Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida-Based SUNZ Holdings Acquires Ascential Care Partners
Jun 12 2018 // SUNZ Holdings, headquartered in Bradenton, Fla., has acquired Ascential Care Partners, LLC, a national URAC accredited case management and utilization review company. The purchase and associated capital contribution...
OSHA Seeking $65K in Penalties in Colorado Envirotech Worker Death
Jun 11 2018 // Federal regulators are proposing nearly $65,000 in penalties for a Colorado company where a worker died after inhaling toxic fumes while cleaning the inside of a rail car. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration...
California State Fund Says It Reduced Opioid Prescriptions by 60%
Jun 11 2018 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund is reporting a significant reduction in the number of opioid prescriptions for injured workers through a program launched four years ago. State Fund’s...
Texas Workers’ Comp Study: 40% of Claimants Have Previous Work Injuries
Jun 8 2018 // There are about 200,000 new claims in each year in the Texas workers’ compensation system, representing about 2 percent of covered Texas employees. About 40 percent of those new claims involve claimants who have had...
New York Surgeon Sentenced for Nearly $87K Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Jun 8 2018 // A central New York orthopedic surgeon has been sentenced for running an ongoing scheme that defrauded the workers’ compensation system by nearly $87,000. Dr. Gregory B. Shankman, of Clinton, N.Y., was sentenced in...
New York State Workers’ Compensation Board Proposes New Medical Fee Schedule
Jun 8 2018 // The New York State Workers’ Compensation Board has released a proposed increase in medical reimbursement to providers who treat workers’ compensation patients. The proposed medical fee schedule includes an...
Tesla Seeks to Quell Doubts About Factory Workers’ Safety
Jun 8 2018 // Tesla Inc. would need to release more information than Elon Musk gave shareholders to set the record straight on the electric-car maker’s work-safety record, according to former occupational health officials who...
Digital Workers’ Comp Agency Pie Insurance Enters 3 More States
Jun 6 2018 // Digital agency Pie Insurance has begun selling its low-cost small business workers’ compensation insurance policies online in Colorado, Louisiana and Texas. That brings the total states for Pie to seven as in March...
Illinois Passes Bill Requiring Pre-Approval of Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates
Jun 4 2018 // The Illinois General Assembly has passed a bill that requires the pre-approval of workers’ compensation insurance rates by the Illinois Department of Insurance. The legislation also “permits sensible corporate...
Workers’ Comp Claim Cost Changed Little in Indiana After Reforms Enacted
Jun 4 2018 // The average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Indiana was stable in the years since the state enacted workers’ comp system reforms, according to a recent Workers Compensation Research Institute...
Illinois’ Cost per Workers’ Comp Claim Grew 1-3% Per Year: WCRI
Jun 4 2018 // The average total cost per workers’ compensation claim in Illinois grew annually between 1 percent to 3 percent since 2012, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. The growth was...
Workers’ Compensation Professionals Form Kids’ Chance of New Hampshire
Jun 4 2018 // Workers’ compensation professionals have created Kids’ Chance of New Hampshire, a 501c3 organization that provides scholarships for children of workers who are seriously injured or killed on the job. Sebastian...
Mass. SJC Rules Independent Contractor Statute Doesn’t Apply in Workers’ Comp Case
Jun 4 2018 // The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has ruled the state’s independent contractor statute does not determine whether a claimant is an employee eligible for workers’ compensation benefits in a case...
People
Jun 4 2018 // Morrison Mahoney LLP, a litigation firm, is expanding its Workers’ Compensation and General Liability Team in Providence, R.I., by adding two attorneys. Jonathan R. Myhre joined the team last December, and Joelle M....
North Carolina Steps Up Workers’ Comp Fraud Investigations, Fines for No Coverage
Jun 4 2018 // North Carolina has stepped up its efforts to identify businesses not complying with state workers’ compensation laws which it says has resulted in a significant increase in fines collected compared to the same time...
Court: No Coverage for N.C. Employee Injured While Smoking on Break
Jun 4 2018 // A North Carolina city employee isn’t owed workers’ compensation for an injury he suffered while smoking during a lunch break, the state appeals court ruled last month. A three-judge panel of the North Carolina...
California Workers’ Comp Directors and Officers Cleanup Law Takes Effect July 1
Jun 4 2018 // A new law that enables corporate directors and officers owning at least 10 percent of a business to opt out of workers’ compensation coverage goes into effect on July 1. The law is intended to reduce the threshold of...
Don’t Let Time Run Out on Your Employer Clients
Jun 4 2018 // “Time is on my side. Yes it is.” — The Rolling Stones Time might be on Mick Jagger’s side. But if your client is an employer with 10 or more employees, then the question as to whether time is on its...
Workers’ Comp : Healthy Underwriting Gain, Premium Growth Blockage
Jun 4 2018 // Workers’ compensation insurers are managing their premiums dollars better than they have in years, but those premium dollars are stagnating even as employment and wages are rising. In 2017, for the fourth consecutive...
Workers’ Comp Superior Performers
Jun 4 2018 // The best workers’ compensation insurers have similar characteristics. A new study released by ACORD identified a few of those similarities, including that they pay their agency partners more than their rivals do as a...
