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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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Mar 18, 2020

NY Court Affirms Board’s Decision to Require Weaning From Opioids

A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that directed that a claimant be weaned from his narcotic prescription medications in accordance with the...

NY Court Affirms Board’s Decision to Require Weaning From Opioids NY Court Affirms Board’s Decision to Require Weaning From Opioids
Mar 17, 2020

Jury-Rigged “Safety” Mechanism Subjects NJ Employer to Substantially Certain Tort Claim

Allegations that a New Jersey company maintained an unwritten policy of avoiding the use of a lock-out, tag-out (“LOTO”) safety feature on a machine because doing so would require a...

Jury-Rigged “Safety” Mechanism Subjects NJ Employer to Substantially Certain Tort Claim Jury-Rigged “Safety” Mechanism Subjects NJ Employer to Substantially Certain Tort Claim
Mar 16, 2020

Settlement of Comp Claim Bars Subsequent Civil Action Against Employer on “Third Party Attack” Theory

Where a residential counselor at a Pennsylvania inpatient psychiatric facility sought and successfully secured a $40,000 settlement from her employer in a workers’ compensation proceeding in connection with injuries she...

Settlement of Comp Claim Bars Subsequent Civil Action Against Employer on “Third Party Attack” Theory Settlement of Comp Claim Bars Subsequent Civil Action Against Employer on “Third Party Attack” Theory
Mar 13, 2020

Failure to Wear Seatbelt Proves Fatal to Virginia Driver’s Claim

Va. Code § 65.2-306(A)(4) bars workers’ compensation claims for injuries that, inter alia, result from a claimant’s willful misconduct in refusing “to perform a duty required by statute.” In that...

Failure to Wear Seatbelt Proves Fatal to Virginia Driver’s Claim Failure to Wear Seatbelt Proves Fatal to Virginia Driver’s Claim
Mar 12, 2020

Virginia Court Affirms Award for Brown Recluse Spider Bite

A Virginia appellate court recently affirmed a determination by the state’s Commission which, in a divided decision, had awarded workers’ compensation benefits to an administrative assistant who contended she was...

Virginia Court Affirms Award for Brown Recluse Spider Bite Virginia Court Affirms Award for Brown Recluse Spider Bite
Mar 11, 2020

Georgia Husband/Wife Driving Team Were Employees: Wife’s Tort Action Barred by Exclusivity

Stressing that under Georgia law, it is the right to control, not the actual exercise of that control, which determines whether the work relationship is one of employer and employee,...

Georgia Husband/Wife Driving Team Were Employees: Wife’s Tort Action Barred by Exclusivity Georgia Husband/Wife Driving Team Were Employees: Wife’s Tort Action Barred by Exclusivity
Mar 10, 2020

For Workers’ Comp World, Coronavirus is a Real “Snake in the Grass”

The world is transfixed by a new enemy: the coronavirus. I just received an email from my bank reminding me how I can use my accounts’ electronic features so as...

For Workers’ Comp World, Coronavirus is a Real “Snake in the Grass” For Workers’ Comp World, Coronavirus is a Real “Snake in the Grass”
Mar 9, 2020

What Goes Around Comes Around: IRS Employee May Not Recover for Stress Associated with Pursuing Injury Claim

In a case replete with irony, as many of us scurry around gathering the plethora of information required to file our annual individual income tax returns, a federal district court...

What Goes Around Comes Around: IRS Employee May Not Recover for Stress Associated with Pursuing Injury Claim What Goes Around Comes Around: IRS Employee May Not Recover for Stress Associated with Pursuing Injury Claim
Mar 5, 2020

SC Supreme Court Says Deceased Worker’s “Girlfriend” Failed to Show Dependency

Reversing a decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, and side-stepping — at least to some degree — the issue of illicit relationships, the Supreme Court of South Carolina found...

SC Supreme Court Says Deceased Worker’s “Girlfriend” Failed to Show Dependency SC Supreme Court Says Deceased Worker’s “Girlfriend” Failed to Show Dependency
Mar 3, 2020

Virginia Police Officer’s Knowledge of Special Heart-Lung Presumption Does Not Trigger Statute of Limitations

Where a Virginia police officer in 2009 and 2010 signed acknowledgments that he had received a copy of Virginia’s special heart-lung presumption favoring police officers and certain others, the state’s...

Virginia Police Officer’s Knowledge of Special Heart-Lung Presumption Does Not Trigger Statute of Limitations Virginia Police Officer’s Knowledge of Special Heart-Lung Presumption Does Not Trigger Statute of Limitations
Mar 2, 2020

NY Court Disapproves of Board’s “Virtual Banking” of Benefits Where Claimant Returns to Work at Preinjury Wages

Where a law judge found that an injured New York worker was entitled to a PPD classification based on impairments to her cervical and lumbar spine, entitling her to nonschedule...

NY Court Disapproves of Board’s “Virtual Banking” of Benefits Where Claimant Returns to Work at Preinjury Wages NY Court Disapproves of Board’s “Virtual Banking” of Benefits Where Claimant Returns to Work at Preinjury Wages
Feb 28, 2020

Uninsured NY Employer May Not Use “Grave Injury” Statute to Defend 3rd-Party Indemnity Claim

In relevant part, N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 11 prohibits third-party claims for indemnification and contribution against an employer unless the injured employee has sustained a “grave injury” as defined...

Uninsured NY Employer May Not Use “Grave Injury” Statute to Defend 3rd-Party Indemnity Claim Uninsured NY Employer May Not Use “Grave Injury” Statute to Defend 3rd-Party Indemnity Claim

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