Every 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 ProvisionThe Florida First District Court of Appeal has reversed an award of 24-hour attendant care benefits where the only “prescription” supporting the award appeared in an Independent Medical Examiner’s report...
Florida Court: IME Report Is Not a “Prescription” for Attendant Care Florida Court: IME Report Is Not a “Prescription” for Attendant CareWhen Retaliatory Discharge First Became Judicially Recognized Before 1973, in many states that followed the common-law doctrine of employment-at-will, a worker fired for asserting the right to workers’ compensation benefits...
Throwback Thursday: Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Co. (Ind. 1973) Throwback Thursday: Frampton v. Central Indiana Gas Co. (Ind. 1973)The Louisiana Supreme Court recently clarified the scope of the state’s unique “manual labor exception” to workers’ compensation immunity, holding that the exception does not extend to the employees or...
Louisiana Supreme Court Narrows State’s “Manual Labor Exception” Louisiana Supreme Court Narrows State’s “Manual Labor Exception”In Fox v. Sarasota County School Board, 2025 Fla. App. LEXIS 4851 (Fla. 1st DCA June 25, 2025), the Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed a Judge of Compensation...
Florida JCC Must Approve Fee Stipulation Absent Legitimate Grounds to Invalidate Agreement Florida JCC Must Approve Fee Stipulation Absent Legitimate Grounds to Invalidate AgreementThe New York Appellate Division, Third Department, has resolved an important fee calculation issue for workers’ compensation practitioners. In Matter of Cooper v. New York City Health & Hospital Corp.,...
NY Court: Attorney Fees Must Reflect Actual Claimant Recovery NY Court: Attorney Fees Must Reflect Actual Claimant RecoveryIn a tragic case involving a fatal explosion at a metal processing plant, the North Carolina Court of Appeals reversed a trial court’s refusal to grant summary judgment to the...
NC Court Rejects “Woodson” Claim After Zirconium Explosion Death NC Court Rejects “Woodson” Claim After Zirconium Explosion DeathPre-Existing Conditions, Aggravation, and the Enduring Reach of Larson’s Rule In the evolving history of American workers’ compensation, few doctrines have proven more enduring—or more contentious—than the rule that employers...
Throwback Thursday: Cowart v. Pearl River Tung Co. (Miss. 1953) Throwback Thursday: Cowart v. Pearl River Tung Co. (Miss. 1953)In a case of apparent first impression, the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal has held that employees may not unilaterally declare workplace injuries non-compensable under workers’ compensation law and...
Florida Court Reinforces Exclusivity Doctrine and Procedural Requirements Florida Court Reinforces Exclusivity Doctrine and Procedural RequirementsMight Awards for the Common Cold or Flu be Next? In Foster v. Primecare Med. of W. Va., Inc., 2025 W. Va. LEXIS 187 (W. Va. May 27, 2025), a...
W. Va. Supreme Court Reinstates COVID-19 Award for Nurse W. Va. Supreme Court Reinstates COVID-19 Award for NurseIn a major shift that reopens the door for occupational disease claims, the Washington Supreme Court has overruled its 2014 decision in Walston v. Boeing Co., 181 Wn.2d 391, 334 P.3d 519...
WA Supreme Court Overturns Decade-Old Precedent: Reopens Door for Asbestos Claims WA Supreme Court Overturns Decade-Old Precedent: Reopens Door for Asbestos ClaimsWhen Cancer Meets Causation: Wrestling with Medical Mystery in 1951 In workers’ compensation law, few challenges prove more vexing than establishing causation when the medical community itself admits ignorance about...
Throwback Thursday: Boyd v. Young (1951) Throwback Thursday: Boyd v. Young (1951)In an important decision construing the Iowa doctrine that allows gross negligence and fraudulent misrepresentation tort claims against co-employees, the Iowa Supreme Court has revived claims against Tyson Foods executives...
Iowa High Court Says Gross Negligence/Fraud Claims Can Go Forward Against Tyson Executives Iowa High Court Says Gross Negligence/Fraud Claims Can Go Forward Against Tyson ExecutivesA Horseplay Case That Shaped Utah’s Workers’ Compensation Doctrine In Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah, 610 P.2d 1362 (Utah 1980), the Supreme Court of Utah was presented with a...
Throwback Thursday: Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah (1980) Throwback Thursday: Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah (1980)
New Comments