Category: Issue commentary

May 29, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah (1980)

A Horseplay Case That Shaped Utah’s Workers’ Compensation Doctrine In Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah, 610 P.2d 1362 (Utah 1980), the Supreme Court of Utah was presented with a...

Throwback Thursday: Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah (1980) Throwback Thursday: Prows v. Industrial Commission of Utah (1980)
May 22, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Nails v. Market Tire Co. (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1975)

Tools, Timing, and Termination In Nails v. Market Tire Co., 29 Md. App. 154, 347 A.2d 564 (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1975), the Maryland Court of Special Appeals addressed a...

Throwback Thursday: Nails v. Market Tire Co. (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1975) Throwback Thursday: Nails v. Market Tire Co. (Md. Ct. Spec. App. 1975)
May 15, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Kowalski v. Shell Oil Co. (Cal. 1979)

Lent Employees and the Boundary of the Employment Relationship In the long and sometimes tangled history of American workers’ compensation law, few issues generate more uncertainty—and more litigation—than lent employment....

Throwback Thursday: Kowalski v. Shell Oil Co. (Cal. 1979) Throwback Thursday: Kowalski v. Shell Oil Co. (Cal. 1979)
May 8, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Bridges v. Elite, Inc. (S.C. 1948)

Imported Quarrels and the Boundaries of Employment Risk In Bridges v. Elite, Inc., 212 S.C. 514, 48 S.E.2d 497 (S.C. 1948), the Supreme Court of South Carolina reversed a decision...

Throwback Thursday: Bridges v. Elite, Inc. (S.C. 1948) Throwback Thursday: Bridges v. Elite, Inc. (S.C. 1948)
May 1, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission (1956)

Refusal of Life-Saving Treatment Within Workers’ Compensation Context In Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission, 147 Cal. App. 2d 137, 304 P.2d 828 (Cal. Ct. App. 1956), the California Court of...

Throwback Thursday: Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission (1956) Throwback Thursday: Martin v. Industrial Accident Commission (1956)
Apr 24, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Lee v. Minneapolis Street Railway Co. (1950)

The Rise of the Odd-Lot Doctrine In the world of workers’ compensation, some of the most influential doctrines arise not from statutory overhaul or regulatory edict, but from judicial insight...

Throwback Thursday: Lee v. Minneapolis Street Railway Co. (1950) Throwback Thursday: Lee v. Minneapolis Street Railway Co. (1950)
Apr 17, 2025

Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951)

Introduction In 1951, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision in O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc., 340 U.S. 504, 71 S.Ct. 470, 95 L.Ed.483 (1951). The case involved a claim...

Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951) Throwback Thursday: O’Leary v. Brown-Pacific-Maxon, Inc. (U.S., 1951)
Apr 10, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979)

Background On September 28, 1973, at approximately 2:30 a.m., James Hawk II, the president, sole stockholder, and chief operating officer of Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., died when his private airplane...

Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979) Throwback Thursday: Hawk v. Jim Hawk Chevrolet-Buick, Inc., 282 N.W.2d 84 (Iowa 1979)
Apr 3, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Graybeal v. Board of Supervisors (1975)

Rethinking the Limits of “Course of Employment” In traditional workers’ compensation doctrine, an injury must not only “arise out of” employment but also occur “in the course of” employment. Courts...

Throwback Thursday: Graybeal v. Board of Supervisors (1975) Throwback Thursday: Graybeal v. Board of Supervisors (1975)
Mar 27, 2025

Throwback Thursday: New York Central R. Co. v. White (1917)

Background The early 20th century saw a seismic shift in how American society approached workplace injuries. Before the widespread adoption of workers' compensation laws, injured workers typically had to sue...

Throwback Thursday: New York Central R. Co. v. White (1917) Throwback Thursday: New York Central R. Co. v. White (1917)
Mar 20, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Correa v. Waymouth Farms, Inc. (2003)

Background In 2000, Fernando Correa, an undocumented worker employed at Waymouth Farms, Inc., suffered a back injury while lifting a box in the company’s warehouse. His employer initially accepted the...

Throwback Thursday: Correa v. Waymouth Farms, Inc. (2003) Throwback Thursday: Correa v. Waymouth Farms, Inc. (2003)
Mar 13, 2025

Throwback Thursday: Snyder v. Michael’s Stores, Inc. (1997)

Exclusive Remedy and the Independent Injury Exception A cornerstone of workers’ compensation law is the exclusive remedy rule, which generally bars employees and their families from suing an employer in...

Throwback Thursday: Snyder v. Michael’s Stores, Inc. (1997) Throwback Thursday: Snyder v. Michael’s Stores, Inc. (1997)