Newest Articles

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
May 27, 2026

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment

In a case involving a Nebraska truck driver-farm laborer whose treatment for metastatic cancer was allegedly postponed by complications associated with a compensable hip injury and its resulting treatment, the...

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment

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Jul 2, 2019

Oregon Court Resolves Statutory Dilemma Between Conflicting Statutes of Limitation

Faced with a direct conflict between two statutes of limitation, the first [ORS 30.275(9)] indicating that “notwithstanding any other … statute providing a limitation on the commencement of an action,”...

Oregon Court Resolves Statutory Dilemma Between Conflicting Statutes of Limitation Oregon Court Resolves Statutory Dilemma Between Conflicting Statutes of Limitation
Jul 1, 2019

D.C. Subway Manager’s Injuries During Two-Hour Break Found Compensable

Quoting Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law, § 21.02, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals vacated a decision of the D.C.’s Compensation Review Board (CRB) that had denied workers’ compensation benefits...

D.C. Subway Manager’s Injuries During Two-Hour Break Found Compensable D.C. Subway Manager’s Injuries During Two-Hour Break Found Compensable
Jun 28, 2019

Maryland Home-Based Worker’s Fall Outside His Home Might Be Compensable

Yesterday, the Court of Special Appeals of Maryland, in a case of first impression, adopted the three-part test for compensability of injuries to home-based employees described in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation...

Maryland Home-Based Worker’s Fall Outside His Home Might Be Compensable Maryland Home-Based Worker’s Fall Outside His Home Might Be Compensable
Jun 27, 2019

Web Site Maintenance Completed, but with One Hitch

Yesterday, my web administrator migrated the content of “workcompwriter.com” to a new, faster, better server. Alas, in doing so, yesterday’s post regarding the sovereign immunity (or rather, the lack thereof)...

Web Site Maintenance Completed, but with One Hitch Web Site Maintenance Completed, but with One Hitch
Jun 27, 2019

Office Worker Employed by Canadian Consulate May Proceed in Tort Against Employer for Work-Related Injuries

In an unusual case testing the limits of the sovereign immunity enjoyed by our neighbor to the north, a divided First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision by a...

Office Worker Employed by Canadian Consulate May Proceed in Tort Against Employer for Work-Related Injuries Office Worker Employed by Canadian Consulate May Proceed in Tort Against Employer for Work-Related Injuries
Jun 25, 2019

Georgia Restaurant Manager’s Gunshot Wound at Home During Attempted Robbery Was Compensable

A Georgia appellate court, reversing a decision of a state Superior Court, held that substantial evidence supported a finding by the State Board of Workers’ Compensation that a restaurant manager’s...

Georgia Restaurant Manager’s Gunshot Wound at Home During Attempted Robbery Was Compensable Georgia Restaurant Manager’s Gunshot Wound at Home During Attempted Robbery Was Compensable
Jun 24, 2019

Deeply Divided Oklahoma Supreme Court “Opts Out” of Legislature’s Definition of “intentional” Injury

“Substantially Certain” Doctrine Stays, in Spite of Specific Language to the Contrary In a deeply divided decision, with three justices concurring specially with the majority’s opinion, and four justices dissenting,...

Deeply Divided Oklahoma Supreme Court “Opts Out” of Legislature’s Definition of “intentional” Injury Deeply Divided Oklahoma Supreme Court “Opts Out” of Legislature’s Definition of “intentional” Injury
Jun 19, 2019

Presumption of Correctness Afforded Florida’s EMAs Passes Constitutional Muster

§ 440.13(9)(c), Fla. Stat., which provides a presumption of correctness to the opinion of an expert medical advisor (“EMA”), is not violative of separation of powers, equal protection, and due...

Presumption of Correctness Afforded Florida’s EMAs Passes Constitutional Muster Presumption of Correctness Afforded Florida’s EMAs Passes Constitutional Muster
Jun 18, 2019

Kentucky’s Special Hearing Loss Threshold is Constitutional

Ky. Rev. Stat. § 342.7305, pursuant to which workers’ compensation claimants suffering hearing loss may not be awarded income benefits unless their whole person impairment rating (“WPI”)—as determined by converting...

Kentucky’s Special Hearing Loss Threshold is Constitutional Kentucky’s Special Hearing Loss Threshold is Constitutional
Jun 17, 2019

NJ Diabetic Teacher’s Failure to Accommodate Claim Not Barred by Exclusivity

In a decision discussing several employment-related law issues, a New Jersey appellate court held, in relevant part, that a bodily injury claim arising from an employer’s failure to accommodate allegation...

NJ Diabetic Teacher’s Failure to Accommodate Claim Not Barred by Exclusivity NJ Diabetic Teacher’s Failure to Accommodate Claim Not Barred by Exclusivity
Jun 13, 2019

Delaware Supreme Court Says Injured Employees May Recover Under Employer’s Underinsured Motorist Coverage

The Supreme Court of Delaware, reversing earlier rulings by a state trial court, held that the exclusive remedy provisions of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act (the Act), two workers who...

Delaware Supreme Court Says Injured Employees May Recover Under Employer’s Underinsured Motorist Coverage Delaware Supreme Court Says Injured Employees May Recover Under Employer’s Underinsured Motorist Coverage
Jun 12, 2019

Seattle Delivery Service Hit With $1 Million in Workers’ Comp Premiums, Penalties and Interest

Two weeks ago I wrote about Amazon’s new “last-mile” delivery service. In that post, I pointed out that Amazon had carefully crafted the business model to assure that the delivery...

Seattle Delivery Service Hit With $1 Million in Workers’ Comp Premiums, Penalties and Interest Seattle Delivery Service Hit With $1 Million in Workers’ Comp Premiums, Penalties and Interest

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