Newest Articles

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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May 27, 2020

Maryland Widow's Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband's Earlier Broad Settlement Agreement

Citing Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, the Court of Appeals of Maryland held that the Workers’ Compensation Commission’s approval of a settlement agreement that purported to release a dependent’s future claims...

Maryland Widow's Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband's Earlier Broad Settlement Agreement Maryland Widow's Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband's Earlier Broad Settlement Agreement
May 26, 2020

PA Injured Worker's Decision to Become Stay-at-Home Dad Proves to be Expensive

A Pennsylvania appellate court held that where an injured worker resigned from his modified-duty position in order that he could be a “stay-at-home” dad, in part due to his injury,...

PA Injured Worker's Decision to Become Stay-at-Home Dad Proves to be Expensive PA Injured Worker's Decision to Become Stay-at-Home Dad Proves to be Expensive
May 22, 2020

Washington Court Says Proof of Service Need Not Be Filed Within 30-Day Time Frame

A Washington state appellate court held that with regard to an employee’s appeal from a decision of the state’s Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, while the clear language of Wash....

Washington Court Says Proof of Service Need Not Be Filed Within 30-Day Time Frame Washington Court Says Proof of Service Need Not Be Filed Within 30-Day Time Frame
May 21, 2020

Law Firm Security Guard's Claim For Injuries Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule

Noting initially that the pleadings of a party proceeding pro se must be held to a less stringent standard than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, a federal district court in...

Law Firm Security Guard's Claim For Injuries Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule Law Firm Security Guard's Claim For Injuries Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule
May 20, 2020

Divided MS Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals on Child Support Lien Issue

Reversing a decision by deeply divided Court of Appeals (for additional details on that earlier decision, see my post from last year), the Supreme Court of Mississippi, in a split...

Divided MS Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals on Child Support Lien Issue Divided MS Supreme Court Reverses Court of Appeals on Child Support Lien Issue
May 19, 2020

PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive"

In the continuing saga surrounding Pennsylvania’s Protz decision [see Protz v. Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board (Derry Area School District), 639 Pa. 645, 161 A.3d 827 (Pa. 2017)(Protz II)], the state’s...

PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive" PA Commonwealth Court Says Protz Decision Was Not "Fully Retroactive"
May 18, 2020

Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker Lunch

As many of you know, as co-author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, I read — or truth be told, skim — many, many appellate decisions each year. Recently, because of...

Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker Lunch Opinion Mondays: Anachronistic Longings — the Co-Worker Lunch
May 14, 2020

NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With Prejudice

Noting that dismissal with prejudice is the most severe sanction available to the court in a civil case, and thus, it should not be readily granted, a North Carolina appellate...

NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With Prejudice NC Commission Erred in Dismissing Claim With Prejudice
May 13, 2020

Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement Surgery

In a decision that is likely to raise some eyebrows, a divided Supreme Court of Virginia, affirming an earlier decision by a lower appellate court, held that an injured employee’s...

Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement Surgery Virginia High Court Says Permanent Impairment Computed Before, Not After, Hip Replacement Surgery
May 12, 2020

NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses Appeal

Illustrating what can happen when a workers' compensation carrier fails to notify its counsel of the carrier's receipt of important papers concerning a claim, a New York appellate court affirmed...

NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses Appeal NY Carrier Fails to Notify its Attorney of Claimant’s Application for Board Review and Loses Appeal
May 11, 2020

Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered?

In a document published in February, the Congressional Research Service observed: “Workers’ compensation has been called a grand bargain between employers and workers … [under which] workers receive guaranteed, no-fault...

Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered? Opinion Mondays: While We’re Adjusting Our COVID-19 Masks, Is the Grand Bargain Being Altered?
May 8, 2020

Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After Retirement

In a case in which the original work-related injury occurred two decades before the appellate decision, a Florida appellate court held that a JCC erred in focusing on a claimant's...

Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After Retirement Florida Employee Awarded PTD Benefits 17 Years After Retirement

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