In spite of what the Missouri appellate court said was a “poorly written” opinion by an ALJ (adopted and incorporated by the state’s Labor & Industrial Relations Commission), a state appellate court panel held there was still more... Read More

In a decision that conforms with the majority rule among American jurisdictions, the Supreme Court of Kentucky affirmed a lower court finding that a municipal bus driver was appropriately denied workers’ compensation benefits in connection with... Read More

That an overnight attendant at a rest area knew his assailant—a former co-employee—and could not show that the assailant’s motives were related to the employment—the assailant committed suicide shortly after the attack—did... Read More

Acknowledging its earlier adoption of the “quantum theory of work connection,” described in Larson’s Workers’ Compensation Law , under which the “arising out of” and “in the course of” tests are not independent... Read More

In a split decision involving bizarre circumstances, a Pennsylvania appellate court recently held that a woman employed under a state-funded program to provide attendant care services at her residence for her adult son, and who was brutally attacked by... Read More

The Supreme Court of South Dakota, affirming a decision by the state’s Department of Labor and Regulation, recently denied a death benefits claim filed by the personal representative of a woman shot and killed by her husband as she sat in her car... Read More

A nurse, who suffered a series of assaults by patients at her employer’s hospital may recover for her mental disability—major depressive disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder—in spite of Nebraska’s general rule that requires... Read More

For those who don’t know it, Sweet Caroline is now working in litigation support for a few of my friends at Doroshow Pasquale, including Tara Bustard. No shrinking violet herself, Caroline couldn’t have a better role model for the proposition... Read More

Here’s the fourth batch of advanced postings for the June 2012 issue of Cal. Comp. Cases. Lexis.com subscribers can link to the cases to read the complete headnotes and summaries. © Copyright 2012 LexisNexis. All rights reserved. Stephen... Read More

A former employee’s claim that her former employer improperly discharged her in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim was appropriately disposed of at the summary judgment level where the employee could not show that her employer’s... Read More

A Nebraska appellate court affirmed the denial of workers’ compensation benefits for an employee who sustained injuries to his nose, clavicle and shoulder when he was assaulted on the employer’s premises by a co-worker wielding a brass hammer... Read More

A New York appellate court, affirming a decision of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Board, has held that the exacerbation of a supermarket assistant manager’s preexisting PTSD arose out of and in the course of his employment when,... Read More

Last November, I had the pleasure of speaking at the 24th Annual National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference in Las Vegas. My session was a spin-off of what has become one of my most popular annual blog offerings—a presentation... Read More

The Missouri Commission decided a case in which a worker alleges his supervisor body slammed and choked him and the supervisor claims the worker started the whole thing and hit him in the mouth. The Commission found there was no “assault”... Read More

A negligence action filed by a teacher’s aide against her employer and an assistant principal following an incident in which the aide was assaulted and beaten by a student was barred by the exclusive remedy provisions of New York’s Workers’... Read More