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 CaseIn 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 ActEvery 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 BenefitsIn 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 CoverageFrom Comp Standpoint: Are Uber, Lyft & Grubhub Truly “Disruptive?” Lamenting that in California, a worker’s status as an employee, vis-a-vis an independent contractor, is an “all-or-nothing proposition,” a U.S....
California Grubhub Driver is Independent Contractor, Not Employee California Grubhub Driver is Independent Contractor, Not EmployeeTemporary Employee Has Option of Claiming Benefits or Suing in Tort Based, at least in part, on the court’s so-called “literal” reading of a Wisconsin statute [Wis. Stat. § 102.29(6)(b)1.], the...
The Road Less Traveled: Wisconsin Court of Appeals Shuns Majority Rule Re: Borrowing Employer’s Tort Immunity The Road Less Traveled: Wisconsin Court of Appeals Shuns Majority Rule Re: Borrowing Employer’s Tort ImmunityRecent Air Ambulance Decisions Hint that McCarran-Ferguson Insurance Barrier to Federal Involvement in Workers’ Comp May Be Decaying Two recent court decisions, one from Texas [PHI Air Med., LLC v....
Is the Wall Strong Enough? Is the Wall Strong Enough?Employer-Controlled Medical Care Drives Claimants to Attorneys, Erasing Savings in Medical Costs A common mantra from the employer-carrier side of the workers’ compensation world goes something like this, “If you...
New Study Says Employer-Directed Choice of MD May Actually Increase Overall Claim Costs New Study Says Employer-Directed Choice of MD May Actually Increase Overall Claim CostsAnnual “Bizarre” List Began 30 Years Ago Continuing a New Year’s tradition that informally began 30 years ago, when my mentor, Dr. Arthur Larson, original author of Larson’s Workers’ Compensation...
The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2017 The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2017A worker, who sustained severe injuries, including a left-hand amputation and major depressive disorder, while performing routine maintenance on the employer’s conveyor belt system, is not entitled to additional compensation...
Ohio Commission Erred in Assessing Penalties Against Employer for Safety Violations Ohio Commission Erred in Assessing Penalties Against Employer for Safety ViolationsIn what some may view as insult added to injury, an unemployed New Jersey firefighter, who sustained significant injuries to her leg when she slipped and fell on ice as...
Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Denied TD Benefits Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Denied TD BenefitsYesterday, in an eagerly awaited decision, Vitale v. Schering-Plough Corp., Case No. A-20-16 (Dec. 11, 2017), the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a disclaimer in an employment agreement...
NJ High Court Strikes Down Employment Contract Clauses Waiving Third-Party Claims NJ High Court Strikes Down Employment Contract Clauses Waiving Third-Party ClaimsVirginia Employer Need Not Provide Specialized “Running Blade” Prosthesis While all but a few American jurisdictions require employers to provide medical benefits that are essentially unlimited in terms of duration...
Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just Beneficial Medical Benefits Must be “Reasonable and Necessary”—Not Just BeneficialThe Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission did not err when it found that a state trooper’s PTSD did not arise out of and in the course of his employment [Hess v....
Virginia Court Reiterates Objective Standard For PTSD Claims Virginia Court Reiterates Objective Standard For PTSD ClaimsAn officer of a Florida corporation, who elected to be exempt from workers’ compensation coverage [see § 440.02(15)(b)(1), Fla. Stat. (2008)], and whose “employing” corporation was a subcontractor on a...
Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General ContractorStressing that the weighing of expert medical evidence is the province of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission—and not the appellate courts—the Court of Appeals of Mississippi affirmed a decision awarding...
MS Worker’s Staph Infection Was Causally Connected to Epidural Injections for Back Injury MS Worker’s Staph Infection Was Causally Connected to Epidural Injections for Back Injury
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