Newest Articles

Oct 22, 2026

NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard

Subway Cleaner Who Witnessed a Platform Injury A New York appellate court recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision disallowing a subway-station cleaner’s PTSD claim after he witnessed a woman’s...

NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard
Oct 20, 2026

Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding

AL Supreme Court: HR’s Role Was a Jury Question The Alabama Supreme Court, by a 5–4 vote, affirmed liability for retaliatory discharge where the evidence permitted a jury to find...

Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding
Oct 19, 2026

Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim

NY Bus Driver’s Crash and Arrhythmia A New York appellate court has affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board finding that a school bus driver’s injuries and death arose out of his...

Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim
Oct 15, 2026

Safety Rule Defense Fails Where Employer Tolerated Violation

IL Applies Saunders Acquiescence Exception to Footwear Rule An Illinois appellate court, in a decision not designated for full publication, has affirmed an award of benefits to an ice cream...

Safety Rule Defense Fails Where Employer Tolerated Violation Safety Rule Defense Fails Where Employer Tolerated Violation

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Jun 22, 2026

PA Supreme Court Narrows Workers’ Comp Anti-Referral Provision

Physician-Owned Pharmacy Entitled to Reimbursement Despite Self-Referral The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently reversed the state’s Commonwealth Court and held that the Workers’ Compensation Act's Anti-Referral Provision does not bar payment...

PA Supreme Court Narrows Workers’ Comp Anti-Referral Provision PA Supreme Court Narrows Workers’ Comp Anti-Referral Provision
Jun 16, 2026

Georgia Appellate Court Reverses Course

Exclusivity Is an Affirmative Defense, Not a Jurisdictional Bar In Crook v. Six Flags Over Georgia II, L.P., 2026 Ga. App. LEXIS 302 (June 15, 2026), the plaintiff brought a...

Georgia Appellate Court Reverses Course Georgia Appellate Court Reverses Course
Jun 15, 2026

NY Correction Sergeant Did Not Qualify for New PTSD Exception

New York’s Appellate Division, Third Department recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision disallowing a correction sergeant’s PTSD claim, holding that the claimant did not qualify for the mental-injury exception...

NY Correction Sergeant Did Not Qualify for New PTSD Exception NY Correction Sergeant Did Not Qualify for New PTSD Exception
Jun 11, 2026

NY Court: Carrier That Declines to Defend Over Workers’ Compensation Exclusion Takes Significant Risk

A New York appellate court has held that an insurer that declined to defend its insured based on a workers’ compensation exclusion could not later challenge a multimillion-dollar default judgment...

NY Court: Carrier That Declines to Defend Over Workers’ Compensation Exclusion Takes Significant Risk NY Court: Carrier That Declines to Defend Over Workers’ Compensation Exclusion Takes Significant Risk
Jun 9, 2026

IL Court: Pandemic Furlough Does Not Sever Concurrent Employment for AWW Purposes

In an unpublished decision, the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, has affirmed a workers’ compensation award based on concurrent employment, holding that a claimant furloughed from her primary job...

IL Court: Pandemic Furlough Does Not Sever Concurrent Employment for AWW Purposes IL Court: Pandemic Furlough Does Not Sever Concurrent Employment for AWW Purposes
Jun 8, 2026

South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox

A South Carolina employee alleged that his manager threatened him, accused him of dishonesty, called the police, suspended him, and ultimately fired him. He then sued his employer for negligent...

South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox
Jun 5, 2026

Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician

Many disputes over physician choice in workers’ compensation arise when an injured worker seeks treatment from a doctor of his or her own choosing. Hayes v. Christian Retirement Homes, Inc.,...

Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician
Jun 2, 2026

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity

Court Applies Massachusetts Law to Maine Injury, Rejects Immunity Defense in Multi-State Staffing Arrangement A New Hampshire contractor that likely would have enjoyed workers’ compensation immunity under Maine law lost...

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity
Jun 1, 2026

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions

New York’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Appellate Division order blocking defendants in a personal injury action from using a Workers’ Compensation Board causation determination as collateral estoppel, holding...

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions
May 27, 2026

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment

In a case involving a Nebraska truck driver-farm laborer whose treatment for metastatic cancer was allegedly postponed by complications associated with a compensable hip injury and its resulting treatment, the...

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment
May 26, 2026

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

A North Carolina district manager who suffered a stroke while preparing for the opening of a restaurant location—and who allegedly waited hours before coworkers summoned emergency assistance—may not pursue negligence...

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke
May 21, 2026

Washington Court Allows “Preconception” Negligence Claim Against Employer — Exclusive Remedy Defense Rejected

In a noteworthy decision addressing the intersection of toxic exposure, reproductive injury, and workers’ compensation exclusivity, a Washington state appellate court recently held that a child conceived after an employee’s...

Washington Court Allows “Preconception” Negligence Claim Against Employer — Exclusive Remedy Defense Rejected Washington Court Allows “Preconception” Negligence Claim Against Employer — Exclusive Remedy Defense Rejected

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