Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Landscaping Products Company Fined $66K for Safety Violations at Texas Worksite
Jul 6 2016 // L&M Bag and Supply Company Inc., doing business as L&M Supply Company Inc., has been cited by federal safety officials over repeated safety violations at a worksite in San Marcos, Texas. Proposed penalties total...
DataPath Launches System to Monitor Workers’ Comp Medicare Settlement Funds
Jul 5 2016 // DataPath, a payment processor and provider, has launched RelianceCard, a card-based payment option for workers’ compensation Medicare Set-Aside (MSA) arrangements. The customizable card provides MSA recipients access...
OSHA Penalties Going Up Starting August 1
Jul 5 2016 // The U.S. Department of Labor announced that its agencies will begin adjusting their penalties for inflation. Maximum penalties issued by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which have not been raised...
Treasury Recommends Some Terrorism Premiums Be Retained for Future Claims
Jul 5 2016 // In a report that concludes that the federal terrorism risk insurance program “remains an important mechanism” for ensuring that terrorism risk insurance is available and generally affordable, the U.S. Treasury...
NCCI Proposes Nearly 20% Florida Workers Comp Rate Increase
Jul 5 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) announced July 1 that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed an amended rate filing to address a third legal change affecting Florida’s...
Oklahoma High Court Validates Workers’ Comp Icy Sidewalk ‘Slip and Fall’ Claim
Jun 30 2016 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court has reversed the decision of an Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission administrative law judge (ALJ) and ruled that a workers’ comp claim for a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk...
Sandelands Appointed Sr. VP, Commercial Underwriting Services at CNA
Jun 29 2016 // CNA has appointed Barbara Sandelands as senior vice president, Commercial Underwriting Services. In this newly created role, she is responsible for driving the overall strategic direction and general management of...
MEMIC Names XL Catlin’s Gonnella VP of Claims for Atlantic, Northeast
Jun 29 2016 // Workers’ compensation insurer The MEMIC Group has appointed Gus Gonnella to the position of vice president of Claims for the Atlantic and Northeast regions. In his more than 23 years of experience in the insurance...
2 North Texas-Area Facilities Fined by Federal Safety Regulators
Jun 28 2016 // Federal safety regulators have fined two different companies over safety violation in facilities located in North Texas. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined steel fabricator, K-T Galvanizing...
Texas Workers’ Comp Discount, Interest Rate Set for Q3
Jun 28 2016 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation has set the rate for any interest or discount provided for the third quarter of 2016 at 4.03 percent. This rate is computed by using the treasury...
Brentwood Services Administrators Hires Bryant in Tennessee
Jun 27 2016 // Brentwood Services Administrators (BSA), headquartered in Brentwood, Tenn., has hired Stephanie Bryant as senior claim representative in the Brentwood office, according to Jeff Pettus, president and chief executive officer...
Rhode Island Gets New Chief and Associate Workers’ Compensation Judges
Jun 24 2016 // Rhode Island Governor Gina M. Raimondo this week hosted official swearing-in ceremonies for a new chief judge and an associate judge of the state Workers’ Compensation Court. Judge Robert Ferrieri is the new chief...
OSHA: Crane Accident Kills North Dakota Oil Worker
Jun 23 2016 // A worker was killed in a crane accident at an oil well site in western North Dakota, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said. The incident, which happened late on June 20 near Ross in Mountrail County, was...
Florida Workers’ Comp Fraud Sting Ends with 8 Arrests
Jun 23 2016 // A multi-agency undercover workers’ compensation sting in Polk County, Fla., led by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ (DFS) Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF), led to the arrests of eight individuals,...
Applied Underwriters’ Workers’ Comp Business Faulted by California Regulator
Jun 21 2016 // California’s insurance commissioner said a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. insurance business evaded a state law designed to protect small businesses from unexpected workers’ compensation costs. Commissioner Dave Jones...
OSHA to Investigate Death of Pennsylvania Steel Worker
Jun 20 2016 // Federal authorities are investigating the death of a worker killed in an accident at a steel fabricating company in eastern Pennsylvania last week. The Lehigh County coroner’s office said 53-year-old Robert...
Declarations
Jun 20 2016 // Abandoned Properties “We are taking action to crack down on these neighborhood blights.” —New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on June 7 in announcing more than $100 million in funding to help new homeowners...
Construction Market Keeps Building: Brokers’ Outlook on Current & Future Opportunities
Jun 20 2016 // Amid ups and downs, the construction market has seen steady growth over the past four years, and now construction insurance specialists believe the market is set to finally start to heat up. The intense competition has...
Opioid Prescriptions in Workers’ Compensation Cases Decline: WCRI Study
Jun 20 2016 // A new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) found “noticeable decreases” in the amount of opioids prescribed per workers’ compensation claims in a majority of 25 states studied. The...
Have Injured Workers Benefited from Oklahoma’s Opt-Out Plans? It Depends, Study Says
Jun 20 2016 // A recent analysis of the workers’ compensation “opt-out” system in Oklahoma concludes that employer-run plans for injured workers may offer benefits that are equal to or better than those provided by...