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Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951)

Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951) Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951)
Issue commentary
Apr 15, 2025

Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band Director

In a ruling that reaffirms Arkansas’ strict interpretation of its “employment services” requirement, the state’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision denying benefits to the family...

Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band Director Arkansas Court Denies Benefits to Good Samaritan Band Director
Case comment
Apr 14, 2025

Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace Attack

In a decision that further defines the barriers to pursuing civil remedies in workplace injury cases within the Louisiana, a state appellant court recently affirmed summary a trial court judgment...

Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace Attack Louisiana Court Rejects “Borrowed Employee” Theory in Workplace Attack
Case comment
Apr 10, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979)

Background On September 28, 1973, at approximately 2:30 a.m., James Hawk II, the president, sole stockholder, and chief operating officer of Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., died when his private airplane...

Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979) Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979)
Issue commentary
Apr 8, 2025

NC Court Rejects Tort Claim for Workplace Fatality

In a decision that underscores the high bar for pursuing civil remedies alongside a workers’ compensation claim, the North Carolina Court of Appeals recently affirmed summary judgment against the estate...

NC Court Rejects Tort Claim for Workplace Fatality NC Court Rejects Tort Claim for Workplace Fatality
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Sep 24, 2024

Nevada Supreme Court Retreats from Earlier Decisions Related to Subrogation Liens

Overruling, in relevant part, two of its own prior decisions, the Supreme Court of Nevada, construing the state’s workers’ compensation subrogation statute, NRS § 616C.215(5), reversed a district court’s decision...

Nevada Supreme Court Retreats from Earlier Decisions Related to Subrogation Liens Nevada Supreme Court Retreats from Earlier Decisions Related to Subrogation Liens
Case comment
Sep 21, 2024

Pennsylvania Court Affirms Asbestos Claim Outside Workers’ Compensation System

In a significant decision that reinforces the rights of workers with long-latency occupational diseases within the Keystone State, the Superior Court of Pennsylvania has affirmed in relevant part a trial...

Pennsylvania Court Affirms Asbestos Claim Outside Workers’ Compensation System Pennsylvania Court Affirms Asbestos Claim Outside Workers’ Compensation System
Case comment
Sep 16, 2024

Colorado Court Clarifies Scope of DIME Evaluations in Workers’ Compensation Cases

Colorado Court Clarifies Scope of DIME Evaluations in Workers’ Compensation Cases Colorado Court Clarifies Scope of DIME Evaluations in Workers’ Compensation Cases
Case comment
Sep 12, 2024

Massachusetts Appeals Court: Employee Struck in Parking Area After Clocking Out May Not Sue Employer in Tort

Massachusetts Appeals Court: Employee Struck in Parking Area After Clocking Out May Not Sue Employer in Tort Massachusetts Appeals Court: Employee Struck in Parking Area After Clocking Out May Not Sue Employer in Tort
Case comment
Sep 9, 2024

5th Circuit: MS Comp Policies May Not be “Voided” Even Where Employer Misrepresents Risk

5th Circuit: MS Comp Policies May Not be “Voided” Even Where Employer Misrepresents Risk 5th Circuit: MS Comp Policies May Not be “Voided” Even Where Employer Misrepresents Risk
Case comment
Sep 9, 2024

West Virginia Court Affirms Fatal Benefits Award in Occupational Disease Case

West Virginia Court Affirms Fatal Benefits Award in Occupational Disease Case West Virginia Court Affirms Fatal Benefits Award in Occupational Disease Case
Case comment
Aug 30, 2024

WA Court: Traveling Employee Doctrine Not Applicable to Occupational Disease Claims

WA Court: Traveling Employee Doctrine Not Applicable to Occupational Disease Claims WA Court: Traveling Employee Doctrine Not Applicable to Occupational Disease Claims
Case comment
Aug 27, 2024

Range of Compensable Consequences in Workers’ Compensation: An Expanded Summary

Range of Compensable Consequences in Workers’ Compensation: An Expanded Summary Range of Compensable Consequences in Workers’ Compensation: An Expanded Summary
Issue commentary
Aug 27, 2024

Alabama Court Applies Successive-Compensable-Injury Test to Non-Work-Related Accident

Alabama Court Applies Successive-Compensable-Injury Test to Non-Work-Related Accident Alabama Court Applies Successive-Compensable-Injury Test to Non-Work-Related Accident
Case comment
Aug 26, 2024

Utah Court Clarifies State’s Approach to Idiopathic Falls on Hard Surfaces

Utah Court Clarifies State’s Approach to Idiopathic Falls on Hard Surfaces Utah Court Clarifies State’s Approach to Idiopathic Falls on Hard Surfaces
Issue commentary
Aug 20, 2024

Virginia Court of Appeals Affirms Res Judicata Bar in Mileage Reimbursement Dispute

Virginia Court of Appeals Affirms Res Judicata Bar in Mileage Reimbursement Dispute Virginia Court of Appeals Affirms Res Judicata Bar in Mileage Reimbursement Dispute
Case comment
Aug 15, 2024

Connecticut Court Limits Reach of Res Judicata in Workers' Compensation Cases

Connecticut Court Limits Reach of Res Judicata in Workers' Compensation Cases Connecticut Court Limits Reach of Res Judicata in Workers' Compensation Cases
Case comment

New Comments

  • 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
  • Thomas A. Robinson: Good point, although the interesting thing about the case--at least to me--is that it discusses the important "injury by accident" issue. That issue, present in at least a plurality of state acts, is largely ignored by Commissions, Boards, and Courts these days. Here, also, the case was so fact-specific that even it had been issued as published, it would be factually distinguishable from many othe...