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Oct 7, 2026

Two Boxes Checked “No”

LA Second Circuit Affirms Forfeiture for False Answers on Pre-Hire Questionnaires About Prior Work Accidents and a Recommended Surgery Louisiana’s Second Circuit Court of Appeal has affirmed a ruling that...

Two Boxes Checked “No” Two Boxes Checked “No”
Oct 5, 2026

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee

LA Fourth Circuit, 3–2, Holds Dump-Truck Driver Paid 25% of Truck Earnings Was an Employee Despite 1099; Dissent Invokes Manifest-Error Review The Louisiana Court of Appeal, Fourth Circuit recently reversed...

Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee Louisiana Court: Paid a Percentage, Still an Employee
Sep 29, 2026

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation

KY Supreme Court Holds the Statutory Presumption Against Recovery for Intoxicating Substances Does Not Apply to Alcohol The Kentucky Supreme Court has affirmed benefits for a traffic flagger who was...

Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation Alcohol Falls Outside KY’s Presumption of Causation
Sep 28, 2026

The Heart Has Wiring, Too

FL First DCA Holds Harlem’s Narrow “Heart Disease” Definition Does Not Bar a Firefighter’s Arrhythmia Claim Under the Heart-Lung Presumption Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has affirmed an award...

The Heart Has Wiring, Too The Heart Has Wiring, Too

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Feb 22, 2019

SC Court Affirms Finding That Maintenance Worker Was Not Statutory Employee of Manufacturer

$14 Million Verdict Stands, Worker’s Duties, Although “Essential,” Were Not Part of Defendant’s Business In a South Carolina wrongful death action, the state’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed a trial...

SC Court Affirms Finding That Maintenance Worker Was Not Statutory Employee of Manufacturer SC Court Affirms Finding That Maintenance Worker Was Not Statutory Employee of Manufacturer
Feb 19, 2019

NJ Supreme Court Says Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Deserves Temporary Disability Benefits

Reverses Lower Court That Disallowed TD Benefits Since Firefighter Had No Lost Wages Earlier today, reversing a late 2017 decision of the state’s Appellate Division [see my earlier discussion of...

NJ Supreme Court Says Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Deserves Temporary Disability Benefits NJ Supreme Court Says Unemployed Volunteer Firefighter Deserves Temporary Disability Benefits
Feb 19, 2019

Divided Kansas Court Says Lab Test Results Showing Marijuana Were Admissible

Rules of Evidence Do Not Strictly Apply to Comp Hearings Stressing that in workers’ compensation hearings, the Kansas Rules of Evidence do not apply and that even hearsay evidence may...

Divided Kansas Court Says Lab Test Results Showing Marijuana Were Admissible Divided Kansas Court Says Lab Test Results Showing Marijuana Were Admissible
Feb 18, 2019

Nurse Case Management Fees Not Part of Employer’s Subrogation Lien

Tennessee Employer Does Enjoy Lien for Disability Indemnity & Medical Expenses In a case of first impression, a Tennessee appellate court recently held that an employer does not enjoy a...

Nurse Case Management Fees Not Part of Employer’s Subrogation Lien Nurse Case Management Fees Not Part of Employer’s Subrogation Lien
Feb 18, 2019

Last Injurious Exposure: What Does “Impossible” Mean?

Oregon Court Says “Impossibility” May be Established by Medical “Probability” Oregon, like the majority of American jurisdictions, employs the “last injurious exposure” rule to assign liability among multiple employers in...

Last Injurious Exposure: What Does “Impossible” Mean? Last Injurious Exposure: What Does “Impossible” Mean?
Feb 14, 2019

Kansas Court of Appeals Jettisons 82-Year-Old Supreme Court Precedent

Employer’s Payment of Medical Charges Revives Expired Statute of Limitations Reversing the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board, which had relied upon what it thought was established precedent (i.e., a 1936 decision...

Kansas Court of Appeals Jettisons 82-Year-Old Supreme Court Precedent Kansas Court of Appeals Jettisons 82-Year-Old Supreme Court Precedent
Feb 14, 2019

Virginia Worker’s “Short-Cut” Results in Denial of Benefits

Violation of Known Safety Rule Prevents Recovery for Injuries A decision to enter a fenced area at the employer’s facility through an unapproved opening, instead of through the approved interlock...

Virginia Worker’s “Short-Cut” Results in Denial of Benefits Virginia Worker’s “Short-Cut” Results in Denial of Benefits
Feb 13, 2019

Virginia Court Affirms Professional Football Tryout’s AWW of $783.63

Potential $435K Annual Compensation Under Standard Contract Deemed Too Contingent The Court of Appeals of Virginia recently affirmed a determination by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Commission that fixed a professional...

Virginia Court Affirms Professional Football Tryout’s AWW of $783.63 Virginia Court Affirms Professional Football Tryout’s AWW of $783.63
Feb 7, 2019

Virginia Commission Should Have Considered Employment-Related Risks of Assault

Where an overnight attendant at a rest area was stabbed in the face by a former co-worker whose motive could not be determined—the assailant committed suicide later the same day—the...

Virginia Commission Should Have Considered Employment-Related Risks of Assault Virginia Commission Should Have Considered Employment-Related Risks of Assault
Feb 5, 2019

Arizona High Court Says Nebraska Law Prevents Absolute Assignment of Injured Worker’s Third-Party Claim

Dueling Statutes: Which State’s Subrogation Law Should Apply? Variables within America’s mobile economy often produce complex choice of law issues, particularly when it comes to employer/insurer subrogation interests. For example,...

Arizona High Court Says Nebraska Law Prevents Absolute Assignment of Injured Worker’s Third-Party Claim Arizona High Court Says Nebraska Law Prevents Absolute Assignment of Injured Worker’s Third-Party Claim
Feb 4, 2019

Tennessee: No Compensable Claim Where Employer Failed to Use On-Site Defibrillator

The Supreme Court of Tennessee, reversing a decision of a state trial court, held that an employer who failed to use an automated external defibrillator (AED) to assist an employee...

Tennessee: No Compensable Claim Where Employer Failed to Use On-Site Defibrillator Tennessee: No Compensable Claim Where Employer Failed to Use On-Site Defibrillator
Jan 17, 2019

Husband/Wife Bakery Ends Up With Two Policies; Insurers Must Split Cost of Death Claim

Policy Procured “by Mistake” Remains in Force Since Cancellation Wasn’t Done According to Missouri Law Cancellation of a workers’ compensation insurance policy, even when both the insured and the insurer...

Husband/Wife Bakery Ends Up With Two Policies; Insurers Must Split Cost of Death Claim Husband/Wife Bakery Ends Up With Two Policies; Insurers Must Split Cost of Death Claim

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