Alaska High Court Says Trial Court, Not Jury, Decides Employment Status Issue

Employee of Uninsured Michigan Subcontractor May Not Sue General Contractor

Kansas General Contractor Found Liable for Benefits Owed to Uninsured Subcontractor’s Injured Worker

In a complex case that saw the Court opine on the distinction between “judicial dictum” and “obiter dictum,” the Kansas Supreme Court held that a general contractor could be liable...

FL Insurer’s Cancellation Effective in Spite of Issuance of Certificate of Insurance

A Florida appellate court affirmed a finding by a state Judge of Compensation Claims that a subcontractor’s workers’ compensation policy had been cancelled prior to a work-related injury suffered by...

NY Court Remands Case Where Occupational Disease Disablement Date Was Close to Date Policy Lapsed

Where an employee retired in 2014, and was determined to be disabled by an occupational disease in 2016, at which time his employer had no workers’ compensation policy in effect–and...

Uninsured NY Employer May Not Use “Grave Injury” Statute to Defend 3rd-Party Indemnity Claim

In relevant part, N.Y. Workers’ Comp. Law § 11 prohibits third-party claims for indemnification and contribution against an employer unless the injured employee has sustained a “grave injury” as defined...

Office Worker Employed by Canadian Consulate May Proceed in Tort Against Employer for Work-Related Injuries

In an unusual case testing the limits of the sovereign immunity enjoyed by our neighbor to the north, a divided First Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a decision by a...

Colorado High Court Says 8th Amendment’s “Excessive Fines” Prohibition Protects Corporations, as Well as Individuals

Decision Calls Into Question Whether Per Diem Fines to Uninsured Employers Are Unconstitutionally Harsh The Supreme Court of Colorado, with one justice dissenting in part, recently held that the Eighth...

Florida Court: No Coverage Where Policy Procured After Worker’s Injury Took Place

Agent Scurries to Get Coverage After Workplace Accident Where, following a workplace accident causing injury to an employee, the uninsured employer called its insurance broker regarding the expected workers’ compensation...

Ouch!: Live-in New York Domestic Worker’s Cut Finger Results in $86,000 Penalty To Employing Husband and Wife

In Matter of Castillo v Brown, 2017 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 4839 (June 15, 2017), a New York appellate court affirmed the imposition of an $86,000 penalty against a husband and...

Missouri: Survivors May Proceed in Tort Against Uninsured Employer After Recovering Workers’ Compensation Benefits From Statutory Employer–No Election of Remedies Problem

In a 4–3 decision, the Supreme Court of Missouri recently reversed the decision of a state trial court that earlier had held a workers’ compensation award against a statutory employer...