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Jun 2, 2026

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity

Court Applies Massachusetts Law to Maine Injury, Rejects Immunity Defense in Multi-State Staffing Arrangement A New Hampshire contractor that likely would have enjoyed workers’ compensation immunity under Maine law lost...

Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity Maine Supreme Court: Massachusetts Law Strips Staffing Client of Workers’ Compensation Immunity
Jun 1, 2026

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions

New York’s Court of Appeals recently affirmed an Appellate Division order blocking defendants in a personal injury action from using a Workers’ Compensation Board causation determination as collateral estoppel, holding...

NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions NY High Court Holds JIWA Bars Collateral Estoppel Effect of Pre-Enactment Workers’ Comp Decisions
May 27, 2026

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment

In a case involving a Nebraska truck driver-farm laborer whose treatment for metastatic cancer was allegedly postponed by complications associated with a compensable hip injury and its resulting treatment, the...

Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment Nebraska Supreme Court Affirms Denial of Death Benefits Where Work Injury Delayed Cancer Treatment
May 26, 2026

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

A North Carolina district manager who suffered a stroke while preparing for the opening of a restaurant location—and who allegedly waited hours before coworkers summoned emergency assistance—may not pursue negligence...

NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke NC Court of Appeals: Exclusivity Doctrine Bars Negligence Suit Following Workplace Stroke

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Nov 15, 2016

Boys Will Be Boys: Winning Comp Claim Isn’t as Easy as Falling Out of a Tree

A Mississippi pipe fitter, who sustained five broken ribs and a spinal cord injury when he fell a distance of approximately 25 feet from the top of a gum tree...

Boys Will Be Boys: Winning Comp Claim Isn’t as Easy as Falling Out of a Tree Boys Will Be Boys: Winning Comp Claim Isn’t as Easy as Falling Out of a Tree
Nov 4, 2016

The Year of Equal Justice and Due Process

High Courts in Several States Strike Down Legislative Challenges to the Heart of the Workers’ Compensation System As we put together last year’s edition of the Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis...

The Year of Equal Justice and Due Process The Year of Equal Justice and Due Process
Oct 18, 2016

New Mexico High Court Blocks Estate’s Attempt to Go After Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Coverage

No Coverage Where Tortfeasor Was Co-Employee Answering a question certified to it from a federal district court sitting in New Mexico, that state’s Supreme Court held that an employee injured...

New Mexico High Court Blocks Estate’s Attempt to Go After Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Coverage New Mexico High Court Blocks Estate’s Attempt to Go After Employer’s Uninsured Motorist Coverage
Oct 11, 2016

NY Correction Officer Fails to Link Bronchitis to Commercial Airline Flight

For many of us, it’s uncanny. Within a few days of flying on a commercial jet, we come down with some sort of cold or bronchial disorder. Our intuition tells us...

NY Correction Officer Fails to Link Bronchitis to Commercial Airline Flight NY Correction Officer Fails to Link Bronchitis to Commercial Airline Flight
Oct 10, 2016

Has the Other Shoe Dropped? New Report Signals Feds Are Losing Patience with State Workers’ Compensation Programs

On October 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor released a widely anticipated report on the adequacy of state-based workers’ compensation programs. While the 41-page report does not go as...

Has the Other Shoe Dropped? New Report Signals Feds Are Losing Patience with State Workers’ Compensation Programs Has the Other Shoe Dropped? New Report Signals Feds Are Losing Patience with State Workers’ Compensation Programs
Sep 26, 2016

Medical Marijuana: Reasonable and Necessary Medical Treatment for Pain?

Appellate Division of Maine’s Comp Board Orders Two Employers to Reimburse Workers for Treatment Costs In two separate decisions, the Appellate Division of Maine’s Workers’ Compensation Board recently affirmed two...

Medical Marijuana: Reasonable and Necessary Medical Treatment for Pain? Medical Marijuana: Reasonable and Necessary Medical Treatment for Pain?
Sep 13, 2016

Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s Opt Out Law

Earlier today (September 13, 2016), in Vasquez v. Dillard’s, Inc., 2016 OK 89, in a 7–2 decision, the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, in one of the most important workers’ compensation...

Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s Opt Out Law Oklahoma Supreme Court Strikes Down State’s Opt Out Law
Sep 1, 2016

510 Pills Per Month With Little Improvement: Tennessee High Court Allows Change of Physician

Illustrating the deep—and sometimes bitter—divide between some who espouse clinically oriented medical treatment and others that promote the so-called “best practices” guidelines outlined in evidence-based medicine (EBM), a Special Workers’...

510 Pills Per Month With Little Improvement: Tennessee High Court Allows Change of Physician 510 Pills Per Month With Little Improvement: Tennessee High Court Allows Change of Physician
Aug 2, 2016

Connecticut High Court: Widow’s Bystander Emotional Distress Action Barred by Exclusivity

Earlier today, the Supreme Court of Connecticut released a decision holding that a widow’s bystander emotional distress action filed against her deceased husband’s employer is barred by the exclusive remedy...

Connecticut High Court: Widow’s Bystander Emotional Distress Action Barred by Exclusivity Connecticut High Court: Widow’s Bystander Emotional Distress Action Barred by Exclusivity
Jul 27, 2016

Ohio High Court Says Injury is Not Required to Support Retaliatory Discharge Claim

In a split decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that compensability of the alleged underlying injury is not a required element in a retaliatory discharge action under Ohio Rev....

Ohio High Court Says Injury is Not Required to Support Retaliatory Discharge Claim Ohio High Court Says Injury is Not Required to Support Retaliatory Discharge Claim
Jul 7, 2016

New Mexico High Court Strikes Down Farm and Ranch Laborer Exclusion

Decision Continues Long National Trend to Treat Farm Workers on Par With Other Employees A provision of the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Act (Act) [N.M. Stat. Ann. § 52–1–6(A) (2015)]...

New Mexico High Court Strikes Down Farm and Ranch Laborer Exclusion New Mexico High Court Strikes Down Farm and Ranch Laborer Exclusion
Jun 9, 2016

Florida High Court Strikes Down 104-Week Limitation on TTD Benefits

Earlier today (June 9, 2016), a divided Supreme Court of Florida rendered its long-awaited decision in Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg [No. SC13–1976], striking down as unconstitutional the state’s...

Florida High Court Strikes Down 104-Week Limitation on TTD Benefits Florida High Court Strikes Down 104-Week Limitation on TTD Benefits

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