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Jul 16, 2026

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break

PA Court Finds a 15-Minute Break’s Brevity Outweighs Its Formality The Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania recently affirmed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to a pharmacy technician struck by a...

Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break Personal Comfort Doctrine Reaches a Formal, Unpaid Break
Jul 14, 2026

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field

Idaho Federal Court Finds Surveillance and a Full-Duty Release Defeat Workers' Comp Retaliatory Discharge Claim The U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho recently granted summary judgment for a...

Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field Trucker’s Retaliation Claim Runs Aground in His Own Hay Field
Jul 13, 2026

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims

Risk-Exposure Evidence Alone Can Establish the Causal Link, Justices Hold Last Thursday, In a unanimous decision authored by Justice Muñiz, the Supreme Court of Florida held that a workplace assault...

FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims FL High Court Rejects Motive Requirement for Workplace Assault Claims
Jul 8, 2026

KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths

Supervisors Who Allegedly Blocked Exits Fell Outside the Workers’ Comp Act’s Exclusive Remedy The Kentucky Court of Appeals has revived tort claims brought by survivors of the December 2021 tornado...

KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths KY Court Revives Tort Claims From Mayfield Candle Factory Tornado Deaths

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Nov 16, 2017

Exempt Florida Corporate Officer of Subcontractor Barred From Suing General Contractor

An 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 Contractor
Nov 3, 2017

MS Worker’s Staph Infection Was Causally Connected to Epidural Injections for Back Injury

Stressing 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
Nov 2, 2017

Texas Electrician Was Not Traveling Employee In Spite of Weekly Stipend

Death Benefits Claim Barred by Going and Coming Rule In spite of (1) an employer’s designation of an employee as a “field electrician”; (2) the employer’s payment of a $75...

Texas Electrician Was Not Traveling Employee In Spite of Weekly Stipend Texas Electrician Was Not Traveling Employee In Spite of Weekly Stipend
Oct 31, 2017

Raped California Hotel Employee May Proceed Against Employer under State’s Fair Employment and Housing Act

Where a California employee alleged facts showing that she was raped while working on the employer’s premises by a drunk nonemployee trespasser, that the employer knew or should have known...

Raped California Hotel Employee May Proceed Against Employer under State’s Fair Employment and Housing Act Raped California Hotel Employee May Proceed Against Employer under State’s Fair Employment and Housing Act
Oct 30, 2017

SC Workers’ Comp Insurance Policy Procured After Injury is Void

Where owners of a roofing business rushed to an insurance agent and procured a workers’ compensation insurance policy just after an employee was taken to a hospital for treatment of...

SC Workers’ Comp Insurance Policy Procured After Injury is Void SC Workers’ Comp Insurance Policy Procured After Injury is Void
Oct 26, 2017

Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability

“White Coat” Syndrome Could Explain Isolated Reading As do a number of states, Florida provides a specialized presumption of compensability favoring certain law enforcement officers [see § 112.18(1), Fla. Stat.]....

Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability Florida: Abnormal Pre-Employment BP Reading Does Not Mean Loss of Presumption of Compensability
Oct 24, 2017

Ohio Claimant Has Burden of Showing Unexplained Fall Was Not Caused by Idiopathic Condition

Where an injured employee’s medical history and medications raised a fact issue about the possible role of risks personal to the employee in an otherwise unexplained fall, the employee was...

Ohio Claimant Has Burden of Showing Unexplained Fall Was Not Caused by Idiopathic Condition Ohio Claimant Has Burden of Showing Unexplained Fall Was Not Caused by Idiopathic Condition
Oct 19, 2017

In Georgia, Co-Habitation Without Marriage = No Death Benefits

Within the context of a Georgia workers’ compensation claim, a meretricious relationship works to deny dependency benefits, even if actual dependency exists, held a state appellate court on Tuesday [see...

In Georgia, Co-Habitation Without Marriage = No Death Benefits In Georgia, Co-Habitation Without Marriage = No Death Benefits
Oct 17, 2017

Employer and Co-Employees Not Liable in Tort Following Holiday Party Fatality

In a case with bizarre underlying facts, a New York appellate court held a trial court erred in denying an employer’s summary judgment motion in a tort action filed against...

Employer and Co-Employees Not Liable in Tort Following Holiday Party Fatality Employer and Co-Employees Not Liable in Tort Following Holiday Party Fatality
Oct 17, 2017

Kentucky Driver Who Keeps Tractor-Trailer Rig at Home is Traveling Employee

Where a long-haul truck driver kept one of his employer’s tractor-trailer units at his home because he lived near an interstate highway and the employer’s facility was one hour away...

Kentucky Driver Who Keeps Tractor-Trailer Rig at Home is Traveling Employee Kentucky Driver Who Keeps Tractor-Trailer Rig at Home is Traveling Employee
Oct 13, 2017

NY Employer Does Not Always Take Employee as it Finds Him

Apportionment Allowed for Prior Nonwork-Related Knee Injury A New York appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that apportioned a claimant’s 30 percent right leg schedule...

NY Employer Does Not Always Take Employee as it Finds Him NY Employer Does Not Always Take Employee as it Finds Him
Oct 12, 2017

Virginia Case Shows “On-the-Job” Injuries May Not be Compensable

The phrase is used quite often, even by attorneys: “He [or she] was hurt ‘on-the-job.’” The typical implication is that a worker who sustains an “on-the-job” injury deserves workers’ compensation...

Virginia Case Shows “On-the-Job” Injuries May Not be Compensable Virginia Case Shows “On-the-Job” Injuries May Not be Compensable

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