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Jul 16, 2026

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break

PA Court Finds a 15-Minute Break’s Brevity Outweighs Its Formality The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a pharmacy technician struck by a...

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break
Jul 14, 2026

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field

Idaho Federal Court Finds Surveillance and a Full-Duty Release Defeat Workers' Comp Retaliatory Discharge Claim The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho recently granted summary judgment for a...

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field
Jul 13, 2026

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims

Risk-Exposure Evidence Alone Can Establish the Causal Link, Justices Hold Last Thursday, In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Muñiz, the Supreme Court of Florida held that a workplace assault...

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims
Jul 8, 2026

KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths

Supervisors Who Allegedly Blocked Exits Fell Outside the Workers’ Comp Act’s Exclusive Remedy The Kentucky Court of Appeals has revived tort claims brought by survivors of the December 2021 tornado...

KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths

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Aug 26, 2019

Receipt of Benefits Bars Worker and Parents of Deceased Worker From Maintaining Civil Actions Against North Dakota “Employer”

Where one North Dakota worker was killed and another seriously injured in a work-related explosion, neither the deceased worker’s parents nor the injured worker could maintain a civil action against...

Receipt of Benefits Bars Worker and Parents of Deceased Worker From Maintaining Civil Actions Against North Dakota “Employer” Receipt of Benefits Bars Worker and Parents of Deceased Worker From Maintaining Civil Actions Against North Dakota “Employer”
Aug 23, 2019

Bartering Arrangement Results in Loss of PTD Benefits for Ohio Man

A partially-divided Supreme Court of Ohio has affirmed a decision by a lower level appellate court that, in turn, had refused to vacate an order terminating an injured worker’s PTD...

Bartering Arrangement Results in Loss of PTD Benefits for Ohio Man Bartering Arrangement Results in Loss of PTD Benefits for Ohio Man
Aug 22, 2019

New Hampshire Injured Worker’s Death from Heroin and Oxycodone Overdose is not Compensable

The Supreme Court of New Hampshire recently affirmed a decision of the state’s Compensation Appeals Board (CAB) that denied death benefits to the widow of a worker who died of...

New Hampshire Injured Worker’s Death from Heroin and Oxycodone Overdose is not Compensable New Hampshire Injured Worker’s Death from Heroin and Oxycodone Overdose is not Compensable
Aug 15, 2019

SC’s Auto Insurance Carriers May Not Offset PIP Benefits by Amounts Insured Receives for Workers’ Comp Benefits

In a tale of the “dueling statutes,” the Supreme Court of South Carolina recently held that insurers providing automobile insurance may not reduce their obligations to provide no-fault personal injury...

SC’s Auto Insurance Carriers May Not Offset PIP Benefits by Amounts Insured Receives for Workers’ Comp Benefits SC’s Auto Insurance Carriers May Not Offset PIP Benefits by Amounts Insured Receives for Workers’ Comp Benefits
Aug 14, 2019

Massachusetts Business Owner’s Death in Auto Accident While Attending to Side Business is Not Compensable

In a case that illustrates the difficulties that can arise from intertwined small businesses, a Massachusetts appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Industrial Accident Reviewing Board that denied...

Massachusetts Business Owner’s Death in Auto Accident While Attending to Side Business is Not Compensable Massachusetts Business Owner’s Death in Auto Accident While Attending to Side Business is Not Compensable
Aug 13, 2019

Federal Court Says Oklahoma’s Subrogation Statute is Constitutional

The U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma recently held that Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation subrogation statute, 85A Okla. Stat. § 43 does not violate Article 23, Section 7...

Federal Court Says Oklahoma’s Subrogation Statute is Constitutional Federal Court Says Oklahoma’s Subrogation Statute is Constitutional
Aug 8, 2019

Tennessee Healthcare Worker’s “Scuffle” With Patient Was Not Willful Misconduct

In an unpublished opinion, the Special Workers’ Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court of Tennessee affirmed a trial court’s finding that an employer failed to meet its burden of...

Tennessee Healthcare Worker’s “Scuffle” With Patient Was Not Willful Misconduct Tennessee Healthcare Worker’s “Scuffle” With Patient Was Not Willful Misconduct
Aug 7, 2019

NY Claimant Fails to Show Reduced Earnings Were Caused by Established Back Injury

A New York appellate court affirmed a split decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that earlier found a claimant’s reduced earnings were the result of economic conditions, rather than...

NY Claimant Fails to Show Reduced Earnings Were Caused by Established Back Injury NY Claimant Fails to Show Reduced Earnings Were Caused by Established Back Injury
Aug 6, 2019

Virginia Supreme Court Construes “Two-Cause” Rule for Total Disability Cases

Maneuvering the difficult space within which a worker’s preexisting condition intersects his or her work-related injury, the Supreme Court of Virginia recently affirmed a decision by the state’s Court of...

Virginia Supreme Court Construes “Two-Cause” Rule for Total Disability Cases Virginia Supreme Court Construes “Two-Cause” Rule for Total Disability Cases
Aug 5, 2019

Maryland Widow’s Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband’s Broad Release Before His Death

A worker’s claim for workers’ compensation benefits and a dependent’s claim for death benefits are separate and independent claims, such that the dependent’s claim is not derivate of the worker’s,...

Maryland Widow’s Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband’s Broad Release Before His Death Maryland Widow’s Death Benefits Claim Not Barred by Husband’s Broad Release Before His Death
Aug 1, 2019

Federal District Court Rejects “Perception Theory” of Workers’ Compensation Retaliation

Fired Worker Must Either Have Filed a Claim or Communicated an Intent to Do So Construing Pennsylvania law, a U.S. District Court rejected the so-called “perception theory” of workers’ compensation...

Federal District Court Rejects “Perception Theory” of Workers’ Compensation Retaliation Federal District Court Rejects “Perception Theory” of Workers’ Compensation Retaliation
Jul 31, 2019

Vague, Nonspecific Statements About Knee Pain Did Not Constitute Required Notice to New York Employer

A New York appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that found a claimant had failed to provide the required written notice of injury to his...

Vague, Nonspecific Statements About Knee Pain Did Not Constitute Required Notice to New York Employer Vague, Nonspecific Statements About Knee Pain Did Not Constitute Required Notice to New York Employer

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