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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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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
Jun 11, 2019

Federal Court in Colorado Holds Injured Employee May Not Recover Under Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Coverage

In a diversity insurance case that the court indicated was an issue of first impression, the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado, construing Colorado law, held that an...

Federal Court in Colorado Holds Injured Employee May Not Recover Under Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Coverage Federal Court in Colorado Holds Injured Employee May Not Recover Under Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Jun 10, 2019

Colorado High Court Says 8th Amendment’s “Excessive Fines” Prohibition Protects Corporations, as Well as Individuals

Decision Calls Into Question Whether Per Diem Fines to Uninsured Employers Are Unconstitutionally Harsh The Supreme Court of Colorado, with one justice dissenting in part, recently held that the Eighth...

Colorado High Court Says 8th Amendment’s “Excessive Fines” Prohibition Protects Corporations, as Well as Individuals Colorado High Court Says 8th Amendment’s “Excessive Fines” Prohibition Protects Corporations, as Well as Individuals
Jun 7, 2019

Texas Employee’s Tort Action for Fall in Parking Lot Injury May Move Forward

Employer Fails to Show Injury “Fell” Within “Access Doctrine” Exception to Going and Coming Rule A Texas appellate court recently held that an employer—the City of Corpus Christi—failed to show...

Texas Employee’s Tort Action for Fall in Parking Lot Injury May Move Forward Texas Employee’s Tort Action for Fall in Parking Lot Injury May Move Forward
Jun 6, 2019

NY Claimant Establishes Aspergillosis Claim as an Accidental Injury

Court’s Ruling of No Occupational Disease Does Not Bar Claim (After Remittal) for Accidental Injury Where a New York appellate court reversed the state Workers’ Compensation Board’s finding that a...

NY Claimant Establishes Aspergillosis Claim as an Accidental Injury NY Claimant Establishes Aspergillosis Claim as an Accidental Injury
Jun 5, 2019

For Illinois “Borrowing Employer,” Exclusive Remedy Defense Not Tied to Payment of Insurance Premiums

A temporary staffing agency worker may not maintain a cause of action against a “borrowing employer” for personal injuries sustained in a work-related accident in spite of the fact that...

For Illinois “Borrowing Employer,” Exclusive Remedy Defense Not Tied to Payment of Insurance Premiums For Illinois “Borrowing Employer,” Exclusive Remedy Defense Not Tied to Payment of Insurance Premiums
Jun 4, 2019

Injured Worker’s Failure to Mention Involvement in Side Business Did Not Result in Disqualification

A New York appellate court held the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board could reasonably conclude that a claimant had not made false statements or other misrepresentations for the purpose of obtaining...

Injured Worker’s Failure to Mention Involvement in Side Business Did Not Result in Disqualification Injured Worker’s Failure to Mention Involvement in Side Business Did Not Result in Disqualification
May 31, 2019

Amazon’s New “Last-Mile” Delivery Service: Who “Employs” that Driver-Deliverer at Your Door?

Commentary: Is the Workers’ Compensation World Ready for Amazon’s New Package Delivery Business Model? The Answer Might Surprise You! As I drove to a meeting in downtown Durham a few...

Amazon’s New “Last-Mile” Delivery Service: Who “Employs” that Driver-Deliverer at Your Door? Amazon’s New “Last-Mile” Delivery Service: Who “Employs” that Driver-Deliverer at Your Door?

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