Category: Case comment

Jan 22, 2026

AZ Court: Personal Firearm Injury Did Not Arise Out of Employment

Yesterday, in Goins v. Industrial Commission of Arizona, 2026 Ariz. App. LEXIS 16 (Div. 1, Jan. 21, 2026), an Arizona appellate court affirmed denial of workers' compensation benefits to an...

AZ Court: Personal Firearm Injury Did Not Arise Out of Employment AZ Court: Personal Firearm Injury Did Not Arise Out of Employment
Jan 20, 2026

Federal Inmate Injured in Prison Dog Training Program Cannot Pursue FTCA Claim

In Chandler v. United States, 2026 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 6568 (D. Colo. Jan. 13, 2026), the United States District Court for the District of Colorado dismissed an inmate’s Federal Tort...

Federal Inmate Injured in Prison Dog Training Program Cannot Pursue FTCA Claim Federal Inmate Injured in Prison Dog Training Program Cannot Pursue FTCA Claim
Jan 16, 2026

CA Deputy Surgery Refusal Results in Disqualification from Disability Retirement Benefits

In Mendoza v. Board of Retirement of the Ventura County Employees’ Retirement Assn., 2025 Cal. App. LEXIS 865 (2d Dist. Dec. 3, 2025), a California appellate court affirmed denial of...

CA Deputy Surgery Refusal Results in Disqualification from Disability Retirement Benefits CA Deputy Surgery Refusal Results in Disqualification from Disability Retirement Benefits
Jan 14, 2026

NY Court Affirms Claim Abatement After Claimant’s Death

Board Exercised Discretion When Death Prevented IME and Cross-Examination on Psychiatric Injuries In Matter of Brady v. Town of Warwick, 2025 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 7401 (3d Dept. Dec. 31,...

NY Court Affirms Claim Abatement After Claimant’s Death NY Court Affirms Claim Abatement After Claimant’s Death
Jan 12, 2026

Failure to Secure Comp Insurance Proves Costly for TN Company

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has affirmed a trial court’s holding that a carpenter performing construction work on a farm property was neither a “casual employee” nor a “farm/agricultural laborer”...

Failure to Secure Comp Insurance Proves Costly for TN Company Failure to Secure Comp Insurance Proves Costly for TN Company
Jan 8, 2026

Texas Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Grain Bin Death Case

The Texas Court of Appeals, Seventh District, recently affirmed summary judgment for an employer in a wrongful death action filed by the mother of an employee who suffered fatal injuries...

Texas Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Grain Bin Death Case Texas Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Grain Bin Death Case
Jan 7, 2026

Idaho Clarifies Causation for Recurrent Injuries

The Idaho Supreme Court has reversed the Idaho Industrial Commission’s denial of benefits in a case involving a recurrent tendon tear, holding that the Commission applied an incorrect causation standard...

Idaho Clarifies Causation for Recurrent Injuries Idaho Clarifies Causation for Recurrent Injuries
Dec 29, 2025

TN Supreme Court: Product Vendor Not a “Subcontractor” Under Workers’ Comp Law

The Tennessee Supreme Court recently held that a retail store chain was not a statutory employer of a product vendor’s injured employee, reversing the state’s Court of Appeals and adopting...

TN Supreme Court: Product Vendor Not a “Subcontractor” Under Workers’ Comp Law TN Supreme Court: Product Vendor Not a “Subcontractor” Under Workers’ Comp Law
Dec 22, 2025

NY Attorney’s Ex Parte Communication with MD Sinks Claim

The New York Appellate Division, Third Department, recently affirmed the state Workers’ Compensation Board’s decision to disallow a claim for hearing loss based on improper ex parte communications between the...

NY Attorney’s Ex Parte Communication with MD Sinks Claim NY Attorney’s Ex Parte Communication with MD Sinks Claim
Dec 16, 2025

NC Supreme Court Applies a Demanding Joint Employment Standard in Deeply Divided Decision

In a 4–3 decision, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed the Court of Appeals and held that a construction company did not jointly employ an off-duty deputy sheriff injured while...

NC Supreme Court Applies a Demanding Joint Employment Standard in Deeply Divided Decision NC Supreme Court Applies a Demanding Joint Employment Standard in Deeply Divided Decision
Dec 11, 2025

Ohio Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Retaliation Case

Probationary Status and Multiple Witnesses Defeat Pretext Claim An Ohio appellate court has affirmed summary judgment for an employer in a workers’ compensation retaliation case where timing alone could not...

Ohio Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Retaliation Case Ohio Court Affirms Summary Judgment in Retaliation Case
Dec 9, 2025

PA Court Reverses PTSD Denial for Officer Who Shot Suspect in Life-or-Death Struggle

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reversed a Workers’ Compensation Appeal Board decision affirming denial of benefits to a police officer who developed disabling PTSD following a November 2020 incident in...

PA Court Reverses PTSD Denial for Officer Who Shot Suspect in Life-or-Death Struggle PA Court Reverses PTSD Denial for Officer Who Shot Suspect in Life-or-Death Struggle