Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Wegman’s Has Right to Question Injured Worker’s Doctor, Rules New York’s High Court
Dec 22 2023 // Wegman’s Food Markets was wrongly denied an opportunity to cross-examine an injured employee’s doctor, the New York Court of Appeals has ruled, overturning rulings by a workers’ compensation law judge,...
California Workers’ Comp Report Shows Written Premium Nearing Pre-Pandemic Levels
Dec 21 2023 // A new report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California shows written premium in 2022 was 14% above the previous year. The WCIRB’s Quarterly Experience Report is an update on...
New York Fund Receives $7.75 Million After Workers’ Compensation Fraud Prosecution
Dec 18 2023 // Law enforcement officials announced the final sentencing in their prosecution of an $18 million workers’ compensation fraud case and the return of $7.75 million to the New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF). Manhattan...
Minnesota Construction Contractor Faces $1.8 Million in OSHA Penalties
Dec 18 2023 // Despite signing a 2021 settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor that included a promise to protect its employees from potentially deadly trenching and excavation hazards, a Minnesota construction contractor...
Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation Names Posey as Deputy Commissioner of Operations and External Relations
Dec 15 2023 // Texas Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Jeff Nelson has announced the appointment of Matthew Posey as DWC’s new Deputy Commissioner of Operations and External Relations. Posey brings his significant...
California Workers’ Comp Public Self-Insured Claim Volume, Total Paid and Incurred Losses Fall
Dec 14 2023 // Initial data on fiscal year 2022/23 public self-insured claims experience in the California workers’ compensation system show that public self-insured’s total claim volume, spurred by a sharp drop in indemnity...
Maryland’s Workers’ Compensation Bars Non-Dependent Child’s Wrongful Death Claim
Dec 12 2023 // A non-dependent adult child whose father died on the job does not have a right to bring a wrongful death claim against her late father’s employer, the Maryland Appellate Court has ruled. The appeals court affirmed a...
Florida Weekly Wage and Max Workers’ Comp Benefit See Biggest Jump Since 1980
Dec 8 2023 // The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation has released the maximum weekly wage benefit for 2024 and it’s the largest two-year jump in wages in more than four decades. Florida law sets the maximum indemnity...
During Pandemic, Surgeries Delayed, but Care on Track for Injured Workers: WCRI
Dec 5 2023 // Injured workers got timely initial help during the COVID-19 pandemic but faced a longer wait for surgery compared to pre-pandemic years. A new Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) FlashReport examined the time...
New Hampshire Roofing Contractor Lied to Beat OSHA Penalties, Judge Says
Dec 5 2023 // A New Hampshire contractor has been accused of lying and being evasive in an attempt to avoid responsibility for safety hazards for roofers at his worksite. A federal administrative law judge has determined that Barry...
Washington Workers’ Comp Premium Rate Going up an Average of 4.9% in 2024
Dec 1 2023 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced a 4.9% increase in the average workers’ compensation premium rate for 2024. The increase, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2024, means employers and...
Missouri Employers Will See Reduced Workers’ Compensation Rates in 2024
Nov 30 2023 // The Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance said that employers should see a reduction in workers’ compensation rates in 2024, the third straight year of declining rates. The NCCI recently proposed an overall...
State Supreme Court Upholds Attorney Fees in Tennessee Workers’ Comp Case
Nov 30 2023 // In what could be seen as a rare win for the claimants’ bar in Tennessee, the state Supreme Court upheld a $50,500 award of attorney fees, an amount that is almost double the workers’ compensation benefits paid...
New Jersey Workers’ Compensation Rates to Fall 3.9% for 2024
Nov 28 2023 // New Jersey’s insurance regulator has approved a 3.9% reduction in workers’ compensation and employer liability rates starting January 1, 2024. The approved statewide rate change is based on the latest financial...
No Change in California Workers’ Compensation Weekly TD Rates for 2024
Nov 27 2023 // The U.S. Department of Labor has issued new data showing California’s State Average Weekly Wage edged down 0.48 percent from $1,650 to $1,642 in the 12 months ending March 31, 2023. The California Workers’...
New Jersey Supreme Court: Workers’ Compensation Covers Commuting Employee’s Car Crash Injury
Nov 27 2023 // Typically, workers who are injured during their commute to work aren’t eligible for workers’ compensation benefits. The New Jersey Supreme Court highlighted an exception to that rule in a unanimous decision...
New York Contractor Faces $522K in OSHA Penalties for Exposing Workers to Fall Hazards
Nov 22 2023 // A federal workplace safety investigation alleges that a Huntington, New York contractor could have prevented a roofer’s fatal fall at a Glen Cove worksite in April by following legally required safeguards designed to...
Florida Man Sentenced for Role In Workers’ Compensation Fraud Conspiracy
Nov 21 2023 // A federal judge has sentenced Ramon Paz of Lakeland, Florida to 33 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud to avoid paying for workers’ compensation insurance. According to the U.S....
Study: Medical Payments to Treat Injured Workers in Texas Stable Over Five-Year Period
Nov 17 2023 // Medical payments to treat injured workers in Texas were stable from 2016 to 2021, according to a new study from the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study, CompScope Medical Benchmarks for Texas,...
OSHA Faults Pharmaceutical Manufacturer in Massachusetts Plant’s Fatal Explosion
Nov 17 2023 // A Newburyport, Massachusetts pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer and its parent company could have prevented an employee’s death from an explosion but lacked the required safeguards in a chemical manufacturing...
