Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Workers’ Compensation Undercuts Employer Liability Exclusion, U.S. Appeals Court Rules
Jul 11 2023 // Since workers’ compensation shields an employer from liability, an insurer may not be able to rely on an employer liability exclusion in a commercial general liability policy to avoid claims. That’s the...
$40M Lawsuit by Virginia Teacher Who Was Shot: Civil Court or Workers’ Compensation?
Jul 11 2023 // Lawyers for a teacher who was shot by her 6-year-old student in Virginia can start the process of interviewing eyewitnesses, reviewing the boy`s disciplinary files and accessing other records for a $40 million lawsuit...
Vermont Workers’ Comp Changes, Including for Children and Firefighters, Now in Effect
Jul 5 2023 // Vermont’s workers’ compensation benefits for temporary total disability and for dependent children, as well as the work search requirement for injured workers returning to the job market, changed starting July...
Report Looks at Long COVID Claims in California Workers’ Comp
Jul 3 2023 // Roughly 13% of COVID-19 claims with medical payments received treatments for long COVID symptoms in the workers’ compensation system, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of...
Injured Workers Pharmacy to Pay $10M for Improper Handling of ‘Red Flag’ Prescriptions
Jun 30 2023 // Andover, Massachusetts-based Injured Workers Pharmacy (IWP) has agreed to pay $10 million to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act by improperly filling prescriptions for controlled substances,...
California Workers’ Comp Insurer Combined Losses and Expenses in 2022 Were $15B
Jun 29 2023 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California released its report on workers’ compensation losses and expenses for 2022. Key findings in the report include: Medical losses paid in 2022 were...
DA’s Office Charges California Contractors with Workers’ Comp Fraud and Conspiracy
Jun 28 2023 // Individuals from two construction companies in California’s Bay Area were arraigned on charges of conspiring to misclassify workers to avoid paying workers’ compensation insurance, payroll taxes and insurance...
Workers’ Comp and Mental Health: Panel Examines Why Worker Wellbeing Matters
Jun 26 2023 // American workers are struggling. Employee stress has reached record highs. Symptoms and formal diagnoses of mental illnesses like anxiety, depression and PTSD are rising. Substance abuse disorders are up, too – as are...
OSHA cites Wisconsin Processing Plant for Multiple Violations After Worker Suffers Crushing Injuries
Jun 26 2023 // Federal safety inspectors responded to a Wisconsin employer’s report of an amputation found workers at a Green Bay, Wisconsin beef processing plant exposed to multiple hazards, including inadequate guards to protect...
Connecticut High Court Nixes Workers’ Comp for Firefighter With Heart Condition
Jun 26 2023 // A firefighter must be shown to have worked 20 or more hours a week to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled in reversing an appeals court and state...
OSHA Cites Jacksonville Center for ‘Shocking’ Amounts of Violence on Workers
Jun 20 2023 // Federal safety regulators have fined a Jacksonville behavioral hospital more than $15,000 over what they called “shocking” findings, including almost 200 violent attacks on workers in one year. Workers at...
Data on California Private Self-Insureds’ 2022 Workers’ Comp Claim Experience
Jun 20 2023 // California workers’ compensation private self-insured claim frequency rose 6% last year as both medical-only and indemnity claim volume increased, but a new report suggests that many of the claims may have been...
OSHA Says Fatal Florida Fireworks Fire Was Preventable, Fines Company $109,000
Jun 13 2023 // A December fire at a fireworks company warehouse, which killed four workers and gravely injured a fifth, was preventable, but the company will face just $109,375 in fines, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health...
Report Looks at Long COVID Claims in California Workers’ Comp
Jun 12 2023 // Roughly 13% of COVID-19 claims with medical payments received treatments for long COVID symptoms in the workers’ compensation system, a new report shows. The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of...
Florida Lawmakers Finally Approved Workers’ Comp Physician Reimbursement Plan
Jun 9 2023 // For the first time in six years, Florida has a new health care provider reimbursement manual, governing workers’ compensation fees for doctors. But the manual already could be considered three years out of date. It...
California Workers’ Comp Written Premium was 14% Above 2021
Jun 5 2023 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California issued its Quarterly Experience Report, an update on California statewide insurer experience valued as of Dec. 31, 2022. Highlights of the report...
Kansas Insurance Commissioner: No Workers’ Comp Fund Assessment for FY 2024
Jun 2 2023 // Kansas Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt announced there will not be a Workers Compensation Fund assessment this year. Carriers, pools, and self-insured businesses will not be required to pay into the assessment fund...
Massachusetts Agency Owner Accused of Stealing Workers’ Compensation Premiums
Jun 1 2023 // The owner of a Gloucester, Massachusetts insurance agency has been indicted and arraigned in connection with an alleged embezzlement scheme that left client companies uninsured. The scheme included the agent transferring...
Worker Injured a ‘Reasonable Time’ After Shift Ends Is Covered, Virginia Panel Says
Jun 1 2023 // A worker who fell and injured herself while walking to the restroom after completing her shift as a convenience store clerk was still in the course of her employment when she fell and thus she is entitled to workers’...
Report Alleges Workers’ Compensation Abuse in New York Correctional Unit
May 26 2023 // A report by the New York State Inspector General alleges “egregious” abuse of a workers’ compensation loss wage benefit provision by state corrections and institution safety officers. The report blames a...
