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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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Mar 27, 2019

Split Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Airport Worker’s Electrocution Claim

Lip Service Given to “Liberally Construing” the “Arising Out of” Tests In a split decision, the Court of Appeals of Virginia, tipping its hat to the notion that the workers’ compensation statutes...

Split Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Airport Worker’s Electrocution Claim Split Virginia Court Affirms Denial of Airport Worker’s Electrocution Claim
Mar 25, 2019

Arizona Officer’s PTSD Not Barred By Three-Year Delay in Filing Claim

Arizona’s one-year filing requirement [see Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 23-1061(A)] is an affirmative defense and the employer or carrier bears the burden of production of evidence to support that defense,...

Arizona Officer’s PTSD Not Barred By Three-Year Delay in Filing Claim Arizona Officer’s PTSD Not Barred By Three-Year Delay in Filing Claim
Mar 25, 2019

Ohio Employer May Fire Employee Who Sought Workers’ Compensation Benefits from Prior Employer

No provision of Ohio law sanctions an employer for terminating an employee who sought workers’ compensation benefits while working for a prior employer, held a state appellate court in McGree...

Ohio Employer May Fire Employee Who Sought Workers’ Compensation Benefits from Prior Employer Ohio Employer May Fire Employee Who Sought Workers’ Compensation Benefits from Prior Employer
Mar 22, 2019

Washington Public Defender May Be Able to Recover in Tort for Work-Related PTSD

Restrictive “Mental-Mental” Coverage in State’s Comp Act Opens Door to Potential Liability In a case with a bizarre fact pattern, a King County (Washington) public defender, who contended that she...

Washington Public Defender May Be Able to Recover in Tort for Work-Related PTSD Washington Public Defender May Be Able to Recover in Tort for Work-Related PTSD
Mar 19, 2019

Ohio Widow’s Action Against Ford for Failure to Implement Substance Abuse Policy is Barred by Exclusivity Defense

Post-Mortem Shows Marijuana, Fentanyl, and Alcohol in Deceased Employee’s System In what appears to be the first case of its kind—an action filed against an employer for its allegedly inadequate...

Ohio Widow’s Action Against Ford for Failure to Implement Substance Abuse Policy is Barred by Exclusivity Defense Ohio Widow’s Action Against Ford for Failure to Implement Substance Abuse Policy is Barred by Exclusivity Defense
Mar 18, 2019

Aggressive Kentucky Bus Driver Denied Benefits for Injuries Sustained in Fight with Passenger

The Supreme Court of Kentucky, affirming a lower court’s decision denying workers’ compensation benefits to a bus driver who alleged that he sustained injuries in an altercation with a passenger,...

Aggressive Kentucky Bus Driver Denied Benefits for Injuries Sustained in Fight with Passenger Aggressive Kentucky Bus Driver Denied Benefits for Injuries Sustained in Fight with Passenger
Mar 15, 2019

Colorado ALJ May Not Find MMI Without Appropriate Expert Medical Opinion

A Colorado appellate court recently held that a workers’ compensation claimant may not be placed at the point of maximum medical improvement (MMI) where neither the claimant’s treating physician nor...

Colorado ALJ May Not Find MMI Without Appropriate Expert Medical Opinion Colorado ALJ May Not Find MMI Without Appropriate Expert Medical Opinion
Mar 12, 2019

NH High Court Issues Ruling on Medical Marijuana for Injured Worker—Sort of

Opinion Raises as Many Questions as It Answers Last Thursday (March 7), the Supreme Court of New Hampshire handed down a decision that reversed, in pertinent part, a state Appeals...

NH High Court Issues Ruling on Medical Marijuana for Injured Worker—Sort of NH High Court Issues Ruling on Medical Marijuana for Injured Worker—Sort of
Mar 6, 2019

Ohio Worker’s Claim Suspended After Refusal to Undergo Psychological Testing

An Ohio appellate court recently held that the state’s Industrial Commission did not err when it suspended the claim of an injured worker based on his refusal to undergo psychological...

Ohio Worker’s Claim Suspended After Refusal to Undergo Psychological Testing Ohio Worker’s Claim Suspended After Refusal to Undergo Psychological Testing
Mar 6, 2019

Injured Delaware Worker May Not Recover Toll and Parking Charges Associated with Traveling to Medical Appointments

A Delaware appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Industrial Accident Board that pursuant to the Workers’ Compensation Act, an injured worker was not entitled to reimbursement for tolls...

Injured Delaware Worker May Not Recover Toll and Parking Charges Associated with Traveling to Medical Appointments Injured Delaware Worker May Not Recover Toll and Parking Charges Associated with Traveling to Medical Appointments
Mar 1, 2019

Virginia Counselor’s Injuries While Attending Mandatory Off-Site Training Were Not Compensable

Appeals Court Says She Was Not Subject to Special Risk of Injury A Virginia appellate court reversed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a licensed professional counselor who was...

Virginia Counselor’s Injuries While Attending Mandatory Off-Site Training Were Not Compensable Virginia Counselor’s Injuries While Attending Mandatory Off-Site Training Were Not Compensable
Mar 1, 2019

Claim Under Minnesota’s Human Rights Act Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule

In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Minnesota held that an employee, who sustained a work-related injury and who was receiving workers’ compensation benefits, may proceed against his employer...

Claim Under Minnesota’s Human Rights Act Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule Claim Under Minnesota’s Human Rights Act Not Barred by Exclusive Remedy Rule

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