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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

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Dec 21, 2020

Opinion Mondays: States Shouldn’t Treat PTD Awards as Estate Planning Tools

Iowa Commutation Order Allows for Substantial Inheritable Estate Illustrating just how far some states have moved away from the original workers’ compensation principle that indemnity benefits are not an inheritable...

Opinion Mondays: States Shouldn’t Treat PTD Awards as Estate Planning Tools Opinion Mondays: States Shouldn’t Treat PTD Awards as Estate Planning Tools
Dec 18, 2020

NY Claimant Should Be Awarded Scheduled Injury to Leg for Serious Hamstring Tear

Reversing a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board, a New York appellate court held that, contrary to the Board’s interpretation, in the absence of specific instructions regarding hamstring tears...

NY Claimant Should Be Awarded Scheduled Injury to Leg for Serious Hamstring Tear NY Claimant Should Be Awarded Scheduled Injury to Leg for Serious Hamstring Tear
Dec 17, 2020

Florida First Responder’s PTSD Claim is Untimely Filed

A Florida appellate court held the 52-week filing requirement found in § 112.1815(5)(d), Fla. Stat., operated as a statute of repose, and not as a statute of limitations. Under the...

Florida First Responder’s PTSD Claim is Untimely Filed Florida First Responder’s PTSD Claim is Untimely Filed
Dec 14, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Those Hiring Undocumented Workers Should Not be Allowed to Game the System

In a deeply divided (3-2) decision, a New York appellate court reversed a decision by the state's Workers' Compensation Compensation Board that had found an injured, undocumented construction worker had...

Opinion Mondays: Those Hiring Undocumented Workers Should Not be Allowed to Game the System Opinion Mondays: Those Hiring Undocumented Workers Should Not be Allowed to Game the System
Dec 11, 2020

NY Pharmacist May Proceed in Tort Against Entity Affiliated With His Employer

Finding that a NY corporation had failed to establish either that it and Plaintiff’s employer–a related entity–were part of a single integrated entity or that one of the corporations controlled...

NY Pharmacist May Proceed in Tort Against Entity Affiliated With His Employer NY Pharmacist May Proceed in Tort Against Entity Affiliated With His Employer
Dec 10, 2020

MS Court Reverses Commission Order Granting Sanctions Against Employer

A Mississippi appellate court held the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission erred when it entered an order that required an employer/carrier to pay attorney’s fees of $4,000 as a sanction for...

MS Court Reverses Commission Order Granting Sanctions Against Employer MS Court Reverses Commission Order Granting Sanctions Against Employer
Dec 8, 2020

Texas Employee’s Suit Against Co-Worker for Dog Bite is Barred by Exclusivity

A defendant/co-worker’s act of bringing her dog to the employer’s residential facility for pregnant women to serve as a comfort animal was an activity that had to do with and...

Texas Employee’s Suit Against Co-Worker for Dog Bite is Barred by Exclusivity Texas Employee’s Suit Against Co-Worker for Dog Bite is Barred by Exclusivity
Dec 7, 2020

Opinion Mondays: DC’s Hearings Division Has New Job—Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor

The D.C. Court of Appeals reversed a decision by the District's Compensation Review Board (CRB) that had held the District of Columbia's Adjudication and Hearings Department had no statutory authority...

Opinion Mondays: DC’s Hearings Division Has New Job—Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor Opinion Mondays: DC’s Hearings Division Has New Job—Choosing a Home Remodeling Contractor
Dec 3, 2020

Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employers in Toxic Chemical Case

In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's decision granting summary judgment in favor of two former employers who, according to...

Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employers in Toxic Chemical Case Fifth Circuit Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employers in Toxic Chemical Case
Dec 2, 2020

Intervening IL Workers’ Comp Insurer is Not a “Party” to the Underlying Tort Suit

Circuit Court’s Contempt Order for Failure to Abide by Discovery Order is Erroneous An Illinois trial court committed error when it found an intervening workers’ compensation insurer in contempt for...

Intervening IL Workers’ Comp Insurer is Not a “Party” to the Underlying Tort Suit Intervening IL Workers’ Comp Insurer is Not a “Party” to the Underlying Tort Suit
Dec 1, 2020

NY Substitute Teacher’s Loss of Earnings Due to Personal Choice, Not Injury

A New York appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that a former substitute teacher had withdrawn from the labor market and any loss of earnings...

NY Substitute Teacher’s Loss of Earnings Due to Personal Choice, Not Injury NY Substitute Teacher’s Loss of Earnings Due to Personal Choice, Not Injury
Nov 30, 2020

Texas Court Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employer in Toxic Tort Suit

A Texas appellate court recently affirmed a state trial court’s decision granting summary judgment in favor of a former employer (and a companion company) who had been sued by a...

Texas Court Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employer in Toxic Tort Suit Texas Court Affirms Summary Judgment Favoring Former Employer in Toxic Tort Suit

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