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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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Jul 30, 2019

NY Hair Salon Owner Fails to Show Causal Connection Between Rude Customers and Her Heart Attack

A New York appellate court, weighing conflicting medical evidence as to the causal connection, if any, between a business woman’s heart attack was causally connected to her employment, recently affirmed...

NY Hair Salon Owner Fails to Show Causal Connection Between Rude Customers and Her Heart Attack NY Hair Salon Owner Fails to Show Causal Connection Between Rude Customers and Her Heart Attack
Jul 29, 2019

Iowa Worker Fails to Tie Legionnaires’ Disease to Workplace

Where an Iowa claimant’s expert medical witnesses appeared to be unaware of the procedures followed by the employer to prevent contamination of its water supply, the commissioner could reasonably conclude...

Iowa Worker Fails to Tie Legionnaires’ Disease to Workplace Iowa Worker Fails to Tie Legionnaires’ Disease to Workplace
Jul 26, 2019

Iowa In-Home Nurse’s Injuries in Head-On Collision Compensable in Spite of Slight Deviation From Routine

Sufficient evidence existed in the record to support the commissioner’s (and the district court’s) determination that a nurse, who worked for the employer providing in-home nursing services to patients, sustained...

Iowa In-Home Nurse’s Injuries in Head-On Collision Compensable in Spite of Slight Deviation From Routine Iowa In-Home Nurse’s Injuries in Head-On Collision Compensable in Spite of Slight Deviation From Routine
Jul 25, 2019

New Jersey Court Says Fifth “Larson” Factor (Residential Status) Not Sufficient to Establish Jurisdiction

Quoting and adopting the discussion found in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 142.01, et seq., a New Jersey appellate court held that the fifth “Larson factor”—residency—is insufficient, in and of...

New Jersey Court Says Fifth “Larson” Factor (Residential Status) Not Sufficient to Establish Jurisdiction New Jersey Court Says Fifth “Larson” Factor (Residential Status) Not Sufficient to Establish Jurisdiction
Jul 24, 2019

Notation in Montana Security Guard’s Daily Log Re: Altercation With Unruly Patient Was Insufficient to Constitute Notice of Claim

A notation in a Montana security guard’s daily log that he had been involved in an altercation with an unruly patient at the clinic to which he was assigned and...

Notation in Montana Security Guard’s Daily Log Re: Altercation With Unruly Patient Was Insufficient to Constitute Notice of Claim Notation in Montana Security Guard’s Daily Log Re: Altercation With Unruly Patient Was Insufficient to Constitute Notice of Claim
Jul 23, 2019

NY Makeup Artist Fails to Establish Bartonella bacteria Claim From Her Exposure to Rats

A New York appellate court affirmed a finding that claimant, a makeup artist, had failed to establish her claim related to an airborne illness (Bartonella bacteria) that she claimed she...

NY Makeup Artist Fails to Establish Bartonella bacteria Claim From Her Exposure to Rats NY Makeup Artist Fails to Establish Bartonella bacteria Claim From Her Exposure to Rats
Jul 19, 2019

Commentary: The Challenges in Dealing With Cautious Medical Testimony

Five Out of Seven Ohio Supreme Court Justices Say Medical Opinion Was Ambiguous In a 5-2 decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio affirmed a finding by the Tenth District Court...

Commentary: The Challenges in Dealing With Cautious Medical Testimony Commentary: The Challenges in Dealing With Cautious Medical Testimony
Jul 18, 2019

Minnesota High Court Explains PTSD Evidentiary Requirements

Minn. Stat. § 176.011, subd. 15(d) (2018), which requires the employee to prove that the employee has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist...

Minnesota High Court Explains PTSD Evidentiary Requirements Minnesota High Court Explains PTSD Evidentiary Requirements
Jul 17, 2019

Kansas Hospital Worker Recovers for Two Unexplained Falls

Guided by the recent decision of the Supreme Court of Kansas in Estate of Graber v. Dillon Cos., 2019 Kan. LEXIS 67 (Apr. 12, 2019)[extended discussion of Graber can be...

Kansas Hospital Worker Recovers for Two Unexplained Falls Kansas Hospital Worker Recovers for Two Unexplained Falls
Jul 16, 2019

Texas Employer Not Liable for Gross Negligence After Heat-Related Death

A Texas appellate court recently affirmed a trial court’s summary judgment in favor of an employer in a gross negligence action filed against it by the family of a worker...

Texas Employer Not Liable for Gross Negligence After Heat-Related Death Texas Employer Not Liable for Gross Negligence After Heat-Related Death
Jul 15, 2019

Former NJ Employee’s Tort Suit Alleging Pharma Employer Forced Him to Use Non-FDA Approved Nasal Spray is Barred by Exclusivity Rule

A former pharmaceutical employee, who contended his employer and its CEO forced him to use a proposed (and non-FDA approved) nasal spray medication that the employer was trying to develop...

Former NJ Employee’s Tort Suit Alleging Pharma Employer Forced Him to Use Non-FDA Approved Nasal Spray is Barred by Exclusivity Rule Former NJ Employee’s Tort Suit Alleging Pharma Employer Forced Him to Use Non-FDA Approved Nasal Spray is Barred by Exclusivity Rule
Jul 12, 2019

PTSD Now a Compensable Condition in Connecticut—But Only if You’re a First Responder

This Wednesday (July 10, 2019), Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont, flanked by a group of first responders and state legislators, signed into law a new provision [S.B. 164, enrolled as Public...

PTSD Now a Compensable Condition in Connecticut—But Only if You’re a First Responder PTSD Now a Compensable Condition in Connecticut—But Only if You’re a First Responder

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