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Oct 7, 2026

Two Boxes Checked “No”

LA Second Circuit Affirms Forfeiture for False Answers on Pre-Hire Questionnaires About Prior Work Accidents and a Recommended Surgery Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed a ruling that...

Two Boxes Checked “No” Two Boxes Checked “No”
Oct 5, 2026

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee

LA Fourth Circuit, 3–2, Holds Dump-Truck Driver Paid 25% of Truck Earnings Was an Employee Despite 1099; Dissent Invokes Manifest-Error Review The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit recently reversed...

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee
Sep 29, 2026

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation

KY Supreme Court Holds the Statutory Presumption Against Recovery for Intoxicating Substances Does Not Apply to Alcohol The Kentucky Supreme Court has affirmed benefits for a traffic flagger who was...

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation
Sep 28, 2026

The Heart Has Wiring, Too

FL First DCA Holds Harlem’s Narrow “Heart Disease” Definition Does Not Bar a Firefighter’s Arrhythmia Claim Under the Heart-Lung Presumption Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has affirmed an award...

The Heart Has Wiring, Too The Heart Has Wiring, Too

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Oct 28, 2020

Massachusetts High Court Says Comp Insurer Need Not Pay for Medical Marijuana

Yesterday, in a decision that is certain to draw attention in a host of other jurisdictions, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, quoting Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, held a workers’...

Massachusetts High Court Says Comp Insurer Need Not Pay for Medical Marijuana Massachusetts High Court Says Comp Insurer Need Not Pay for Medical Marijuana
Oct 27, 2020

NY Board May Not Employ "Novel" Standard for Work-at-Home Injuries

In a decision that has important ramifications for other claims filed in the Empire State by employees working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a state appellate court reversed...

NY Board May Not Employ "Novel" Standard for Work-at-Home Injuries NY Board May Not Employ "Novel" Standard for Work-at-Home Injuries
Oct 23, 2020

Foreseeability of Ohio Worker's Depression is Not a Factor in Judging Compensability of Mental Condition

An Ohio appellate court reversed a trial court’s determination that an injured worker had not sustained a compensable mental injury–Depressive Disorder, not otherwise specified–stemming from her original 2007 knee injury,...

Foreseeability of Ohio Worker's Depression is Not a Factor in Judging Compensability of Mental Condition Foreseeability of Ohio Worker's Depression is Not a Factor in Judging Compensability of Mental Condition
Oct 22, 2020

Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Lower Court's Attempt to Clarify "Sudden Mechanical or Structural Change" Rule

Reversing an earlier decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the phrase “injury by accident” linked two discrete concepts—an injury and an accident—that...

Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Lower Court's Attempt to Clarify "Sudden Mechanical or Structural Change" Rule Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Lower Court's Attempt to Clarify "Sudden Mechanical or Structural Change" Rule
Oct 20, 2020

Land and Mobile Home Purchased With Workers' Comp Proceeds by NC Bankruptcy Debtor is Not Exempt

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of North Carolina, construing the state statute on exemptions, held that a Chapter 13 Debtor was not entitled to claim an exemption...

Land and Mobile Home Purchased With Workers' Comp Proceeds by NC Bankruptcy Debtor is Not Exempt Land and Mobile Home Purchased With Workers' Comp Proceeds by NC Bankruptcy Debtor is Not Exempt
Oct 19, 2020

Florida Utility Was Not Statutory Employer of Injured Workers of Maintenance Company

The obligation of a Florida public utility to maintain its facilities and equipment arose out of an administrative regulation and, therefore, was not the sort of obligation that could be...

Florida Utility Was Not Statutory Employer of Injured Workers of Maintenance Company Florida Utility Was Not Statutory Employer of Injured Workers of Maintenance Company
Oct 16, 2020

NY Court Affirms Abandonment of Labor Market Finding in Spite of Medical Opinion as to Disability

In spite of the fact that a New York employee sustained an admitted work-related injury–she was hit by falling scaffolding–and her physician offered an unrebutted medical opinion that she was...

NY Court Affirms Abandonment of Labor Market Finding in Spite of Medical Opinion as to Disability NY Court Affirms Abandonment of Labor Market Finding in Spite of Medical Opinion as to Disability
Oct 15, 2020

Nevada Firefighter Due PPD Benefits For Cancer Diagnosed After Retirement

A county firefighter, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer three years after his retirement, and who had been given a 40 percent disability rating, was entitled to PPD benefits based...

Nevada Firefighter Due PPD Benefits For Cancer Diagnosed After Retirement Nevada Firefighter Due PPD Benefits For Cancer Diagnosed After Retirement
Oct 13, 2020

NY Widow's Death Benefits Claim Filed 12 Years After Work Cessation Not Supported By Medical Evidence

A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state's Workers' Compensation Board that denied death benefits to a widow whose husband, a former correction officer, died in 2016,...

NY Widow's Death Benefits Claim Filed 12 Years After Work Cessation Not Supported By Medical Evidence NY Widow's Death Benefits Claim Filed 12 Years After Work Cessation Not Supported By Medical Evidence
Oct 12, 2020

NY Law Firm Requests $52K in Fees, Gets $1K For Failure to Submit Proper Form

A New York appellate court held the state's Workers' Compensation Board did not abuse its discretion in awarding counsel fees of $1,000 to the law firm representing an injured worker...

NY Law Firm Requests $52K in Fees, Gets $1K For Failure to Submit Proper Form NY Law Firm Requests $52K in Fees, Gets $1K For Failure to Submit Proper Form
Oct 8, 2020

Oregon Claimant’s Injury During Unpaid Orientation Session is Compensable

Where a claimant had applied for a position with the purported employer, had been advised by that employer to attend an unpaid “orientation” and a paid training day, had arrived...

Oregon Claimant’s Injury During Unpaid Orientation Session is Compensable Oregon Claimant’s Injury During Unpaid Orientation Session is Compensable
Oct 7, 2020

NY Employer Allowed 10 Percent Credit for Claimant's Prior SLU Injury to Same Leg

A New York appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that held a claimant was entitled to a 7.5 percent schedule loss of use (“SLU”) of...

NY Employer Allowed 10 Percent Credit for Claimant's Prior SLU Injury to Same Leg NY Employer Allowed 10 Percent Credit for Claimant's Prior SLU Injury to Same Leg

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