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Oct 27, 2026

Offer of Higher-Paying Work Limits Permanent Disability Award

IA Reads No Suitability Requirement into § 85.34(2)(v) The Iowa Court of Appeals affirmed a commissioner’s decision limiting a drywall worker’s permanent partial disability recovery to his functional impairment after...

Offer of Higher-Paying Work Limits Permanent Disability Award Offer of Higher-Paying Work Limits Permanent Disability Award
Oct 22, 2026

NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard

Subway Cleaner Who Witnessed a Platform Injury A New York appellate court recently affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board decision disallowing a subway-station cleaner’s PTSD claim after he witnessed a woman’s...

NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard NY PTSD Claim Fails Under Pre-Amendment Stress Standard
Oct 20, 2026

Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding

AL Supreme Court: HR’s Role Was a Jury Question The Alabama Supreme Court, by a 5–4 vote, affirmed liability for retaliatory discharge where the evidence permitted a jury to find...

Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding Who Made the Firing Decision? Alabama Court Upholds Retaliation Finding
Oct 19, 2026

Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim

NY Bus Driver’s Crash and Arrhythmia A New York appellate court has affirmed a Workers’ Compensation Board finding that a school bus driver’s injuries and death arose out of his...

Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim Uncertain Cardiac Sequence Does Not Defeat NY Bus Driver’s Claim

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Jul 3, 2018

The Real Reason LeBron is Moving to the Lakers!

There are some who point out that LeBron is getting ready to pay the highest taxes in his life (with a $154 million contract, he can afford it), that he...

The Real Reason LeBron is Moving to the Lakers! The Real Reason LeBron is Moving to the Lakers!
Jun 28, 2018

Oklahoma High Court OKs Use of “Current Edition” of AMA Guides

Conflict with PA’s Protz Decision is Only on the Surface The sections of Oklahoma’s Administrative Workers’ Compensation Act (AWCA) that require use of the “current edition” of the AMA’s Guides...

Oklahoma High Court OKs Use of “Current Edition” of AMA Guides Oklahoma High Court OKs Use of “Current Edition” of AMA Guides
Jun 19, 2018

Kansas Claimants’ Attorneys Face “Catch-22” in Appellate Work

No Provision for Court-Ordered Fees on Appeal The Court of Appeals of Kansas recently reiterated that because of what amounts to a “Catch-22” in state law and appellate rules, an...

Kansas Claimants’ Attorneys Face “Catch-22” in Appellate Work Kansas Claimants’ Attorneys Face “Catch-22” in Appellate Work
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”

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