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 ProvisionIn a decision that is likely to raise some eyebrows, a divided Supreme Court of Virginia, affirming an earlier decision by a lower appellate court, held that an injured employee’s...
Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement Surgery Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement SurgeryIllustrating what can happen when a workers' compensation carrier fails to notify its counsel of the carrier's receipt of important papers concerning a claim, a New York appellate court affirmed...
NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses Appeal NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses AppealIn a document published in February, the Congressional Research Service observed: “Workers’ compensation has been called a grand bargain between employers and workers … [under which] workers receive guaranteed, no-fault...
Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered? Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered?In a case in which the original work-related injury occurred two decades before the appellate decision, a Florida appellate court held that a JCC erred in focusing on a claimant's...
Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After Retirement Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After RetirementA Virginia appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state's Workers' Compensation Commission that denied temporary partial disability benefits to an injured employee under Va. Code Ann. § 65.2-502,...
Injured VA Employee May Not Merely Accept Lowest-Paying Post-Injury Job and Recover Difference in Earnings Injured VA Employee May Not Merely Accept Lowest-Paying Post-Injury Job and Recover Difference in EarningsA New York appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that a claimant/employee did not sustain injuries arising out of and in the course of his...
New York's "Gray Area" Rule Does Not Aid Claimant Struck by Car Near Workplace New York's "Gray Area" Rule Does Not Aid Claimant Struck by Car Near WorkplaceIn recent weeks, as multiple states have established presumptions of compensability favoring some workers who contract the coronavirus/COVID-19, many within the workers’ compensation community have pondered just how these presumptions...
Opinion Mondays: Old Influenza Case From Hawaii Shows How COVID-19 Presumptions Might Work Opinion Mondays: Old Influenza Case From Hawaii Shows How COVID-19 Presumptions Might WorkIn a case that provides guidance for employers and carriers who seek to rebut the special presumption of compensability provided to firefighters and certain other “covered officers” (including corrections officers)...
Florida Court Says Cardiac Presumption Favoring Corrections Officer Was Rebutted Florida Court Says Cardiac Presumption Favoring Corrections Officer Was RebuttedIn a decision not designated for publication, an appellate court from the state of Washington affirmed a jury’s determination that an injured worker was intoxicated to such an extent that...
Washington Landscaper Denied Benefits After "Blowing" Twice the Legal Limit Washington Landscaper Denied Benefits After "Blowing" Twice the Legal LimitIn a decision that discusses the complex give and take between an injured Pennsylvania employee and an employer who contends that the employee no longer is entitled to a payment...
PA Commonwealth Court Reverses ALJ's Decision Awarding Unreasonable Contest Fees PA Commonwealth Court Reverses ALJ's Decision Awarding Unreasonable Contest FeesConstruing Colorado law, a federal district court granted, in relevant part, a former employer’s motion for summary judgment in a case filed against it for retaliatory discharge [Donez v. Leprino...
Federal District Court Says Proximity of Firing to Filing Claim Was Alone Insufficient to Survive Employer’s Motion for Summary Judgment Federal District Court Says Proximity of Firing to Filing Claim Was Alone Insufficient to Survive Employer’s Motion for Summary JudgmentGovernor and Legislators Might Profit From Reading PA’s Protz Decision The controversial “rule change” put in place two weeks ago by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, which purports to create...
Opinion Mondays: Later Today, IL Comm'n Will Say "Ooops" as to its Presumption of Compensability Opinion Mondays: Later Today, IL Comm'n Will Say "Ooops" as to its Presumption of Compensability
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