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

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Feb 11, 2022

Mass Shooting Victim’s NY Civil Action May Move Forward Against Employer

In a case arising out of a tragic and bizarre 2017 multiple-shooting incident at a New York hospital, a state appellate court reversed a decision of the Empire State’s Workers’...

Mass Shooting Victim’s NY Civil Action May Move Forward Against Employer Mass Shooting Victim’s NY Civil Action May Move Forward Against Employer
Feb 10, 2022

Florida JCC May Not Strike Authorized Physician Because of Fee Dispute

Yesterday, a Florida appellate court held the state’s Workers’ Compensation Code (Code) does not authorize a Judge of Compensation Claims (JCC) to strike a physician authorized by the Employer/Carrier (E/C)...

Florida JCC May Not Strike Authorized Physician Because of Fee Dispute Florida JCC May Not Strike Authorized Physician Because of Fee Dispute
Feb 8, 2022

Bus Camera Video Sinks NY City Driver’s Back Injury Claim

Substantial evidence supported the New York Workers’ Compensation Board’s determination that a claimant, a bus driver, had not sustained an injury arising out of and in the course of his...

Bus Camera Video Sinks NY City Driver’s Back Injury Claim Bus Camera Video Sinks NY City Driver’s Back Injury Claim
Feb 7, 2022

Battle Continues in Kansas Over Use of 6th Edition of AMA Guides

In the continuing battle in Kansas over the use of the Sixth Edition of the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment, a divided Court of...

Battle Continues in Kansas Over Use of 6th Edition of AMA Guides Battle Continues in Kansas Over Use of 6th Edition of AMA Guides
Feb 2, 2022

Judicial Estoppel Bars NY Defendants’ Exclusive Remedy Defense

In a divided decision, a New York appellate court held that where a Manpower, Inc. temporary worker was assigned to conduct inventory control at a pharmaceutical plant operated by two...

Judicial Estoppel Bars NY Defendants’ Exclusive Remedy Defense Judicial Estoppel Bars NY Defendants’ Exclusive Remedy Defense
Feb 1, 2022

PA Employer’s Right to Subrogation is “Absolute”

Acknowledging that a trial court in a declaratory action had fixed the injured employee’s total damages in his third-party tort claim at almost $2 million, designating $1,500,000 of that total...

PA Employer’s Right to Subrogation is “Absolute” PA Employer’s Right to Subrogation is “Absolute”
Jan 31, 2022

IL Contractor Who Provides Coverage for Subcontractor’s Workers Not Immune From Suit

The exclusive remedy provisions of the Illinois Workers' Compensation Act (Act)—820 ILCS 305/5(a), 11— do not extend to a general contractor who paid workers’ compensation insurance premiums and benefits for...

IL Contractor Who Provides Coverage for Subcontractor’s Workers Not Immune From Suit IL Contractor Who Provides Coverage for Subcontractor’s Workers Not Immune From Suit
Jan 27, 2022

New Mexico Cannot Differentiate Between Secondary Mental Benefits and Secondary Physical Benefits

Capping secondary mental impairment benefits—pursuant to NMSA 1978, Section 52-1-41(C)(2015)—to the number of weeks allowable for the worker’s original physical injury [e.g., 150 weeks where the mental injury is secondary...

New Mexico Cannot Differentiate Between Secondary Mental Benefits and Secondary Physical Benefits New Mexico Cannot Differentiate Between Secondary Mental Benefits and Secondary Physical Benefits
Jan 25, 2022

Colorado Court Says Injuries Sustained En Route to Medical Appointment Not Always Compensable

Relying upon the “quasi-course of employment” concept set forth in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 10.05, a division of the Court of Appeals of Colorado affirmed an order of the...

Colorado Court Says Injuries Sustained En Route to Medical Appointment Not Always Compensable Colorado Court Says Injuries Sustained En Route to Medical Appointment Not Always Compensable
Jan 21, 2022

Establishing “Personal Comfort” Activity Is Only Half the Battle, says OR Court

Stressing that the focus of the personal comfort doctrine was to determine if an employee’s actions occurred during the course of the employment, the Court of Appeals of Oregon held...

Establishing “Personal Comfort” Activity Is Only Half the Battle, says OR Court Establishing “Personal Comfort” Activity Is Only Half the Battle, says OR Court
Jan 20, 2022

NY Court Affirms Award for Flight Attendant’s Allergy to Uniforms

Illustrating that it is for the New York Workers’ Compensation Board to weigh the evidence, even when that evidence has been presented to a law judge hearing the case, a...

NY Court Affirms Award for Flight Attendant’s Allergy to Uniforms NY Court Affirms Award for Flight Attendant’s Allergy to Uniforms
Jan 19, 2022

NJ Librarian’s Parking Lot Injuries When Struck by Snowplow are Compensable

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, reversing a decision of the Superior Court, Appellate Division [see 466 N.J. Super. 160, 245 A.3d 1019 (App. Div. 2021)], found that serious injuries...

NJ Librarian’s Parking Lot Injuries When Struck by Snowplow are Compensable NJ Librarian’s Parking Lot Injuries When Struck by Snowplow are Compensable

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