Newest Articles

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

All Articles

ARCHIVE
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
Mar 22, 2021

Opinion Mondays: As to AMA Guides, is There an Alternative to Protz?

BRB Says Required Use of “Most Recent Version of Guides is Not Unconstitutional Delegation of Legislative Power In a decision that may have slipped beneath the radar of insurers, administrators,...

Opinion Mondays: As to AMA Guides, is There an Alternative to Protz? Opinion Mondays: As to AMA Guides, is There an Alternative to Protz?
Mar 18, 2021

Ohio Employee’s Termination Linked to Safety Violation, Not His Comp Claim

An Ohio appellate court affirmed a trial court’s decision granting an employer summary judgment in a retaliatory discharge action filed against it by an employee who was terminated soon after...

Ohio Employee’s Termination Linked to Safety Violation, Not His Comp Claim Ohio Employee’s Termination Linked to Safety Violation, Not His Comp Claim
Mar 17, 2021

FL Insurer’s Cancellation Effective in Spite of Issuance of Certificate of Insurance

A Florida appellate court affirmed a finding by a state Judge of Compensation Claims that a subcontractor’s workers’ compensation policy had been cancelled prior to a work-related injury suffered by...

FL Insurer’s Cancellation Effective in Spite of Issuance of Certificate of Insurance FL Insurer’s Cancellation Effective in Spite of Issuance of Certificate of Insurance
Mar 16, 2021

Comp Worker’s Claim Fails Due to Untimely Report of Injury to NY Employer

Stressing that under N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 18, an injured employee is required to give written notice of any work-related injury to his or her employer within 30 days,...

Comp Worker’s Claim Fails Due to Untimely Report of Injury to NY Employer Comp Worker’s Claim Fails Due to Untimely Report of Injury to NY Employer
Mar 15, 2021

Self-Employed Nebraska Subcontractor Not Aided by Statutory Employer Protections

A Nebraska appellate court held that a self-employed person engaged in his own self-employed business, and who elected not to bring himself within the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act, was not...

Self-Employed Nebraska Subcontractor Not Aided by Statutory Employer Protections Self-Employed Nebraska Subcontractor Not Aided by Statutory Employer Protections
Mar 11, 2021

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Supports Alabama Employee’s Claim for Unscheduled Benefits

An Alabama appellate court reversed a final judgment entered by a state trial court that awarded an employee, in pertinent part, a scheduled permanent partial disability for a 59 percent...

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Supports Alabama Employee’s Claim for Unscheduled Benefits Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Supports Alabama Employee’s Claim for Unscheduled Benefits
Mar 9, 2021

Original TN Employer Liable for Medical Care in Spite of Employee’s Violation of Lifting Limits

Negligent post-injury conduct, such as exceeding the lifting restrictions placed on an injured employee’s activity cannot, in and of itself, constitute an independent intervening cause that would relieve the original...

Original TN Employer Liable for Medical Care in Spite of Employee’s Violation of Lifting Limits Original TN Employer Liable for Medical Care in Spite of Employee’s Violation of Lifting Limits
Mar 8, 2021

Third Edition of AMA Guides is “Starting Point” for Impairment Ratings in Colorado

The mandate provided in Colo. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 101(3)(a)(I) and 101(3.7), that impairment ratings must be “based on” the revised third edition of AMA Guides, does not prevent a...

Third Edition of AMA Guides is “Starting Point” for Impairment Ratings in Colorado Third Edition of AMA Guides is “Starting Point” for Impairment Ratings in Colorado
Mar 4, 2021

NH High Court Sends Medical Marijuana Case Back to Board for Second Time

In a well-written opinion that should be earmarked by law students (and attorneys) who desire a relatively concise discussion of federal preemption law, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire has,...

NH High Court Sends Medical Marijuana Case Back to Board for Second Time NH High Court Sends Medical Marijuana Case Back to Board for Second Time
Mar 2, 2021

MS Claimant Establishes Claim in Spite of Cautious Medical Testimony

A Mississippi appellate court affirmed an ALJ’s decision, affirmed by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission, that an employee’s stress fracture in her right foot was work-related, entitling the employee to...

MS Claimant Establishes Claim in Spite of Cautious Medical Testimony MS Claimant Establishes Claim in Spite of Cautious Medical Testimony
Mar 1, 2021

NY Court Says “Yes” to Medical Marijuana

A New York appellate court has affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that allowed a variance to the state treatment guidelines for workers’ compensation claims and which...

NY Court Says “Yes” to Medical Marijuana NY Court Says “Yes” to Medical Marijuana
Feb 23, 2021

W. Va Claimant’s PTSD Claim Fails in Spite of Her Use of Earlier Case as a “Template”

In a deeply divided (3-2) memorandum decision, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed a decision rejecting the claim of a cashier at a gaming parlor who contended...

W. Va Claimant’s PTSD Claim Fails in Spite of Her Use of Earlier Case as a “Template” W. Va Claimant’s PTSD Claim Fails in Spite of Her Use of Earlier Case as a “Template”

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