Driscoll Agrees with the Larson Standard, Then Affirms Without Needing It The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who developed...
Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another DayDriscoll Agrees with the Larson Standard, Then Affirms Without Needing It The Iowa Court of Appeals has affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who developed...
Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another Day Issue Commentary: Iowa Looks at Vaccine‑Injury Compensability—and Leaves the Real Question for Another DayIn *Sairafianpour v. Loudoun County Public Schools*, 2026 Va. App. LEXIS 430 (Aug. 11, 2026), the Court of Appeals of Virginia affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision awarding medical benefits...
VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable Accident VA: One Basket, Two Injuries—and Only One Compensable AccidentIn Granite School District v. Young, 2026 UT 29, 2026 Utah LEXIS 113 (Aug. 13, 2026), the Utah Supreme Court affirmed an award of permanent total disability benefits to a...
UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection Settlement UT Supreme Court Affirms PTD Award—and Rejects Employer’s Claim to Employee’s Debt-Collection SettlementAs is the rule in many jurisdictions [see Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 7.04], New York provides a presumption of compensability for accidents occurring during the course of employment which...
“Substantial” Evidence, Not Just “Some” Evidence Required to Rebut NY Presumption Regarding Unwitnessed Injuries “Substantial” Evidence, Not Just “Some” Evidence Required to Rebut NY Presumption Regarding Unwitnessed InjuriesAs I have noted many times on this blog site, more than 30 years ago my mentor, Dr. Arthur Larson, and I began a quirky—though humorous—New Year’s tradition. On an...
The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2019 The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2019Reversing itself (in relevant part), a divided Supreme Court of Idaho cast aside a year-old decision and, after re-argument, adopted what amounts to a reckless standard in so-called “intentional” tort...
Idaho High Court Does “a 180”: Employees May Sue Employers for Reckless Conduct Idaho High Court Does “a 180”: Employees May Sue Employers for Reckless ConductA recent decision from the Empire State, Matter of Keller v. Cumberland Farms, 2019 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 9113 (3d Dept. Dec. 19, 2019), illustrates a point sometimes lost on...
NY Court Bars IME Physician’s Testimony on Strict Procedural Grounds NY Court Bars IME Physician’s Testimony on Strict Procedural GroundsR.I. Gen. Laws § 45-19.1-1 (1956) does not create a conclusive presumption that cancer in firefighters arises out of and in the course of the employment, held a divided Supreme...
Divided Rhode Island Supreme Court Nixes Conclusive Cancer Presumptions for Firefighters Divided Rhode Island Supreme Court Nixes Conclusive Cancer Presumptions for FirefightersIn a case of first impression, the Supreme Court of Nevada addressed the traveling employee rule and, quoting Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 25.01, approved of the so-called Larson rule...
Nevada Supreme Court Sets Out Rules Regarding Traveling Employees Nevada Supreme Court Sets Out Rules Regarding Traveling EmployeesIn an interesting case that illustrates the tension between some of the recent technological “advances” that purportedly streamline traditional workplace practices, a federal district court yesterday held that a plaintiff’s...
Federal Court Says Action under Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is Not Barred by Exclusivity Federal Court Says Action under Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act is Not Barred by ExclusivityWhere a New York workers’ compensation claimant admitted that, prior to his work-related injury, he had been told by an employer’s representative that the employer had contacted the claimant’s union...
Proximity of NY Worker’s Termination to Claim Could Not Alone Establish Retaliatory Motive Proximity of NY Worker’s Termination to Claim Could Not Alone Establish Retaliatory MotiveA regulation of New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board [N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs., tit. 12, § 300.13(b)(1)(i)] that authorizes the Board to dismiss an application for Board review where...
State Court Strikes Down New York Board’s Eight-Page Brief Limitation State Court Strikes Down New York Board’s Eight-Page Brief LimitationIn a split decision, a Florida appellate court held that an employee’s injuries sustained while bowling with co-workers during an employer-sponsored event arose out of and in the course of...
Divided Florida Court Says On-the-Clock Bowling Outing Was Not a Recreational Event Divided Florida Court Says On-the-Clock Bowling Outing Was Not a Recreational EventEmployer Balks at Out-of-State MD’s Recommendation of Long-Term Opioid Cocktail That an injured worker’s “Form 50” physician had died and the worker had subsequently moved from Nebraska to Florida did...
Nebraska Employer Need Not Pay for Unauthorized Medical Treatment in Florida Following Worker’s Relocation Nebraska Employer Need Not Pay for Unauthorized Medical Treatment in Florida Following Worker’s RelocationAt about this time each year, I highlight what I think are the ten most important workers’ compensation decisions reported during the calendar year. In some respects, 2019 has been...
Top 10 Workers’ Compensation Cases of 2019 Top 10 Workers’ Compensation Cases of 2019
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