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Jun 8, 2026

South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox

A South Carolina employee alleged that his manager threatened him, accused him of dishonesty, called the police, suspended him, and ultimately fired him. He then sued his employer for negligent...

South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox South Carolina’s Mental-Injury Paradox
Jun 5, 2026

Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician

Many disputes over physician choice in workers’ compensation arise when an injured worker seeks treatment from a doctor of his or her own choosing. Hayes v. Christian Retirement Homes, Inc.,...

Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician Iowa Supreme Court: Employer Not Bound by Opinion of Its Own Treating Physician
Jun 2, 2026

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity

Court Applies Massachusetts Law to Maine Injury, Rejects Immunity Defense in Multi-State Staffing Arrangement A New Hampshire contractor that likely would have enjoyed workers’ compensation immunity under Maine law lost...

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity
Jun 1, 2026

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions

New York’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Appellate Division order blocking defendants in a personal injury action from using a Workers’ Compensation Board causation determination as collateral estoppel, holding...

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions

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Nov 8, 2019

Eight Days Late Results in More than a Dollar Short for Mississippi Claimant

While some jurisdictions show significant flexibility when it comes to time limitations for filing workers’ compensation appeal or review requests, Mississippi appears to be much less forgiving. In Hardy v....

Eight Days Late Results in More than a Dollar Short for Mississippi Claimant Eight Days Late Results in More than a Dollar Short for Mississippi Claimant
Nov 7, 2019

Provision of Company Vehicle to Texas Employee Does Not Necessarily Bring Commute Within Employment

The mere gratuitous furnishing of transportation by the employer to the employee as an accommodation, and not as an integral part of the contract of employment, does not, by itself,...

Provision of Company Vehicle to Texas Employee Does Not Necessarily Bring Commute Within Employment Provision of Company Vehicle to Texas Employee Does Not Necessarily Bring Commute Within Employment
Nov 6, 2019

“Don’t Lift that Box”: Georgia Worker Fired For Insubordination, Not Because of His Injury

That the firing of a worker has some connection to his or her work-related injury is insufficient, in and of itself, to support an award of temporary disability benefits following...

“Don’t Lift that Box”: Georgia Worker Fired For Insubordination, Not Because of His Injury “Don’t Lift that Box”: Georgia Worker Fired For Insubordination, Not Because of His Injury
Nov 5, 2019

No Carpal Tunnel Recovery for West Virginia Embalmer

Illustrating the broad discretion that the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board of Review has when it comes to making factual determinations—including those regarding medical causation—the Supreme Court of Appeals of West...

No Carpal Tunnel Recovery for West Virginia Embalmer No Carpal Tunnel Recovery for West Virginia Embalmer
Nov 4, 2019

Georgia Employee’s Estate May Move Forward With Tort Action Regarding Parking Lot Shooting

Where a grocery store employee was shot and killed in an apparent robbery attempt in the parking lot adjacent to the store, but after the employee had ended her work...

Georgia Employee’s Estate May Move Forward With Tort Action Regarding Parking Lot Shooting Georgia Employee’s Estate May Move Forward With Tort Action Regarding Parking Lot Shooting
Nov 1, 2019

Fourth Circuit Says Injured Worker May Proceed Against Employer’s Auto Liability Policy

Workers’ Compensation Exclusion in Policy Does not Apply. Construing West Virginia law, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals held that an injured construction worker could proceed to recover damages under...

Fourth Circuit Says Injured Worker May Proceed Against Employer’s Auto Liability Policy Fourth Circuit Says Injured Worker May Proceed Against Employer’s Auto Liability Policy
Oct 31, 2019

Florida Illegal Immigrant Caught in Catch-22

Court Affirms Denial of Benefits Based on Improper Social Security Number. Signaling how easy it is in Florida to deny workers’ compensation benefits to an injured illegal immigrant, yesterday a...

Florida Illegal Immigrant Caught in Catch-22 Florida Illegal Immigrant Caught in Catch-22
Oct 30, 2019

Nebraska Claimant Fails to Connect Sinus Cavity Clot to Earlier DVT

In an unpublished opinion that illustrates the difficulty in establishing medical causation in many aggravation cases, a Nebraska appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Court denying...

Nebraska Claimant Fails to Connect Sinus Cavity Clot to Earlier DVT Nebraska Claimant Fails to Connect Sinus Cavity Clot to Earlier DVT
Oct 28, 2019

Illinois Commission Does Not Have Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Insurance Coverage Question

Acknowledging that under 820 ILCS 305/18, questions under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act must generally be determined by the state’s Industrial Commission, a state appellate court held that the circuit...

Illinois Commission Does Not Have Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Insurance Coverage Question Illinois Commission Does Not Have Exclusive Jurisdiction Over Insurance Coverage Question
Oct 25, 2019

California Employer/Insurer’s Right to Subrogation Does Not Bar Removal of Case to Federal District Court

That a California employer and/or its workers’ compensation insurer might have a subrogation interest in the proceeds of any recovery in a third-party negligence action originally filed in a state...

California Employer/Insurer’s Right to Subrogation Does Not Bar Removal of Case to Federal District Court California Employer/Insurer’s Right to Subrogation Does Not Bar Removal of Case to Federal District Court
Oct 24, 2019

Virginia Court Reverses Award of Home Health Care Provided by Spouse

That an employer had paid for home health care by an agency in the past did not necessarily mean the care provided by an injured employee’s spouse was compensable under...

Virginia Court Reverses Award of Home Health Care Provided by Spouse Virginia Court Reverses Award of Home Health Care Provided by Spouse
Oct 23, 2019

NY Court Weighs in on AWW Computation for Claimant Working Substantially Less Than Full Year Before Injury

Where a claimant worked six days a week from February 13, 2017 until May 14, 2017, when he sustained work-related injuries, earning $12,130.76 for the thirteen-week period, it was error...

NY Court Weighs in on AWW Computation for Claimant Working Substantially Less Than Full Year Before Injury NY Court Weighs in on AWW Computation for Claimant Working Substantially Less Than Full Year Before Injury

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