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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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Sep 26, 2019

Federal Court Nixes SD Employee’s Attempted Use of Dual Capacity Doctrine

A products liability/strict liability and negligence action filed by an employee against an employer based upon the employer’s earlier merger with the firm that had manufactured the allegedly defective product...

Federal Court Nixes SD Employee’s Attempted Use of Dual Capacity Doctrine Federal Court Nixes SD Employee’s Attempted Use of Dual Capacity Doctrine
Sep 24, 2019

NC Auto Insurer Need Not Defend Wrongful Death Action

Defendant Driver Was “Borrowed” Co-Employee and Immune From Suit. In a declaratory judgment action to determine if an automobile liability insurance company was required to defend its insured against an...

NC Auto Insurer Need Not Defend Wrongful Death Action NC Auto Insurer Need Not Defend Wrongful Death Action
Sep 23, 2019

Washington Special Employers May Not Be So “Special” After All

Court Says Issue of Fact Existed as to Whether Worker “Consented” to Special Employment Status. In a decision that could alter the way some labor brokers manage their businesses within...

Washington Special Employers May Not Be So “Special” After All Washington Special Employers May Not Be So “Special” After All
Sep 20, 2019

Ohio Claimant’s Vision Loss May Not Be Judged Merely by Snellen Fraction Differentials

In order to establish entitlement to an award for permanent partial loss of sight under Ohio Rev. Code § 4123.57(B), a workers’ compensation claimant must submit medical evidence showing the...

Ohio Claimant’s Vision Loss May Not Be Judged Merely by Snellen Fraction Differentials Ohio Claimant’s Vision Loss May Not Be Judged Merely by Snellen Fraction Differentials
Sep 19, 2019

California Governor Signs “Gig Worker” Bill into Law

Yesterday (September 18, 2019), California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5—the much talked about “gig worker” law that strikes at the heart of the business model for...

California Governor Signs “Gig Worker” Bill into Law California Governor Signs “Gig Worker” Bill into Law
Sep 18, 2019

West Virginia: No Dependency Established Where Daughter Had not Lived With Employee for 25 Years

In a memorandum decision that illustrates one of the several important distinctions between the tort law world, which tends to emphasize property rights (converting, if you will, even pain and...

West Virginia: No Dependency Established Where Daughter Had not Lived With Employee for 25 Years West Virginia: No Dependency Established Where Daughter Had not Lived With Employee for 25 Years
Sep 17, 2019

Colorado Employer’s First Report of Injury and Other Preliminary Filings Do Not Toll Statute of Limitations

In Colorado, the statute of limitations applicable to the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act [Colo. Rev. Stat. § 8-43-103(2)] is not tolled by the filing of the employer’s first report of...

Colorado Employer’s First Report of Injury and Other Preliminary Filings Do Not Toll Statute of Limitations Colorado Employer’s First Report of Injury and Other Preliminary Filings Do Not Toll Statute of Limitations
Sep 16, 2019

NY Court: “Attachment to Labor Market” Amendment Not Always Applied Retroactively

The 2017 amendment to N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 15(3)(w), which relieves some permanently partially disabled claimants of the obligation to show labor market attachment, does not apply retroactively in all...

NY Court: “Attachment to Labor Market” Amendment Not Always Applied Retroactively NY Court: “Attachment to Labor Market” Amendment Not Always Applied Retroactively
Sep 13, 2019

Michigan Commission May Not Establish Overpayment Rules Re: Workers’ Comp Benefits on its Own

Where the Michigan Legislature had promulgated one right of reimbursement for overpayment of workers’ compensation benefits—allowing recovery of the overpayment made within one year of the recoupment action under MCL...

Michigan Commission May Not Establish Overpayment Rules Re: Workers’ Comp Benefits on its Own Michigan Commission May Not Establish Overpayment Rules Re: Workers’ Comp Benefits on its Own
Sep 12, 2019

Wyoming High Court Says Both Employer and Division of Workers’ Compensation Estopped From Using Statute of Limitations Defense

In a complex case, with procedural twists and turns, the Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed a finding that an employee’s claim for workers’ compensation benefits was barred because he failed...

Wyoming High Court Says Both Employer and Division of Workers’ Compensation Estopped From Using Statute of Limitations Defense Wyoming High Court Says Both Employer and Division of Workers’ Compensation Estopped From Using Statute of Limitations Defense
Sep 11, 2019

Utah High Court Comes Close to Adopting Positional Risk for Unexplained Falls

The Supreme Court of Utah affirmed a finding by the state’s Labor Commission that an employee’s injuries sustained in an unexplained fall in a parking lot adjacent to the employer’s...

Utah High Court Comes Close to Adopting Positional Risk for Unexplained Falls Utah High Court Comes Close to Adopting Positional Risk for Unexplained Falls
Sep 10, 2019

Sixth Circuit Side-Steps Federal Immigration Issue in Retaliatory Discharge Action

While hypothetical questions may have been the standard in law school courses taught via the Socratic Method, the Sixth Circuit recently held such questions are not to be considered by...

Sixth Circuit Side-Steps Federal Immigration Issue in Retaliatory Discharge Action Sixth Circuit Side-Steps Federal Immigration Issue in Retaliatory Discharge Action

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