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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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May 10, 2019

Open Court Settlement Stipulation Binds Parties in NY Civil Action

Plaintiffs May Not Back Out Because They Didn’t Account for Workers’ Comp Lien and Medicare Set-Aside An open-court stipulation of settlement in a New York trial court is an independent...

Open Court Settlement Stipulation Binds Parties in NY Civil Action Open Court Settlement Stipulation Binds Parties in NY Civil Action
May 9, 2019

Missouri Court Says Medical “Expert” Need Not be an M.D.

Opinion of Audiologist With Ph.D. Trumps Opinion of M.D. A Missouri appellate court has affirmed a decision of the state’s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission awarding permanent partial disability benefits...

Missouri Court Says Medical “Expert” Need Not be an M.D. Missouri Court Says Medical “Expert” Need Not be an M.D.
May 7, 2019

Florida Talent Payroll Services Firm is “Similar Agent” Under “Employer” Statute

While Not an “Employee Leasing Company,” It Qualified as “Employer” A Florida appellate court held that a talent payroll services firm, while not an “employee leasing company,” was nevertheless an...

Florida Talent Payroll Services Firm is “Similar Agent” Under “Employer” Statute Florida Talent Payroll Services Firm is “Similar Agent” Under “Employer” Statute
May 6, 2019

Iowa Statute Granting Immunity to Carriers for Faulty Inspections is Constitutional

Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Iowa, affirming a trial court’s earlier decision, held that Iowa Code § 517.5 (2017), which provides immunity to insurance companies and their inspectors from...

Iowa Statute Granting Immunity to Carriers for Faulty Inspections is Constitutional Iowa Statute Granting Immunity to Carriers for Faulty Inspections is Constitutional
May 3, 2019

Virginia Court Says Fear of Needles Isn’t Enough to Warrant Change in MDs

The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently affirmed a decision by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that denied a claimant’s petition to change her treating physician where the physician indicated...

Virginia Court Says Fear of Needles Isn’t Enough to Warrant Change in MDs Virginia Court Says Fear of Needles Isn’t Enough to Warrant Change in MDs
May 2, 2019

Utah Court: Unusual Exertion Required if Claimant Has Preexisting Condition

Court Discusses Important Distinction Between “Legal” and “Medical” Causation Stepping lightly through the difficult mine field of “legal causation,” a Utah appellate court affirmed a decision by the state’s Labor...

Utah Court: Unusual Exertion Required if Claimant Has Preexisting Condition Utah Court: Unusual Exertion Required if Claimant Has Preexisting Condition
May 1, 2019

Assault on NYC Subway Employee Exiting Train Did Not Occur In Course of Employment

Employee Had Clocked Out and Traveled Six Stops Toward His Home Where a New York City subway train cleaner clocked out at the end of his shift, left his assigned...

Assault on NYC Subway Employee Exiting Train Did Not Occur In Course of Employment Assault on NYC Subway Employee Exiting Train Did Not Occur In Course of Employment
Apr 30, 2019

Oregon Court Reiterates that “Susceptible to” Does Not Equate with “Preexisting Condition”

Court Nevertheless Reverses and Remands Board’s Decision That Had Awarded Benefits The Court of Appeals of Oregon recently reiterated that a mere susceptibility or predisposition that does not contribute to...

Oregon Court Reiterates that “Susceptible to” Does Not Equate with “Preexisting Condition” Oregon Court Reiterates that “Susceptible to” Does Not Equate with “Preexisting Condition”
Apr 25, 2019

Home-Based Workers: Beware of Four-Legged “Best Friends”

Recent Decisions Reach Opposite Conclusions in Dog-Tripping Incidents According to a recent report published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as many as 22 percent of the American labor force...

Home-Based Workers: Beware of Four-Legged “Best Friends” Home-Based Workers: Beware of Four-Legged “Best Friends”
Apr 25, 2019

Rhode Island’s Exclusive Remedy Rule Shields Worker Who Engaged in Dangerous Horseplay

On Tuesday of this week, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island affirmed a determination by a state trial court that granted summary judgment, on exclusive remedy grounds [see R.I. Gen....

Rhode Island’s Exclusive Remedy Rule Shields Worker Who Engaged in Dangerous Horseplay Rhode Island’s Exclusive Remedy Rule Shields Worker Who Engaged in Dangerous Horseplay
Apr 24, 2019

Virginia Police Officer’s Slip and Fall While Trying to Get Out of Pouring Rain is Not Compensable

In an unusual case that illustrates Virginia’s restrictive “arising out of the employment” test, a state appellate court yesterday affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a former police...

Virginia Police Officer’s Slip and Fall While Trying to Get Out of Pouring Rain is Not Compensable Virginia Police Officer’s Slip and Fall While Trying to Get Out of Pouring Rain is Not Compensable
Apr 23, 2019

Ohio Employer Not Entitled to Unlimited Medical Release

An Ohio appellate court has refused to require a claimant seeking PTD benefits to deliver a signed, unlimited medical release to the employer [State ex rel. Costco Wholesale Corp. v....

Ohio Employer Not Entitled to Unlimited Medical Release Ohio Employer Not Entitled to Unlimited Medical Release

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