA Court Finds a 15-Minute Break’s Brevity Outweighs Its Formality The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a pharmacy technician struck by a...

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break
Jul 14, 2026

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field

Idaho Federal Court Finds Surveillance and a Full-Duty Release Defeat Workers' Comp Retaliatory Discharge Claim The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho recently granted summary judgment for a...

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field
Jul 13, 2026

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims

Risk-Exposure Evidence Alone Can Establish the Causal Link, Justices Hold Last Thursday, In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Muñiz, the Supreme Court of Florida held that a workplace assault...

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims

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Jan 11, 2022

Post-Injury Felony Conviction Not a Factor in Determining PA Employee’s Earning Power

A Pennsylvania WCJ need not consider non-work-related injury limitations that were the result of actions that occurred after the work-related injury as part of a Pennsylvania injured employee’s “residual productive...

Post-Injury Felony Conviction Not a Factor in Determining PA Employee’s Earning Power Post-Injury Felony Conviction Not a Factor in Determining PA Employee’s Earning Power
Jan 10, 2022

NC Court Construes State’s “Injury by Accident” Requirement

Construing N.C. Gen. Stat. § 97-2(6), which defines “injury” to mean “only injury by accident arising out of and in the course of the employment” [emphasis added], the Court of...

NC Court Construes State’s “Injury by Accident” Requirement NC Court Construes State’s “Injury by Accident” Requirement
Jan 6, 2022

The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2021

Copyright 2022. Thomas A. Robinson. All rights reserved. This post may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or format, without the express written consent of...

The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2021 The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2021
Jan 4, 2022

Florida Court Agrees Firefighter Not Entitled to Reimbursement for Back Surgery

A Florida appellate court has affirmed a decision of a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) holding that an injured firefighter was not entitled to reimbursement for additional surgical expenses related...

Florida Court Agrees Firefighter Not Entitled to Reimbursement for Back Surgery Florida Court Agrees Firefighter Not Entitled to Reimbursement for Back Surgery
Jan 3, 2022

NY Board Abused Discretion in Failing to Allow Carrier’s Review Application

In a claim tangental to a highly-publicized 2019 indictment for alleged workers’ compensation fraud, a New York appellate court held that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board abused its discretion when...

NY Board Abused Discretion in Failing to Allow Carrier’s Review Application NY Board Abused Discretion in Failing to Allow Carrier’s Review Application
Dec 29, 2021

NY Firefighter Successfully Proved PTSD Claim Based Upon Multiple Gruesome Incidents

Noting that a medical opinion need not be expressed with absolute medical certainty as long as it signified a probability of the underlying cause that was supported by a rational...

NY Firefighter Successfully Proved PTSD Claim Based Upon Multiple Gruesome Incidents NY Firefighter Successfully Proved PTSD Claim Based Upon Multiple Gruesome Incidents
Dec 27, 2021

PA Supreme Court “Corrects” Long-Standing Rule Regarding Award of Attorney’s Fees Against Employer Who Reasonably Contests Issues

In a decision that is turning heads in the Keystone State, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, stressing the importance differences between two words—“shall” and “may”—reversed a decision by the state’s...

PA Supreme Court “Corrects” Long-Standing Rule Regarding Award of Attorney’s Fees Against Employer Who Reasonably Contests Issues PA Supreme Court “Corrects” Long-Standing Rule Regarding Award of Attorney’s Fees Against Employer Who Reasonably Contests Issues
Dec 24, 2021

California Comp Act Does Not Bar COVID-19 Wrongful Death Claim

In an important decision that is certain to garner attention well beyond California’s borders, a California appellate court denied a petition for writ of mandate filed by an employer who...

California Comp Act Does Not Bar COVID-19 Wrongful Death Claim California Comp Act Does Not Bar COVID-19 Wrongful Death Claim
Dec 21, 2021

IL Supreme Court Sidesteps Important Issue on Technical Grounds

Dodging an issue that had spawned multiple amicus curiae briefs regarding an interesting (and important) question—whether an employee’s representation in a workers’ compensation settlement agreement that he had only suffered...

IL Supreme Court Sidesteps Important Issue on Technical Grounds IL Supreme Court Sidesteps Important Issue on Technical Grounds
Dec 16, 2021

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits in Suicide Case

An Iowa appellate court affirmed a district court’s decision affirming the denial of death benefits to a widow whose husband committed suicide mere hours after he had been terminated from...

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits in Suicide Case Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits in Suicide Case
Dec 14, 2021

Federal Court Dismisses Racially-Based IIED Suit Filed Against Co-Employee

A federal district court, construing Missouri law, dismissed a civil action filed by one employee against another alleging negligent infliction of emotional distress (“NIED”) and intentional infliction of emotional distress...

Federal Court Dismisses Racially-Based IIED Suit Filed Against Co-Employee Federal Court Dismisses Racially-Based IIED Suit Filed Against Co-Employee
Dec 13, 2021

Arkansas Court Affirms Revocation of Pharmacy License in Pain Cream Cases

A divided division of the Arkansas Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision by the state’s Board of Pharmacy that revoked the permit and license of a pharmacy and an...

Arkansas Court Affirms Revocation of Pharmacy License in Pain Cream Cases Arkansas Court Affirms Revocation of Pharmacy License in Pain Cream Cases

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