The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has just issued a decision in Christina Steets (deceased) v. Celebration Fireworks Inc., specifically overturning longstanding case law regarding whether specific loss benefits are payable after an…
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/ Labor & Employment Law, Wills, Trusts, & Estate Planning, Workers' Compensation
The Connecticut legislature has passed several important amendments to the Workers’ Compensation Act that will affect how claims are valued and administered statewide. These legislative updates introduce notable changes to…
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/ Insurance, Labor & Employment Law, Workers' Compensation
New York City’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act—commonly known as Local Law 1 of 2004—sets forth strict requirements for property owners to protect tenants from lead-based paint hazards. Under this law, any multiple…
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/ Administrative Law, Environmental Law, Real Estate - Residential
As I think I have admitted previously, I have what some might consider an unusual habit. When I have a longer drive to make, I listen to oral arguments at the United States Supreme Court. It keeps me awake and my mind sharp, not…
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/ Civil Procedure, Constitutional Law
Stewart v. City of Philadelphia (WCAB), No. 490 C.D. 2024 (Pa. Cmwlth. Ct., April 15, 2025) -
By way of brief history, Officer Stewart worked long hours during the COVID pandemic. In the fall of 2020, he regularly…
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/ Administrative Law, Labor & Employment Law, Workers' Compensation
As our understanding of medicine evolves - alongside society’s increasingly relaxed attitude toward cannabis - it’s no surprise that corresponding adjustments are emerging in the field of workers’ compensation law…
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/ Labor & Employment Law, Workers' Compensation
I had the opportunity to spend two weeks in early March as appellate counsel at a hotly contested wrongful death trial. Seated next to lead trial counsel, I had a ringside seat where I could observe the jury minute by minute,…
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/ Civil Procedure, Insurance, Personal Injury
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Tennessee recently ruled in Heather Smith v. BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee that the right to petition in Article I, Section 23 of the Tennessee Constitution does not provide a…
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/ Constitutional Law, Labor & Employment Law
Georgia Senate Bill 68 (a/k/a Georgia’s Tort Reform Bill) officially passed the legislature and is now awaiting Governor Kemp’s signature. He is expected to sign quickly. Below is a high-level synopsis of the bill and how it…
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/ Civil Procedure, Civil Remedies, Insurance, Personal Injury
I remember listening to Justice Frank Cleckley of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, my professor for Evidence, open his first lecture with a discussion of Federal Rule of Evidence 103. As a young law student, I was…
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/ Civil Procedure
On February 4, 2025, New York’s Senate introduced the Grieving Families Act, a proposed amendment to the state’s wrongful death statute (the “Proposed Act”). This is the Legislature’s fourth attempt to amend the wrongful death…
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/ Insurance
This may be a bit of a “law geek” admission, but whenever I know I’ll be driving alone for at least thirty minutes, I make a habit of listening to Supreme Court arguments. Now that the Court posts them online in near real-time,…
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/ Civil Procedure
The Georgia General Assembly convened on January 13, 2025, marking the start of what is expected to be a pivotal year for tort reform in the state. With Governor Brian Kemp and legislative leaders making legal system reforms a…
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/ Business Torts, Insurance, Personal Injury
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry, Bureau of Workers' Compensation, has amended its rules related to Impairment Rating Evaluations (IREs). These changes aim to align the regulations with Act 111 of 2018 and…
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/ Labor & Employment Law
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced two significant updates to Workers’ Compensation Medicare Set-Aside (WCMSA) rules, effective in 2025. These changes affect $0 MSA proposals and immediate…
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/ Labor & Employment Law, Workers' Compensation
