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Mar 10, 2026

Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act

In Garcia v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 6549 (2d Cir. Mar. 5, 2026), the Second Circuit denied a petition for review filed by a...

Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act
Mar 6, 2026

New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits

Every dollar spent on workers’ compensation falls into one of two broad categories: benefits paid to injured workers—medical care and wage replacement—and the costs of delivering those benefits. The second...

New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits
Mar 5, 2026

Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage

In Motors v. Bayly (Red House Motors d/b/a Bayly’s Garage), 2026 Del. LEXIS 92 (Mar. 2, 2026), the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a Superior Court decision that the high court...

Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage
Mar 3, 2026

Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy Provision

In Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. Department of Financial Services, 2026 Fla. App. LEXIS 1469 (Fla. 1st DCA Feb. 25, 2026), the First District Court of Appeal recently held that...

Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy Provision Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy Provision

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May 19, 2021

Staffing Company’s Should Not Conflate Employment Contract and Specific Assignment

Employment Contract Formed In Illinois In Spite of Contingencies Required for First Assignment in Indiana In an unpublished decision, an Illinois appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’...

Staffing Company’s Should Not Conflate Employment Contract and Specific Assignment Staffing Company’s Should Not Conflate Employment Contract and Specific Assignment
May 17, 2021

NY Court Says Law Judge Must Limit Decision to Actual Issue at Hand

Illustrating the important point that a hearing officer or judge must stick to those matters that are specifically at issue, and not wander off to determine other questions that might...

NY Court Says Law Judge Must Limit Decision to Actual Issue at Hand NY Court Says Law Judge Must Limit Decision to Actual Issue at Hand
May 13, 2021

PA Tow Truck Operator Was Employee, Not an Independent Contractor

In Berkebile Towing & Recovery v. Workers’ Comp. Appeal Bd. (Harr), 2021 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 427 (May 10, 2021), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania affirmed a decision by the state’s...

PA Tow Truck Operator Was Employee, Not an Independent Contractor PA Tow Truck Operator Was Employee, Not an Independent Contractor
May 11, 2021

Arizona Employee’s Idiopathic Fall is Not Compensable

In an unpublished decision, an Arizona appellate court affirmed a determination by the state’s Industrial Commission that found an employee’s workers’ compensation claim was not compensable because the employee’s injuries...

Arizona Employee’s Idiopathic Fall is Not Compensable Arizona Employee’s Idiopathic Fall is Not Compensable
May 10, 2021

KY Supreme Court Construes Agricultural Employee Exemption

The Supreme Court of Kentucky, construing the state’s agricultural employee exemption [see Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 342.650(5) and 342.0011(18)], reversed a split decision of the state’s Court of Appeals...

KY Supreme Court Construes Agricultural Employee Exemption KY Supreme Court Construes Agricultural Employee Exemption
May 4, 2021

NY Claimant Should Not Have Been Permanently Barred From Indemnity Benefits

A New York appellate court held that while the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board was within its discretion when it found an injured worker had violated N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law §...

NY Claimant Should Not Have Been Permanently Barred From Indemnity Benefits NY Claimant Should Not Have Been Permanently Barred From Indemnity Benefits
May 3, 2021

Split 9th Circuit Panel Overturns Injunction Favoring Golden State Truckers

Panel Says District Court Abused Discretion Last Wednesday, in California Trucking Ass’n v. Bonta, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 12629 (9th Cir., Apr. 28, 2021), a divided panel of the Ninth...

Split 9th Circuit Panel Overturns Injunction Favoring Golden State Truckers Split 9th Circuit Panel Overturns Injunction Favoring Golden State Truckers
Apr 29, 2021

Federal Court Allows Comp Insurer to Intervene in Injured Worker’s Third-Party Action

Providing a casebook-like discussion of the issues related to a workers’ compensation insurer’s intervention in a third-party civil action, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri held...

Federal Court Allows Comp Insurer to Intervene in Injured Worker’s Third-Party Action Federal Court Allows Comp Insurer to Intervene in Injured Worker’s Third-Party Action
Apr 28, 2021

Illinois Court Tacitly Says No Recovery Since Injury Was Claimant’s Fault

An Illinois appellate court affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a university employee who sustained injuries when she tripped and fell as she stepped over a chain barrier...

Illinois Court Tacitly Says No Recovery Since Injury Was Claimant’s Fault Illinois Court Tacitly Says No Recovery Since Injury Was Claimant’s Fault
Apr 27, 2021

West Virginia High Court Says Unexplained Fall is Compensable

In a memorandum opinion, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Office of Judges, which had been affirmed by the Board...

West Virginia High Court Says Unexplained Fall is Compensable West Virginia High Court Says Unexplained Fall is Compensable
Apr 26, 2021

Sixth Circuit Affirms $50K Punitive Damages Award for TN Employer’s Retaliation Against Undocumented Worker

In a case that has yo-yo’d between a federal district court (W.D. Tenn.) and the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, the latter affirmed, in relevant part, a decision by the...

Sixth Circuit Affirms $50K Punitive Damages Award for TN Employer’s Retaliation Against Undocumented Worker Sixth Circuit Affirms $50K Punitive Damages Award for TN Employer’s Retaliation Against Undocumented Worker
Apr 23, 2021

In Missouri “Upside-Down” Case, Parents Fail to Prove Son’s Death was Caused by Obesity

In an unusual, “upside-down” case, in which the parents of a deceased employee argued that their son’s death was not compensable, because it was caused, in part they claimed, by...

In Missouri “Upside-Down” Case, Parents Fail to Prove Son’s Death was Caused by Obesity In Missouri “Upside-Down” Case, Parents Fail to Prove Son’s Death was Caused by Obesity

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