In Garcia v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 6549 (2d Cir. Mar. 5, 2026), the Second Circuit denied a petition for review filed by a...
Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore ActEvery dollar spent on workers’ compensation falls into one of two broad categories: benefits paid to injured workers—medical care and wage replacement—and the costs of delivering those benefits. The second...
New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering BenefitsIn Motors v. Bayly (Red House Motors d/b/a Bayly’s Garage), 2026 Del. LEXIS 92 (Mar. 2, 2026), the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a Superior Court decision that the high court...
Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor CoverageIn Publix Super Markets, Inc. v. Department of Financial Services, 2026 Fla. App. LEXIS 1469 (Fla. 1st DCA Feb. 25, 2026), the First District Court of Appeal recently held that...
Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy Provision Florida Court Invalidates Rules Expanding “Absolute Choice” Pharmacy ProvisionLast Friday, the Supreme Court of Iowa, affirming a trial court’s earlier decision, held that Iowa Code § 517.5 (2017), which provides immunity to insurance companies and their inspectors from...
Iowa Statute Granting Immunity to Carriers for Faulty Inspections is Constitutional Iowa Statute Granting Immunity to Carriers for Faulty Inspections is ConstitutionalThe Court of Appeals of Virginia recently affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that denied a claimant’s petition to change her treating physician where the physician indicated...
Virginia Court Says Fear of Needles Isn’t Enough to Warrant Change in MDs Virginia Court Says Fear of Needles Isn’t Enough to Warrant Change in MDsCourt Discusses Important Distinction Between “Legal” and “Medical” Causation Stepping lightly through the difficult mine field of “legal causation,” a Utah appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Labor...
Utah Court: Unusual Exertion Required if Claimant Has Preexisting Condition Utah Court: Unusual Exertion Required if Claimant Has Preexisting ConditionEmployee Had Clocked Out and Traveled Six Stops Toward His Home Where a New York City subway train cleaner clocked out at the end of his shift, left his assigned...
Assault on NYC Subway Employee Exiting Train Did Not Occur In Course of Employment Assault on NYC Subway Employee Exiting Train Did Not Occur In Course of EmploymentCourt Nevertheless Reverses and Remands Board’s Decision That Had Awarded Benefits The Court of Appeals of Oregon recently reiterated that a mere susceptibility or predisposition that does not contribute to...
Oregon Court Reiterates that “Susceptible to” Does Not Equate with “Preexisting Condition” Oregon Court Reiterates that “Susceptible to” Does Not Equate with “Preexisting Condition”Recent Decisions Reach Opposite Conclusions in Dog-Tripping Incidents According to a recent report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as many as 22 percent of the American labor force...
Home-Based Workers: Beware of Four-Legged “Best Friends” Home-Based Workers: Beware of Four-Legged “Best Friends”On Tuesday of this week, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed a determination by a state trial court that granted summary judgment, on exclusive remedy grounds [see R.I. Gen....
Rhode Island’s Exclusive Remedy Rule Shields Worker Who Engaged in Dangerous Horseplay Rhode Island’s Exclusive Remedy Rule Shields Worker Who Engaged in Dangerous HorseplayIn an unusual case that illustrates Virginia’s restrictive “arising out of the employment” test, a state appellate court yesterday affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a former police...
Virginia Police Officer’s Slip and Fall While Trying to Get Out of Pouring Rain is Not Compensable Virginia Police Officer’s Slip and Fall While Trying to Get Out of Pouring Rain is Not CompensableAn Ohio appellate court has refused to require a claimant seeking PTD benefits to deliver a signed, unlimited medical release to the employer [State ex rel. Costco Wholesale Corp. v....
Ohio Employer Not Entitled to Unlimited Medical Release Ohio Employer Not Entitled to Unlimited Medical ReleaseIn a second recent case construing the effects of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 44-523(f)(1), which, according to the first such case, Glaze v. Williams, 2019 Kan. LEXIS 75 (Apr. 19,...
Kansas High Court Says Amendment to “Failure to Move Forward” Statute Applies Retroactively Kansas High Court Says Amendment to “Failure to Move Forward” Statute Applies RetroactivelyDivided Kansas Supreme Court Argues Over Workers’ Comp Act’s “Failure to Move Forward” Statute In a divided decision, the Supreme Court of Kansas held that Kan. Stat. Ann. § 44-523(f)(1)...
What’s In A Comma? What’s In A Comma?A commercial truck driver, who sustained injuries during an unpaid pre-employment drive test that consisted of an actual delivery for the prospective employer, was not a “worker,” as that term...
Oregon Supreme Court: Minimum Wage Law May Not Be Used to Determine Claimant’s Status as “Worker” Oregon Supreme Court: Minimum Wage Law May Not Be Used to Determine Claimant’s Status as “Worker”
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