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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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Apr 12, 2018

No Recovery For Swooning Virginia EMT

Repeat After Me: “Correlation Doesn’t Mean Causation” The Virginia Court of Appeals recently reversed an award of workers’ compensation benefits to an emergency room paramedic who fainted, sustaining a skull...

No Recovery For Swooning Virginia EMT No Recovery For Swooning Virginia EMT
Apr 3, 2018

20 Shades of Gray: NY Court Construes “Risks of Street Travel” Rule

Where a New York office worker sustained injuries when she tripped and fell while walking on a public sidewalk approximately 20 feet from the door to the building that contained...

20 Shades of Gray: NY Court Construes “Risks of Street Travel” Rule 20 Shades of Gray: NY Court Construes “Risks of Street Travel” Rule
Mar 30, 2018

Commentary: How Equitable is Florida’s New PTSD Coverage?

What Does Florida Have Against Teachers and Bartenders? As I posted Monday [click here to view that post], a bill to extend relatively broad PTSD coverage to Florida’s first responders...

Commentary: How Equitable is Florida’s New PTSD Coverage? Commentary: How Equitable is Florida’s New PTSD Coverage?
Mar 26, 2018

Florida Legislature Approves PTSD Coverage for First Responders

Earlier this month, the Florida Senate and House both unanimously passed Senate Bill 376, so as generally to allow workers’ compensation benefits for first responders who suffer PTSD as a...

Florida Legislature Approves PTSD Coverage for First Responders Florida Legislature Approves PTSD Coverage for First Responders
Mar 16, 2018

Oklahoma Supreme Court: Parent Corporation Not Always Shielded by Exclusive Remedy Doctrine

Certified Question From Tenth Circuit re: “Dual-Capacity” A divided Supreme Court of Oklahoma, responding to a question certified to it by the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, has held the...

Oklahoma Supreme Court: Parent Corporation Not Always Shielded by Exclusive Remedy Doctrine Oklahoma Supreme Court: Parent Corporation Not Always Shielded by Exclusive Remedy Doctrine
Mar 2, 2018

Greetings From Nashville

ABA Workers’ Compensation Midwinter Conference is Ongoing in “Music City” Heavy rain greeted attendees yesterday at this year’s ABA Workers’ Compensation Midwinter Conference in Nashville, but inside the Westin Nashville...

Greetings From Nashville Greetings From Nashville
Feb 27, 2018

WCRI’s Upcoming Annual Conference Looks Like a Winner

Speakers Include Former Head of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics The 34th Annual Issues and Research Conference, sponsored by Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), promises to be an outstanding forum...

WCRI’s Upcoming Annual Conference Looks Like a Winner WCRI’s Upcoming Annual Conference Looks Like a Winner
Feb 18, 2018

California Grubhub Driver is Independent Contractor, Not Employee

From 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 Employee
Feb 9, 2018

The Road Less Traveled: Wisconsin Court of Appeals Shuns Majority Rule Re: Borrowing Employer’s Tort Immunity

Temporary 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 Immunity
Feb 2, 2018

Is the Wall Strong Enough?

Recent 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?
Jan 26, 2018

New Study Says Employer-Directed Choice of MD May Actually Increase Overall Claim Costs

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 Costs
Jan 4, 2018

The Top 10 Bizarre Workers’ Comp Cases for 2017

Annual “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 2017

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