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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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Sep 18, 2020

Cautious Medical Opinion Sinks NY Worker's Knee Injury Claim

Acknowledging that medical opinion evidence need not be expressed with absolute or reasonable medical certainty, but stressing that it nevertheless needed to be based on more than a mere possibility,...

Cautious Medical Opinion Sinks NY Worker's Knee Injury Claim Cautious Medical Opinion Sinks NY Worker's Knee Injury Claim
Sep 17, 2020

Utah Rule Heightened Standard Regarding Preexisting Conditions Dooms Claim

Under Utah’s Allen standard, where the claimant suffers from a preexisting condition that contributes to the injury, the claimant is required to show an unusual or extraordinary exertion in order...

Utah Rule Heightened Standard Regarding Preexisting Conditions Dooms Claim Utah Rule Heightened Standard Regarding Preexisting Conditions Dooms Claim
Sep 16, 2020

California Employee's IIED Claim Against Employer for Inadequate COVID-19 Protocols Barred by Exclusivity

A federal district court in California recently held that a plaintiff’s claims against her former employer, a private operator of correctional facilities, for negligent supervision and intentional infliction of emotional...

California Employee's IIED Claim Against Employer for Inadequate COVID-19 Protocols Barred by Exclusivity California Employee's IIED Claim Against Employer for Inadequate COVID-19 Protocols Barred by Exclusivity
Sep 15, 2020

PA Court Says WCJ Erred in Failing to Award Attorney’s Fees to Claimant

The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently reversed a decision of the state's Board and found, contrary to the findings of both a WCJ and the Board, that an employer violated...

PA Court Says WCJ Erred in Failing to Award Attorney’s Fees to Claimant PA Court Says WCJ Erred in Failing to Award Attorney’s Fees to Claimant
Sep 14, 2020

Ohio Employer Not Liable in Tort Following Fatal Trench Collapse

An Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a state trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer that had been sued in tort following the death of an...

Ohio Employer Not Liable in Tort Following Fatal Trench Collapse Ohio Employer Not Liable in Tort Following Fatal Trench Collapse
Sep 9, 2020

NY Claimant Must Show Causal Connection Between Employment and Medical Condition Even When Employer Fails to Controvert Claim

While an employer's failure to file a timely notice of controversy precludes the employer from submitting evidence that the claimant did not sustain accidental injuries or that the alleged injuries...

NY Claimant Must Show Causal Connection Between Employment and Medical Condition Even When Employer Fails to Controvert Claim NY Claimant Must Show Causal Connection Between Employment and Medical Condition Even When Employer Fails to Controvert Claim
Sep 8, 2020

Ohio Claimant May Not Receive PTD Benefits Where He Abandons the Workforce

The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed a lower’s court’s decision that an injured worker was not entitled to permanent total disability (PTD) benefits because he had abandoned the workforce [State...

Ohio Claimant May Not Receive PTD Benefits Where He Abandons the Workforce Ohio Claimant May Not Receive PTD Benefits Where He Abandons the Workforce
Sep 2, 2020

Kansas Widow Rebuts Presumption of Marijuana Intoxication

Affirming a decision of a split panel of the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Kansas sustained an award of death benefits to the widow of a worker...

Kansas Widow Rebuts Presumption of Marijuana Intoxication Kansas Widow Rebuts Presumption of Marijuana Intoxication
Sep 1, 2020

Colorado Court: Pilot Not Engaged in Personal Deviation in Spite of Elevated Alcohol Level in His Blood

A Colorado appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state's Industrial Claim Appeals Office that found an airline pilot’s widow and children were entitled to survivor benefits after the...

Colorado Court: Pilot Not Engaged in Personal Deviation in Spite of Elevated Alcohol Level in His Blood Colorado Court: Pilot Not Engaged in Personal Deviation in Spite of Elevated Alcohol Level in His Blood
Aug 31, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Is California's "Posse Law" Passé?

In a case involving an utterly bizarre fact pattern, as well as a legal battle stretching out over the bulk of a decade, the Supreme Court of California, in a...

Opinion Mondays: Is California's "Posse Law" Passé? Opinion Mondays: Is California's "Posse Law" Passé?
Aug 27, 2020

CT High Court Says Transplanted Heart is Not a Prosthetic Device

The Supreme Court of Connecticut held that a transplanted heart is not in the nature of a prosthetic device. Accordingly, where a police officer sustained a compensable rare autoimmune disease...

CT High Court Says Transplanted Heart is Not a Prosthetic Device CT High Court Says Transplanted Heart is Not a Prosthetic Device
Aug 26, 2020

CT Municipality Liable for Benefits Owed to Employee of Uninsured Roofing Subcontractor

The Supreme Court of Connecticut, in a split decision, held that, under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-291, the city of Bridgeport was the “principal employer” of an employee of an...

CT Municipality Liable for Benefits Owed to Employee of Uninsured Roofing Subcontractor CT Municipality Liable for Benefits Owed to Employee of Uninsured Roofing Subcontractor

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