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 ProvisionAnalyzing one of the most contentious provisions within Florida's Workers' Compensation Act — § 440.13(2)(f), Fla. Stat. — which, under certain conditions, grants an injured worker a one-time change of...
Florida Court Asks State Supreme Court for Guidance on One-Time Change of Physician Rules Florida Court Asks State Supreme Court for Guidance on One-Time Change of Physician RulesIn a case of first impression, a Maryland appellate court held that a state trial court erred when it held that a retaliatory discharge claim may only be maintained when...
MD Court Says Retaliatory "Non-Renewal" of Contract Same as Retaliatory Firing MD Court Says Retaliatory "Non-Renewal" of Contract Same as Retaliatory FiringAs the nation moves, with fits and starts, toward some sort of recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, many within the workers’ compensation system are still trying to digest significant changes...
Opinion Mondays: 30 Days into California's COVID-19 Executive Order, Questions Abound Opinion Mondays: 30 Days into California's COVID-19 Executive Order, Questions AboundIn a divided decision, a New York appellate court recently affirmed a Board determination that a claimant, who had earlier been awarded PPD benefits and whose condition apparently worsened so...
Divided NY Appellate Court Finds Claimant's Need of Surgery Insufficient to Show Worsening Condition Divided NY Appellate Court Finds Claimant's Need of Surgery Insufficient to Show Worsening ConditionCiting Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the Court of Appeals of Maryland held that the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s approval of a settlement agreement that purported to release a dependent’s future claims...
Maryland Widow's Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband's Earlier Broad Settlement Agreement Maryland Widow's Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband's Earlier Broad Settlement AgreementA Pennsylvania appellate court held that where an injured worker resigned from his modified-duty position in order that he could be a “stay-at-home” dad, in part due to his injury,...
PA Injured Worker's Decision to Become Stay-at-Home Dad Proves to be Expensive PA Injured Worker's Decision to Become Stay-at-Home Dad Proves to be ExpensiveA Washington state appellate court held that with regard to an employee’s appeal from a decision of the state’s Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, while the clear language of Wash....
Washington Court Says Proof of Service Need Not Be Filed Within 30-Day Time Frame Washington Court Says Proof of Service Need Not Be Filed Within 30-Day Time FrameNoting initially that the pleadings of a party proceeding pro se must be held to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, a federal district court in...
Law Firm Security Guard's Claim For Injuries Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule Law Firm Security Guard's Claim For Injuries Barred by Exclusive Remedy RuleReversing a decision by deeply divided Court of Appeals (for additional details on that earlier decision, see my post from last year), the Supreme Court of Mississippi, in a split...
Divided MS Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals on Child Support Lien Issue Divided MS Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals on Child Support Lien IssueIn the continuing saga surrounding Pennsylvania’s Protz decision [see Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 639 Pa. 645, 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017)(Protz II)], the state’s...
PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive" PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive"As many of you know, as co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, I read — or truth be told, skim — many, many appellate decisions each year. Recently, because of...
Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker Lunch Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker LunchNoting that dismissal with prejudice is the most severe sanction available to the court in a civil case, and thus, it should not be readily granted, a North Carolina appellate...
NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With Prejudice NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With Prejudice
New Comments