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Aug 20, 2026

Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day

Driscoll Agrees with the Larson Standard, Then Affirms Without Needing It The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who developed...

Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day
Aug 20, 2026

Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day

Driscoll Agrees with the Larson Standard, Then Affirms Without Needing It The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who developed...

Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day
Aug 19, 2026

VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable Accident

In *Sairafianpour v. Loudoun County Public Schools*, 2026 Va. App. LEXIS 430 (Aug. 11, 2026), the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision awarding medical benefits...

VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable Accident VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable Accident
Aug 17, 2026

UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection Settlement

In Granite School District v. Young, 2026 UT 29, 2026 Utah LEXIS 113 (Aug. 13, 2026), the Utah Supreme Court affirmed an award of permanent total disability benefits to a...

UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection Settlement UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection Settlement

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Sep 1, 2020

Colorado Court: Pilot Not Engaged in Personal Deviation in Spite of Elevated Alcohol Level in His Blood

A Colorado appellate court recently affirmed a decision by the state's Industrial Claim Appeals Office that found an airline pilot’s widow and children were entitled to survivor benefits after the...

Colorado Court: Pilot Not Engaged in Personal Deviation in Spite of Elevated Alcohol Level in His Blood Colorado Court: Pilot Not Engaged in Personal Deviation in Spite of Elevated Alcohol Level in His Blood
Aug 31, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Is California's "Posse Law" Passé?

In a case involving an utterly bizarre fact pattern, as well as a legal battle stretching out over the bulk of a decade, the Supreme Court of California, in a...

Opinion Mondays: Is California's "Posse Law" Passé? Opinion Mondays: Is California's "Posse Law" Passé?
Aug 27, 2020

CT High Court Says Transplanted Heart is Not a Prosthetic Device

The Supreme Court of Connecticut held that a transplanted heart is not in the nature of a prosthetic device. Accordingly, where a police officer sustained a compensable rare autoimmune disease...

CT High Court Says Transplanted Heart is Not a Prosthetic Device CT High Court Says Transplanted Heart is Not a Prosthetic Device
Aug 26, 2020

CT Municipality Liable for Benefits Owed to Employee of Uninsured Roofing Subcontractor

The Supreme Court of Connecticut, in a split decision, held that, under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 31-291, the city of Bridgeport was the “principal employer” of an employee of an...

CT Municipality Liable for Benefits Owed to Employee of Uninsured Roofing Subcontractor CT Municipality Liable for Benefits Owed to Employee of Uninsured Roofing Subcontractor
Aug 25, 2020

Delaware Worker's Tort Suit Against TPA May Continue

A civil action filed by an injured worker against a third-party claims administrator for alleged improper claims handling may proceed, held a Delaware court recently [see Ferrari v. Helmsman Mgmt....

Delaware Worker's Tort Suit Against TPA May Continue Delaware Worker's Tort Suit Against TPA May Continue
Aug 21, 2020

Special Endorsement in NC Commercial Auto Policy Sinks Employer/Insurer's Subrogation Claim

The North Carolina Supreme Court, in a split decision, reversed an earlier decision by the state's Court of Appeals, and held that because the employer's commercial auto policy contained an...

Special Endorsement in NC Commercial Auto Policy Sinks Employer/Insurer's Subrogation Claim Special Endorsement in NC Commercial Auto Policy Sinks Employer/Insurer's Subrogation Claim
Aug 20, 2020

Washington Staffing Firm Was Not Employer For Purposes of Safety Violations

A Washington appellate court reversed a determination by a state superior court that had determined that a staffing firm, which assigned temporary workers to a specific entity, could be liable...

Washington Staffing Firm Was Not Employer For Purposes of Safety Violations Washington Staffing Firm Was Not Employer For Purposes of Safety Violations
Aug 18, 2020

Pennsylvania Well Owner and Service Provider Were Not Statutory Employers of Truck Driver Making Delivery

In a split decision, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that a well owner and another firm that provided well services to the well owner were not the statutory employers...

Pennsylvania Well Owner and Service Provider Were Not Statutory Employers of Truck Driver Making Delivery Pennsylvania Well Owner and Service Provider Were Not Statutory Employers of Truck Driver Making Delivery
Aug 17, 2020

Opinion Mondays: The AMA is on Another Collision Course With Protz

The first session at tomorrow afternoon’s virtual conference, sponsored by Workers’ Compensation Institute, has really piqued my interest. Entitled, “THE NEW AMA Guides®” (hereinafter “the Guides”), it begs the question:...

Opinion Mondays: The AMA is on Another Collision Course With Protz Opinion Mondays: The AMA is on Another Collision Course With Protz
Aug 14, 2020

Minnesota Chiropractor's Inaction Causes Loss of $9K in Medical Care Charges

The Supreme Court of Minnesota recently held that a health care provider who voluntarily declined to intervene in a pending workers’ compensation proceeding after receiving timely and adequate notice of...

Minnesota Chiropractor's Inaction Causes Loss of $9K in Medical Care Charges Minnesota Chiropractor's Inaction Causes Loss of $9K in Medical Care Charges
Aug 11, 2020

NJ Worker's Tort Action Against Supply Company Fails on Exclusivity Grounds

A New Jersey appellate court affirmed a state trial court’s decision to grant summary judgment in favor of a defendant supply company in a civil action filed against it by...

NJ Worker's Tort Action Against Supply Company Fails on Exclusivity Grounds NJ Worker's Tort Action Against Supply Company Fails on Exclusivity Grounds
Aug 10, 2020

NC Claims Rep's Occupational Disease Claim for Anxiety and Depression Fails

A North Carolina appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Industrial Commission that denied an employee’s claim for an alleged occupational disease due to excessive stress and other pressures...

NC Claims Rep's Occupational Disease Claim for Anxiety and Depression Fails NC Claims Rep's Occupational Disease Claim for Anxiety and Depression Fails

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