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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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Sep 14, 2020

Ohio Employer Not Liable in Tort Following Fatal Trench Collapse

An Ohio appellate court recently affirmed a state trial court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of an employer that had been sued in tort following the death of an...

Ohio Employer Not Liable in Tort Following Fatal Trench Collapse Ohio Employer Not Liable in Tort Following Fatal Trench Collapse
Sep 9, 2020

NY Claimant Must Show Causal Connection Between Employment and Medical Condition Even When Employer Fails to Controvert Claim

While an employer's failure to file a timely notice of controversy precludes the employer from submitting evidence that the claimant did not sustain accidental injuries or that the alleged injuries...

NY Claimant Must Show Causal Connection Between Employment and Medical Condition Even When Employer Fails to Controvert Claim NY Claimant Must Show Causal Connection Between Employment and Medical Condition Even When Employer Fails to Controvert Claim
Sep 8, 2020

Ohio Claimant May Not Receive PTD Benefits Where He Abandons the Workforce

The Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed a lower’s court’s decision that an injured worker was not entitled to permanent total disability (PTD) benefits because he had abandoned the workforce [State...

Ohio Claimant May Not Receive PTD Benefits Where He Abandons the Workforce Ohio Claimant May Not Receive PTD Benefits Where He Abandons the Workforce
Sep 2, 2020

Kansas Widow Rebuts Presumption of Marijuana Intoxication

Affirming a decision of a split panel of the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Kansas sustained an award of death benefits to the widow of a worker...

Kansas Widow Rebuts Presumption of Marijuana Intoxication Kansas Widow Rebuts Presumption of Marijuana Intoxication
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

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