Newest Articles

Jul 21, 2026

Utah High Court: Suspension, Not Dismissal, Is the Only Sanction for Obstructing an IME

Statute’s Specific Remedy Overrides Rule 37 Discovery Sanctions, Even After Three Failed Medical Exams The Supreme Court of Utah has held that dismissal is not an available sanction for a...

Utah High Court: Suspension, Not Dismissal, Is the Only Sanction for Obstructing an IME Utah High Court: Suspension, Not Dismissal, Is the Only Sanction for Obstructing an IME
Jul 16, 2026

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break

PA Court Finds a 15-Minute Break’s Brevity Outweighs Its Formality The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a pharmacy technician struck by a...

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break
Jul 14, 2026

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field

Idaho Federal Court Finds Surveillance and a Full-Duty Release Defeat Workers' Comp Retaliatory Discharge Claim The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho recently granted summary judgment for a...

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field
Jul 13, 2026

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims

Risk-Exposure Evidence Alone Can Establish the Causal Link, Justices Hold Last Thursday, In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Muñiz, the Supreme Court of Florida held that a workplace assault...

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims

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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In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed a district court's decision granting summary judgment in favor of two former employers who,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
Nov 27, 2020

Nevada Court Affirms PTD Award to Undocumented Worker on Odd-Lot Basis

In an unpublished decision, the Supreme Court of Nevada affirmed an award of permanent total disability benefits to an undocumented worker who sustained severe injuries to his head when a...

Nevada Court Affirms PTD Award to Undocumented Worker on Odd-Lot Basis Nevada Court Affirms PTD Award to Undocumented Worker on Odd-Lot Basis
Nov 24, 2020

MD’s Highest Court Says Lower Court Erred in Reversing a Jury’s Finding as to Co-Employer Status

The Court of Appeals of Maryland, in a divided decision, held the state’s Court of Special Appeals erred in concluding, as a matter of law, that Tyson Farms was a...

MD’s Highest Court Says Lower Court Erred in Reversing a Jury’s Finding as to Co-Employer Status MD’s Highest Court Says Lower Court Erred in Reversing a Jury’s Finding as to Co-Employer Status
Nov 23, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Tests for Employment Status Appear to Grow on Trees

Among the factors adding complexity to the issue of whether a particular worker is an employee or an independent contractor is the sheer number of tests that might be utilized...

Opinion Mondays: Tests for Employment Status Appear to Grow on Trees Opinion Mondays: Tests for Employment Status Appear to Grow on Trees
Nov 19, 2020

Texas Employee’s Suit Against Non-Subscribing Employer Can Be Removed to Federal Court

A federal district court in Texas held that a Texas employee’s civil action against his non-subscribing employer did not arise out of the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act (“TWCA”), in spite...

Texas Employee’s Suit Against Non-Subscribing Employer Can Be Removed to Federal Court Texas Employee’s Suit Against Non-Subscribing Employer Can Be Removed to Federal Court
Nov 18, 2020

Medical Provider's Decision to Bill Medicare, Rather than Carrier, Results in NC Employee's Loss of Benefits on Statute of Limitations Grounds

The Court of Appeals of North Carolina affirmed a decision by the state’s Industrial Commission that denied additional medical benefits claimed by an injured worker on statute of limitations grounds...

Medical Provider's Decision to Bill Medicare, Rather than Carrier, Results in NC Employee's Loss of Benefits on Statute of Limitations Grounds Medical Provider's Decision to Bill Medicare, Rather than Carrier, Results in NC Employee's Loss of Benefits on Statute of Limitations Grounds
Nov 17, 2020

New York Painter Fails to Establish Causal Relation Between Employment and Myocardial Infarction

Stressing that the state's Workers' Compensation Board had broad discretion in weighing medical evidence as to causation, a New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the Board denying workers'...

New York Painter Fails to Establish Causal Relation Between Employment and Myocardial Infarction New York Painter Fails to Establish Causal Relation Between Employment and Myocardial Infarction
Nov 16, 2020

Opinion Mondays: COVID-19 and the Going and Coming Rule

Within the community of workers’ compensation professionals, most of our COVID-19 attention has been directed to presumptions of compensability and to the relatively unprecedented awarding of benefits to employees who...

Opinion Mondays: COVID-19 and the Going and Coming Rule Opinion Mondays: COVID-19 and the Going and Coming Rule

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