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 ActEvery 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 BenefitsIn 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 CoverageIn 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 ProvisionA New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that awarded death benefits to a surviving spouse following the suicide of her husband, who had...
NY Court Affirms Death Benefits Following Injured Worker’s Suicide NY Court Affirms Death Benefits Following Injured Worker’s SuicideA Louisiana appellate court affirmed an award of indemnity benefits, medical expenses, $6,000 in penalties, and $9,500 in attorney’s fees to a foreman who sustained two heat exhaustion episodes in...
Louisiana Foreman Awarded Benefits for Heat Exhaustion in Spite of Co-Morbid Condition Louisiana Foreman Awarded Benefits for Heat Exhaustion in Spite of Co-Morbid ConditionIllustrating yet again the deference afforded a Judge of Compensation Claims when it comes to fact-finding, a Florida appellate court affirmed a JCC’s finding that an injured employee had not...
FL Court Affirms JCC's Finding of No Misrepresentation as to Claimant's "Outside" Income in Spite of Considerable Evidence to Contrary FL Court Affirms JCC's Finding of No Misrepresentation as to Claimant's "Outside" Income in Spite of Considerable Evidence to ContraryMore than 20 years ago, I engaged in an “animated” discussion with a good friend who, while now retired, was then a prominent orthopedic surgeon in the area. Because of...
Opinion Mondays: Medical Care for Injured Workers is a Foursome Opinion Mondays: Medical Care for Injured Workers is a FoursomeA Florida appellate court recently held that a JCC erred in refusing to award temporary disability benefits to an injured worker based on the fact that the worker received “full...
Florida JCC May Not Deny TD Benefits Because Worker Received Full Pay From His Sick Leave Account Florida JCC May Not Deny TD Benefits Because Worker Received Full Pay From His Sick Leave AccountAcknowledging the broad latitude afforded the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Review when it comes to weighing the medical evidence before it, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia,...
West Virginia Court Reverses Medical Findings of Board of Review West Virginia Court Reverses Medical Findings of Board of ReviewUnder Alaska Stat. §§ 23.30.107 and 23.30.107, an employer is entitled to have access to an injured employee’s mental health records when such access is relevant to the employee’s workers’...
Alaska Supreme Court Says Employer May Have Access to Employee's Mental Health Records Alaska Supreme Court Says Employer May Have Access to Employee's Mental Health RecordsIt may be a long shot, but a recent New York appellate decision may have opened the door, if ever so slightly, to compensability of COVID-19 claims on the basis...
Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for Presumption Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for PresumptionA New York appellate court held that since an employer and carrier had prevailed in a 2013 scheduled loss of use (SLU) claim on causation grounds — the WCLJ’s decision...
In NY Apportionment Claims, Key is Existence of Prior Disability, Not its Cause In NY Apportionment Claims, Key is Existence of Prior Disability, Not its CauseAgain illustrating the discretionary power of a board or commission to make factual findings, a New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board denying benefits...
NY Retail Employee Loses Her "Gray Area" Injury Claim NY Retail Employee Loses Her "Gray Area" Injury ClaimTwo months ago, I posited that a decision in an old influenza case from Hawaii might give us some indication as to how a COVID-19 presumption of compensability might operate...
407-Page IME Report Insufficient to Rebut Hawai'i's Presumption of Compensability 407-Page IME Report Insufficient to Rebut Hawai'i's Presumption of CompensabilityAn injured worker’s unpaid religious activity within a small church, which included providing occasional sermons, counseling a small group of parishioners, assisting with Bible studies and baptisms, and the like,...
NY Worker’s Failure to Disclose Religious Activity Does Not Bar Her Receipt of Benefits NY Worker’s Failure to Disclose Religious Activity Does Not Bar Her Receipt of Benefits
New Comments