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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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Aug 5, 2020

TN Appeals Panel Clarifies Presumption of Correctness Afforded to MIR Physician's Impairment Rating

Construing Tenn. Code Ann. § 50-6-204(d)(5), pursuant to which a presumption of correctness is afforded to the impairment rating provided by an independent medical evaluator who has been selected from...

TN Appeals Panel Clarifies Presumption of Correctness Afforded to MIR Physician's Impairment Rating TN Appeals Panel Clarifies Presumption of Correctness Afforded to MIR Physician's Impairment Rating
Aug 4, 2020

Las Vegas Police Officer's Injuries During Commute Home Were Compensable

Adopting a "totality-of-the-circumstances" approach to determine whether a police officer's injury fell within the so-called "law-enforcement" exception to the standard going and coming rule, the Supreme Court of Nevada reversed...

Las Vegas Police Officer's Injuries During Commute Home Were Compensable Las Vegas Police Officer's Injuries During Commute Home Were Compensable
Aug 3, 2020

Opinion Mondays: COVID-19 Presumptions Don't Stand Alone in the Workers' Comp World

Recently, I had an occasion to spar with a young reporter who was gathering background information on a COVID-19 piece that she’s preparing. She’s only been in the legal news...

Opinion Mondays: COVID-19 Presumptions Don't Stand Alone in the Workers' Comp World Opinion Mondays: COVID-19 Presumptions Don't Stand Alone in the Workers' Comp World
Jul 29, 2020

Waiver in Labor Broker’s Employment Contract Saves Client from Suit by Injured Security Guard

A Florida appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s decision granting summary judgment to a defendant company in a negligence action filed against it by a security guard who was...

Waiver in Labor Broker’s Employment Contract Saves Client from Suit by Injured Security Guard Waiver in Labor Broker’s Employment Contract Saves Client from Suit by Injured Security Guard
Jul 28, 2020

NY Court Affirms Death Benefits Following Injured Worker’s Suicide

A 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 Suicide
Jul 24, 2020

Louisiana Foreman Awarded Benefits for Heat Exhaustion in Spite of Co-Morbid Condition

A 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 Condition
Jul 23, 2020

FL Court Affirms JCC's Finding of No Misrepresentation as to Claimant's "Outside" Income in Spite of Considerable Evidence to Contrary

Illustrating 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 Contrary
Jul 20, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Medical Care for Injured Workers is a Foursome

More 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 Foursome
Jul 17, 2020

Florida JCC May Not Deny TD Benefits Because Worker Received Full Pay From His Sick Leave Account

A 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 Account
Jul 15, 2020

West Virginia Court Reverses Medical Findings of Board of Review

Acknowledging 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 Review
Jul 14, 2020

Alaska Supreme Court Says Employer May Have Access to Employee's Mental Health Records

Under 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 Records
Jul 13, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for Presumption

It 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 Presumption

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