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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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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
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

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