Issue Commentary: COVID-19 Claims in States Without Presumptions

Arizona Widow Awarded Death Benefits in Connection With Husband’s COVID-19 Exposure

Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Lower Court's Attempt to Clarify "Sudden Mechanical or Structural Change" Rule

Reversing an earlier decision of the state’s Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of Virginia held that the phrase “injury by accident” linked two discrete concepts—an injury and an accident—that...

Opinion Mondays: Recent NY Case May Open Door for Compensability of COVID-19 Claims Without Need for Presumption

It may be a long shot, but a recent New York appellate decision may have opened the door, if ever so slightly, to compensability of COVID-19 claims on the basis...

"First Do No Harm" – Missouri Employee's Injuries At Doctor's Office Not Compensable

The Supreme Court of Missouri, construing the state’s special causation rules for workers’ compensation claims, affirmed a decision by the state’s Labor and Industrial Relations Commission that denied an employee’s...

NY Claimant Establishes Aspergillosis Claim as an Accidental Injury

Court’s Ruling of No Occupational Disease Does Not Bar Claim (After Remittal) for Accidental Injury Where a New York appellate court reversed the state Workers’ Compensation Board’s finding that a...

Plaintiff May Not Use Illinois’ “One Day in Rest Act” to Subvert Exclusive Remedy of State’s Workers’ Compensation Act

The administrator of the estate of an Illinois employee killed in a work-related vehicular accident may not utilize the state’s “One Day Rest in Seven Act” (“ODRA”)[820 Ill. Comp. Stat....

Maryland: Forum Selection Clause in Pro Football Employment Agreement Cannot Trump State Law

In a case involving a claim by a former Washington Redskins professional football player for benefits under the Maryland Workers’ Compensation Act, based upon an injury during pre-game warm-up at...