In Spade v. Appalachian Regional Healthcare, Inc., 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 49799 (E.D. Ky. Mar. 11, 2026), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky granted summary...
Federal Court (E.D. Ky.) Rejects Workers’ Comp Retaliation Claim Despite Sympathetic Facts Federal Court (E.D. Ky.) Rejects Workers’ Comp Retaliation Claim Despite Sympathetic FactsSmall contractors sometimes believe that keeping their payroll lean — two employees instead of three — will keep them outside the reach of the workers’ compensation statute. But the Virginia...
Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold Case Virginia Court Counts Subcontractor Workers in Coverage Threshold CaseIn Garcia v. Director, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, 2026 U.S. App. LEXIS 6549 (2d Cir. Mar. 5, 2026), the Second Circuit denied a petition for review filed by a...
Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore Act Second Circuit Bars Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Under the Longshore ActEvery dollar spent on workers’ compensation falls into one of two broad categories: benefits paid to injured workers—medical care and wage replacement—and the costs of delivering those benefits. The second...
New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering Benefits New York’s Hidden Cost Problem: WCRI Examines the Price of Delivering BenefitsAn Iowa sole proprietor, who worked alongside his employees, was nevertheless still an employer—and not a co-employee—for purposes of the Iowa Workers’ Compensation Act, held a state appellate court [Mullen...
Iowa Sole Proprietor Working Alongside Others is Still Employer For Purposes of Workers’ Compensation Exclusive Remedy Defense Iowa Sole Proprietor Working Alongside Others is Still Employer For Purposes of Workers’ Compensation Exclusive Remedy DefenseA New York appellate court affirmed a finding by the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board that a former critical care nurse suffered a work-related 90 percent loss of wage-earning capacity where...
New York Nurse Awarded 90% Loss of Wage-Earning Capacity Due to Allergic Reaction to Hand Sanitizer New York Nurse Awarded 90% Loss of Wage-Earning Capacity Due to Allergic Reaction to Hand SanitizerWhile the workers’ compensation laws of virtually all states include illegally employed persons—e.g., minors and undocumented “aliens”—within the term “employee,” Wyoming’s definition is more restrictive. Only those aliens whom the...
Wyoming Employer Need Not Keep Immigration Documentation on Hand Wyoming Employer Need Not Keep Immigration Documentation on HandAdopting the “substantial and motivating factor” test to determine if an employer’s decision to terminate a worker’s employment was retaliatory, the Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed a trial court order...
Wyoming High Court Adopts “Substantial and Motivating Factor” Test to Judge Retaliatory Discharge Claim Wyoming High Court Adopts “Substantial and Motivating Factor” Test to Judge Retaliatory Discharge ClaimLast Friday, a deeply divided Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania struck down as unconstitutional the requirement, codified in § 306(a.2) of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act [77 Pa. Stat. Ann. §...
PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed. PA Court Strikes Down Use of AMA Guides, 6th Ed.An Ohio appellate court has again concluded that the doctrine of voluntary abandonment does not bar an injured worker’s entitlement to TTD compensation in a case involving a pre-injury infraction—here,...
Ohio Court Again Says TTD Benefits Unaffected by Pre-Injury Drug Use Undetected Until After Injury Ohio Court Again Says TTD Benefits Unaffected by Pre-Injury Drug Use Undetected Until After InjuryValley fever is not a “respiratory disease” for purposes of the state of Washington’s firefighters presumption [Wash. Rev. Code § 51.21.185(1)]; it is instead an “infectious disease” and is not...
Washington High Court Says Valley Fever is Not Covered by Firefighters’ Presumption Washington High Court Says Valley Fever is Not Covered by Firefighters’ PresumptionWhere an injured employee had but one employer on the date of injury, the employee’s average weekly wage must be computed by considering only the wages from that employer; “concurrent”...
Kentucky High Court Says “Concurrent” Wages May Only Be Considered for AWW Computation if Concurrent Employment Existed on DOI Kentucky High Court Says “Concurrent” Wages May Only Be Considered for AWW Computation if Concurrent Employment Existed on DOIThe manager of a Tennessee mattress store, who alleged that she sustained a psychological injury (“PTSD”) when she pursued two persons into the employer’s store parking lot after they had...
Tennessee Mattress Store Manager Prevails in PTSD Claim After Encounter with Purse Snatching Customers Tennessee Mattress Store Manager Prevails in PTSD Claim After Encounter with Purse Snatching CustomersAn employee who suffered a knee injury while playing laser tag at a company-sponsored marketing conference sustained an accidental injury arising out of and in the course of the employment,...
NC Employee’s Injury Playing Laser Tag Found Compensable NC Employee’s Injury Playing Laser Tag Found CompensableUsing a neutral risk analysis, an Illinois appellate court reversed a trial court’s decision that in turn had affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits to a worker who injured...
Illinois Welder’s Knee Injury While Swiveling in Chair Found Compensable Illinois Welder’s Knee Injury While Swiveling in Chair Found CompensableA surviving spouse was not entitled to receive workers’ compensation death benefits where evidence established that she left the family home several years prior to the deceased employee’s death, rarely...
NC: Surviving Spouse Loses Claim for Death Benefits Since She Neither Lived With Nor Was Dependent Upon Worker at Time of His Death NC: Surviving Spouse Loses Claim for Death Benefits Since She Neither Lived With Nor Was Dependent Upon Worker at Time of His Death
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