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Jan 6, 2025

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim

In Collins v. Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority (DART), 2024 Iowa App. LEXIS 918 (Dec. 18, 2024), the Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed denial of workers’ compensation benefits to...

Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim Iowa Court Affirms Denial of Benefits re: COVID-19 Claim
Jan 6, 2025

Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence

In Spisa-Kline v. Mary Lanning Memorial Hospital, 2024 Neb. App. LEXIS 750 (Dec. 31, 2024), the Nebraska Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment for the employer in a workers’ compensation...

Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence Nebraska COVID-19 Claim Fails For Want of Expert Medical Evidence
Dec 31, 2024

Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits

Appeals Court Examines Going and Coming Rule The Oregon Court of Appeals has reversed and remanded a Workers’ Compensation Board decision that had denied benefits to a worker injured while...

Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits Oregon Jaywalker Might Be Awarded Benefits
Dec 30, 2024

NC Court of Appeals Reverses $28.9 Million Tort Judgment

Insurer Had No Duty to Defend Intentional Tort Claim Against Co-Employee In Ortez v. Penn Nat’l Sec. Ins. Co., 2024 N.C. App. LEXIS 1017 (Dec. 17, 2024), the North Carolina...

NC Court of Appeals Reverses $28.9 Million Tort Judgment NC Court of Appeals Reverses $28.9 Million Tort Judgment

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Apr 17, 2015

Virgin Islands: Going and Coming—Is Break Taken to Run Errands a “Lunch” Break

In what Professor Larson would have referred to as an “upside-down” exclusivity case—where the employee tries to prove that her injuries were not covered by the applicable workers’ compensation law...

Virgin Islands: Going and Coming—Is Break Taken to Run Errands a “Lunch” Break Virgin Islands: Going and Coming—Is Break Taken to Run Errands a “Lunch” Break
Apr 14, 2015

West Virginia High Court Crafts Narrow Exception to 6-Month Statute of Limitations in Death Claims

The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia held that where a claimant delays the filing of a workers’ compensation death benefits claim because she was unaware, and could not...

West Virginia High Court Crafts Narrow Exception to 6-Month Statute of Limitations in Death Claims West Virginia High Court Crafts Narrow Exception to 6-Month Statute of Limitations in Death Claims
Apr 13, 2015

SC Court Signals That Uber Business Model Probably OK in the Palmetto State

E-businesses like Uber and Lyft, which utilize smartphone or tablet apps to connect passengers and drivers with vehicles for hire are beginning to carve out a niche within the economy....

SC Court Signals That Uber Business Model Probably OK in the Palmetto State SC Court Signals That Uber Business Model Probably OK in the Palmetto State
Apr 10, 2015

West Virginia Employee’s Unexplained Fall Was Idiopathic And Not Compensable

In a memorandum decision, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to an employee who suffered a dislocation of his left knee...

West Virginia Employee’s Unexplained Fall Was Idiopathic And Not Compensable West Virginia Employee’s Unexplained Fall Was Idiopathic And Not Compensable
Apr 9, 2015

PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage

On Tuesday, a Pennsylvania appellate court held that a claimant, whose purported husband had been killed in a work-related rollover accident at a ski resort, had presented clear and convincing...

PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage PA: Native-American Marriage Ceremony Establishes “Widow’s” Common-law Marriage
Apr 9, 2015

Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset

The 6.5% assessment, payable by a Maryland employer or insurer to the state’s Subsequent Injury Fund on: (i) each award for permanent disability or death, or (ii) each amount payable...

Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset Maryland: Subsequent Injury Fund Assessment Not Reduced Due to Retirement Offset
Apr 8, 2015

Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment

A hospital nurse, who fractured her humerus in a fall in her employer’s emergency room when her coat apparently became ensnarled in a wheelchair, did not sustain an injury arising...

Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment Ohio Nurse’s Fall in Hospital ER Was Outside Course and Scope of Employment
Apr 7, 2015

Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits

As I mentioned in an earlier post, juries in two civil actions pending before a federal court sitting in California will be allowed to determine if Uber and Lyft have...

Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits Proposed Alaska Legislation Would Clarify That Uber and Lyft Drivers Are Not Entitled to Comp Benefits
Apr 6, 2015

Kentucky Contractor Immune From Suit Filed by Employee of Subcontractor

Applying Kentucky’s “up-the-ladder immunity” doctrine, a state appellate court vacated a trial court’s refusal to grant summary judgment in favor of a defendant corporation that had been sued in tort...

Kentucky Contractor Immune From Suit Filed by Employee of Subcontractor Kentucky Contractor Immune From Suit Filed by Employee of Subcontractor
Apr 3, 2015

Virginia Employee Who Cures Light Work Refusal Entitled to Comp Benefits

In a decision that has been not been designated for publication, the Court of Appeals of Virginia held that an employee cured his refusal of selective employment (“light work”) where,...

Virginia Employee Who Cures Light Work Refusal Entitled to Comp Benefits Virginia Employee Who Cures Light Work Refusal Entitled to Comp Benefits
Apr 2, 2015

Federal Court Must Sever and Remand Oklahoma Retaliatory Discharge Claim

On Tuesday, a federal district court in Oklahoma, noting that claims arising under the workers’ compensation laws of any state are not removable under 28 U.S.C.A. § 1445(c), held that...

Federal Court Must Sever and Remand Oklahoma Retaliatory Discharge Claim Federal Court Must Sever and Remand Oklahoma Retaliatory Discharge Claim
Apr 1, 2015

New York: Apportionment Inappropriate Where 1981 Injury Remained Symptomatic But Was Not Disabling

Where Claimant sustained a severe sprain to his right shoulder while working as a police officer in 1981 and returned to work without any schedule of loss (“SLU”) or other...

New York: Apportionment Inappropriate Where 1981 Injury Remained Symptomatic But Was Not Disabling New York: Apportionment Inappropriate Where 1981 Injury Remained Symptomatic But Was Not Disabling

New Comments

  • 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
  • Thomas A. Robinson: Good point, although the interesting thing about the case--at least to me--is that it discusses the important "injury by accident" issue. That issue, present in at least a plurality of state acts, is largely ignored by Commissions, Boards, and Courts these days. Here, also, the case was so fact-specific that even it had been issued as published, it would be factually distinguishable from many othe...
  • kathlyn gorman: It should have been noted in your discussion that this is an unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Thus, it does not constitute controlling legal authority.
  • Thomas A. Robinson: You're correct. Ordinarily, I can depend upon Alabama to provide me with at least one case for "the List." I'll bet 2022 will unearth something bizarre from the Great State of Alabama. Take care.