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Mar 12, 2026

Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold Case

Small contractors sometimes believe that keeping their payroll lean — two employees instead of three — will keep them outside the reach of the workers’ compensation statute. But the Virginia...

Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold Case Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold Case
Mar 10, 2026

Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act

In Garcia v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 6549 (2d Cir. Mar. 5, 2026), the Second Circuit denied a petition for review filed by a...

Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act
Mar 6, 2026

New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits

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 Benefits
Mar 5, 2026

Delaware Supreme Court Reinstates IAB’s Denial of Sole Proprietor Coverage

In 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 Coverage

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Jun 18, 2018

Maine Employer Need Not Pay for Injured Worker’s Medical Marijuana

In a case of first impression within the state, the Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, in a 5-2 decision, Bourgoin v. Twin Rivers Paper Co., LLC, 2018 ME 77, 187...

Maine Employer Need Not Pay for Injured Worker’s Medical Marijuana Maine Employer Need Not Pay for Injured Worker’s Medical Marijuana
Jun 14, 2018

California: Use of Preprinted C & R Form Does Not Waive Claims Outside Workers’ Comp Context

A California appellate court found a state trial court committed error when it granted summary judgment to an employer in an employment discrimination case filed by a former employee based...

California: Use of Preprinted C & R Form Does Not Waive Claims Outside Workers’ Comp Context California: Use of Preprinted C & R Form Does Not Waive Claims Outside Workers’ Comp Context
Jun 13, 2018

Texas Insurer Barred from Going After Third-Party Settlement Proceeds

Where a worker’s compensation insurance policy contained a clause in which the carrier waived its right to recover from any third party sued by the injured employee, that clause also...

Texas Insurer Barred from Going After Third-Party Settlement Proceeds Texas Insurer Barred from Going After Third-Party Settlement Proceeds
Jun 13, 2018

Kansas Worker Gets No Benefits For Early Morning Injuries While Walking to Hotel

A Kansas roofer, who sustained catastrophic injuries when he was struck by a drunk driver as the roofer walked from a bar to his hotel at 2:20 a.m., could not...

Kansas Worker Gets No Benefits For Early Morning Injuries While Walking to Hotel Kansas Worker Gets No Benefits For Early Morning Injuries While Walking to Hotel
Jun 1, 2018

Pre-Shift Assault on NYC Train Conductor at Station Not Compensable

Claimant Fails to Establish Exception to Going and Coming Rule Yesterday, a New York appellate court affirmed a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that denied the claim of...

Pre-Shift Assault on NYC Train Conductor at Station Not Compensable Pre-Shift Assault on NYC Train Conductor at Station Not Compensable
May 31, 2018

PA High Court Says No Subrogation Allowed Regarding Heart and Lung Benefits

Strong Subrogation Rights Exist Only as to Payments Made under WCA Acknowledging that an employer/carrier’s outlay of workers’ compensation benefits entitles it to a subrogation lien on any recovery the...

PA High Court Says No Subrogation Allowed Regarding Heart and Lung Benefits PA High Court Says No Subrogation Allowed Regarding Heart and Lung Benefits
May 30, 2018

NY Construction Worker’s Fatal Heart Attack Found Compensable

Death Benefits Awarded in Spite of Smoking Habit and High Cholesterol A decision by New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board, which concluded that a construction worker’s death was causally-related to his...

NY Construction Worker’s Fatal Heart Attack Found Compensable NY Construction Worker’s Fatal Heart Attack Found Compensable
May 30, 2018

Vermont “Volunteer” Driver for Transit Authority is not an Employee

Driver’s Mileage Reimbursement Did not Constitute “Wages” Reimbursement for mileage driven at rates established by the Internal Revenue Service is not “wages” as defined by Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 21,...

Vermont “Volunteer” Driver for Transit Authority is not an Employee Vermont “Volunteer” Driver for Transit Authority is not an Employee
May 24, 2018

Maryland High Court Says Bus Driver’s Accident Traveling to Training Session May Have Been “Special Mission”

Claim Not Barred, as a Matter of Law, by Going and Coming Rule A county bus driver, who sustained injuries in an auto accident as she traveled to attend a...

Maryland High Court Says Bus Driver’s Accident Traveling to Training Session May Have Been “Special Mission” Maryland High Court Says Bus Driver’s Accident Traveling to Training Session May Have Been “Special Mission”
May 17, 2018

NC Employee’s Injuries From Fainting After Toking on E-Cigarette Did Not Arise From the Employment

The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a city employee who sustained serious injuries to his right hip, back, and head when he...

NC Employee’s Injuries From Fainting After Toking on E-Cigarette Did Not Arise From the Employment NC Employee’s Injuries From Fainting After Toking on E-Cigarette Did Not Arise From the Employment
May 15, 2018

Alaska’s High Court Upholds Total Bar of Recovery for Non-Dependent Parents of Deceased Employees

Parent Faces “Catch-22”: Wrongful Death Claim Barred by Exclusivity, Yet No Workers’ Comp Benefits Available The Supreme Court of Alaska, in Burke v. Raven Elec., 2018 Alas. LEXIS 64 (May...

Alaska’s High Court Upholds Total Bar of Recovery for Non-Dependent Parents of Deceased Employees Alaska’s High Court Upholds Total Bar of Recovery for Non-Dependent Parents of Deceased Employees
May 14, 2018

Divided OK Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim Involving Travel to Work Site

In a divided decision, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma reversed a lower court’s finding and held that a pipeline installation worker’s injuries sustained in a vehicular accident while traveling to...

Divided OK Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim Involving Travel to Work Site Divided OK Supreme Court Reverses Denial of Claim Involving Travel to Work Site

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