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Mar 10, 2026

Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act

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 Act
Mar 6, 2026

New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits

Every 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 Benefits
Mar 5, 2026

Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage

In 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 Coverage
Mar 3, 2026

Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy Provision

In 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 Provision

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Apr 7, 2020

In Georgia, Borrowed Servant is Co-Employee of Borrowing Employer’s “Regular” Employee

In Georgia, a borrowed servant is, even though temporarily, the co-employee of the borrowing employer’s regular employees. Accordingly, such a borrowed servant may not sue one of the employer’s regular...

In Georgia, Borrowed Servant is Co-Employee of Borrowing Employer’s “Regular” Employee In Georgia, Borrowed Servant is Co-Employee of Borrowing Employer’s “Regular” Employee
Apr 6, 2020

Opinion Mondays: “Old” Case Law May Be Key to Many Coronavirus Claims

Over the past several weeks, as the coronavirus pandemic has raged across the United States, several state governors and a number of state legislatures have announced, and in a few...

Opinion Mondays: “Old” Case Law May Be Key to Many Coronavirus Claims Opinion Mondays: “Old” Case Law May Be Key to Many Coronavirus Claims
Apr 2, 2020

Virginia School Guard’s Injuries Allegedly Caused by Wind Were Not Compensable

Applying Virginia’s so-called “actual risk test,” a state appellate court affirmed a decision by the Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission that had denied benefits to a school security officer who fell...

Virginia School Guard’s Injuries Allegedly Caused by Wind Were Not Compensable Virginia School Guard’s Injuries Allegedly Caused by Wind Were Not Compensable
Mar 31, 2020

Arkansas Carrier Wins: Requires Premiums Be Paid on Worker’s Earnings, Then Says He Was Independent Contractor

In a real “head-scratcher,” an Arkansas appellate court, relying on a 50-year-old decision of the state’s Supreme Court, held that the Arkansas Commission did not err when it determined that...

Arkansas Carrier Wins: Requires Premiums Be Paid on Worker’s Earnings, Then Says He Was Independent Contractor Arkansas Carrier Wins: Requires Premiums Be Paid on Worker’s Earnings, Then Says He Was Independent Contractor
Mar 30, 2020

New Feature: Opinion Mondays — In the COVID-19 Medical Crisis, Who Is on the Front Line?

Last Wednesday (March 25), North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum signed Executive Order 2020-12 that, as of March 13, 2020, purports to extend special worker compensation protections to first responders, health...

New Feature: Opinion Mondays — In the COVID-19 Medical Crisis, Who Is on the Front Line? New Feature: Opinion Mondays — In the COVID-19 Medical Crisis, Who Is on the Front Line?
Mar 27, 2020

SC Supreme Court Stresses Commission May Not Use Credibility as a Wild Card

Acknowledging that when South Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Commission makes a credibility determination based on substantial evidence, that credibility finding itself is substantial evidence, and factual findings properly based on such...

SC Supreme Court Stresses Commission May Not Use Credibility as a Wild Card SC Supreme Court Stresses Commission May Not Use Credibility as a Wild Card
Mar 26, 2020

$2.9 Million California Judgment Against Employer Stands in Muddled Green Card Application Case

A California appellate court affirmed a $2.9 million judgment entered against a former movie industry employer who botched the green card application process of one of its foreign employees, resulting...

$2.9 Million California Judgment Against Employer Stands in Muddled Green Card Application Case $2.9 Million California Judgment Against Employer Stands in Muddled Green Card Application Case
Mar 25, 2020

SD Supreme Court Construes State’s “No Progress” Rule in Comp Cases

Construing South Dakota’s “no progress” rule [S.D. Admin. R. 47:03:01:09], which allows the state’s Department of Labor to dismiss a workers’ compensation petition when there has been “no activity for...

SD Supreme Court Construes State’s “No Progress” Rule in Comp Cases SD Supreme Court Construes State’s “No Progress” Rule in Comp Cases
Mar 24, 2020

TX Deputy’s Fatal Injuries While Traveling Home in Patrol Car Were Compensable

Reversing a lower appellate court, the Supreme Court of Texas held that because the summary judgment evidence established that a deputy sheriff — who died in a vehicular accident involving...

TX Deputy’s Fatal Injuries While Traveling Home in Patrol Car Were Compensable TX Deputy’s Fatal Injuries While Traveling Home in Patrol Car Were Compensable
Mar 23, 2020

SD Supreme Court Stresses Fault and Negligence Have No Role in Workers’ Comp Disputes

Cautioning that the analysis of the case by the state’s Department of Labor had come “perilously close to the prohibited concept of contributory negligence or fault,” the Supreme Court of...

SD Supreme Court Stresses Fault and Negligence Have No Role in Workers’ Comp Disputes SD Supreme Court Stresses Fault and Negligence Have No Role in Workers’ Comp Disputes
Mar 20, 2020

Personal Deviation Sinks Mississippi Salesman’s Claim

Construing the “dual purpose” rule, as utilized in Mississippi, the state’s Court of Appeals, in a deeply divided (6-4) decision, affirmed a decision of the Mississippi Workers’ Compensation Commission that...

Personal Deviation Sinks Mississippi Salesman’s Claim Personal Deviation Sinks Mississippi Salesman’s Claim
Mar 19, 2020

NY Employer’s Quick Firing After Employee’s Injury Was Retaliatory

A New York appellate court affirmed a determination by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that an employer violated N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 120 — the state’s anti-retaliation statute —...

NY Employer’s Quick Firing After Employee’s Injury Was Retaliatory NY Employer’s Quick Firing After Employee’s Injury Was Retaliatory

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