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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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Nov 2, 2021

Kentucky High Court Construes Mental Injury Statute and Affirms Award

Acknowledging that pursuant to KRS 342.0011(1), Kentucky does not allow recovery for work-related psychological injuries unless they are the “direct result” of a physical injury [emphasis added], the Supreme Court...

Kentucky High Court Construes Mental Injury Statute and Affirms Award Kentucky High Court Construes Mental Injury Statute and Affirms Award
Nov 1, 2021

Washington Supreme Court Says Staffing Agencies May Sometimes Be Liable for Safety Violations

Addressing an important issue within the modern workplace—whether in a joint employment context, staffing agencies may be liable employers for safety violations under the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act...

Washington Supreme Court Says Staffing Agencies May Sometimes Be Liable for Safety Violations Washington Supreme Court Says Staffing Agencies May Sometimes Be Liable for Safety Violations
Oct 27, 2021

Going and Coming Rule Bars Recovery in Texas Plaintiff’s Vicarious Liability Action

Citing precedent from the Supreme Court of Texas, a lower appellate court held that the going and coming rule—a creature of the workers’ compensation setting—could be applied in plaintiff’s vicarious-liability...

Going and Coming Rule Bars Recovery in Texas Plaintiff’s Vicarious Liability Action Going and Coming Rule Bars Recovery in Texas Plaintiff’s Vicarious Liability Action
Oct 25, 2021

UIM Insurer May Offset IL Employee’s Comp Benefits Against Policy Obligation

In a decision not designated for publication, an Illinois appellate court held that a trial court did not err in granting judgment on the pleadings favoring an auto insurance company...

UIM Insurer May Offset IL Employee’s Comp Benefits Against Policy Obligation UIM Insurer May Offset IL Employee’s Comp Benefits Against Policy Obligation
Oct 22, 2021

Ohio Supreme Court Reiterates Commission’s Power to Reject Settlements in VSSR cases

The Supreme Court of Ohio, affirming a decision of a lower state appellate court, held that the Ohio Industrial Commission had properly rejected a proposed settlement related to an employer’s...

Ohio Supreme Court Reiterates Commission’s Power to Reject Settlements in VSSR cases Ohio Supreme Court Reiterates Commission’s Power to Reject Settlements in VSSR cases
Oct 21, 2021

CT Court Affirms Death Benefits Award Following Suicide

The Appellate Court of Connecticut affirmed an award of death benefits to the spouse of an employee who committed suicide following a work-related knee injury, finding that substantial evidence supported...

CT Court Affirms Death Benefits Award Following Suicide CT Court Affirms Death Benefits Award Following Suicide
Oct 19, 2021

Subrogated Georgia Insurer Has No Fiduciary Duty to Protect Injured Employee’s Interests

OCGA § 34-9-11.1, Georgia’s statute that gives the insurer (or employer) the right to “assert the employee’s cause of action in tort” against a third party or parties if the...

Subrogated Georgia Insurer Has No Fiduciary Duty to Protect Injured Employee’s Interests Subrogated Georgia Insurer Has No Fiduciary Duty to Protect Injured Employee’s Interests
Oct 18, 2021

MN Supreme Court Says No to Mandatory Reimbursement for Medical Marijuana

In two companion decisions, a divided Supreme Court of Minnesota held that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals (WCCA) lacks jurisdiction to decide whether federal law preempts Minnesota law...

MN Supreme Court Says No to Mandatory Reimbursement for Medical Marijuana MN Supreme Court Says No to Mandatory Reimbursement for Medical Marijuana
Oct 15, 2021

New Hampshire High Court Adopts “Chain-of-Causation Test” for Suicides

In a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, adopted the “chain-of-causation test” for suicides and affirmed a decision by the state’s Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) that...

New Hampshire High Court Adopts “Chain-of-Causation Test” for Suicides New Hampshire High Court Adopts “Chain-of-Causation Test” for Suicides
Oct 12, 2021

Failure of Injured NY Worker to Disclose Auto Accident to IME Physician Results in Loss of Benefits

The New York Workers’ Compensation Board was within its powers when it found an injured worker had violated N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 114-a, by failing to disclose on an...

Failure of Injured NY Worker to Disclose Auto Accident to IME Physician Results in Loss of Benefits Failure of Injured NY Worker to Disclose Auto Accident to IME Physician Results in Loss of Benefits
Oct 11, 2021

NY Worker Barred From Future Benefits Even After Paying Comp Insurer $63K From Settlement Proceeds

Despite the fact that a workers’ compensation insurer was aware of an injured worker’s third-party action against the driver of a motor vehicle, and even received and accepted more than...

NY Worker Barred From Future Benefits Even After Paying Comp Insurer $63K From Settlement Proceeds NY Worker Barred From Future Benefits Even After Paying Comp Insurer $63K From Settlement Proceeds
Oct 5, 2021

West Virginia Court Stresses Six-Month Statute of Limitations is Strictly Construed

W. Va. Code 23-4-15(a), which requires workers’ compensation claims to be filed within six months from and after the date of injury or death, as the case may be, is...

West Virginia Court Stresses Six-Month Statute of Limitations is Strictly Construed West Virginia Court Stresses Six-Month Statute of Limitations is Strictly Construed

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