Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lower Bay Area Workers’ Comp Claims Costs: California Report
Jan 23 2017 // A new report shows that San Francisco Bay Area residents account for 17.5 percent of California job injury claims but only 15 percent of claim costs. The report by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute...
Cost of Most Serious Workplace Injuries Falls: Liberty Mutual
Jan 20 2017 // Workplace injuries and accidents that cause employees to miss six or more days of work cost U.S. employers $59.9 billion in 2014, the most recent year for which statistically valid injury data are available, according to...
Trade Group: Workers’ Comp Reform Among Key Issues for Illinois Insurers
Jan 19 2017 // Workers’ compensation, commercial insurance purchasing rules and auto insurance verification are among key challenges for insurers in Illinois legislative session, a national insurance trade organization...
Regulators: Texas Workers’ Comp Attorney Fees Go Up Jan. 30
Jan 19 2017 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) reported that the maximum hourly rates that may be charged by attorneys and legal assistants in the workers’ compensation system...
Comment Period on California Workers’ Comp Lien Claimant Rules Extended
Jan 19 2017 // California’s Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) has extended the public comment period for proposed rulemaking changes that require certain workers’ comp lien claimants to file a declaration that...
California Stays More than $1B in Liens Linked to Workers’ Comp Fraud Charges
Jan 19 2017 // California’s Department of Industrial Relations (DIR) has stayed more than 200,000 liens worth a combined claim value of more than $1 billion that are linked to 75 medical providers facing criminal fraud charges. The...
Oklahoma Company Fined More than $535K for Safety, Health Violations
Jan 18 2017 // An Oklahoma truck bed manufacturer was cited by federal safety officials for putting workers at risk and fined more than $500,000 after investigators identified multiple safety and health violations at the company’s...
Block Sworn in as Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court Judge
Jan 18 2017 // Dirk V. Block is the newest judge to serve on the bench of the Nebraska Workers’ Compensation Court. He was sworn in on Jan. 13. Gov. Pete Ricketts appointed Judge Block on Dec. 8, 2016. Block fills a vacancy left by...
Hearst Media Buys Work-Loss Data Institute
Jan 17 2017 // The giant media firm Hearst has acquired Work-Loss Data Institute (WLDI), a provider of healthcare data and guidelines to the workers’ compensation industry. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. WLDI will become...
California Workers’ Comp Division Names Whitcomb to Ethics Committee
Jan 13 2017 // Deborah A. Whitcomb, a workers’ compensation administrative law judge in Stockton, Calif., has been appointed to serve on the Workers’ Compensation Ethics Advisory Committee. Whitcomb was appointed by George...
MEMIC Group Hires Coy as Senior Director of Information Technology
Jan 12 2017 // Workers’ compensation specialist The MEMIC Group, headquartered in Portland, Maine, has announced the appointment of Matthew Coy to the position of senior director of information technology. In this role, he is...
Insurers Object to Workers’ Comp Reform Proposal in Illinois
Jan 11 2017 // Insurance industry lobbying groups are speaking out against a proposed amendment to an Illinois statute that would give insurance regulators in that state more control over workers’ compensation rates. Illinois House...
Illinois Roofing Contractor Barringer Fined Again for Fall Hazards
Jan 10 2017 // An Illinois roofing contractor has once again been cited and fined by federal safety officials for exposing workers to fall hazards. Proposed Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) penalties total...
Normandy Insurance Expands Workers’ Compensation Coverage to Georgia
Jan 10 2017 // Florida-based workers’ compensation carrier Normandy Insurance Co. has expanded its coverage into Georgia, bringing the total number of states it offers coverage to two. The company also writes coverage in...
California Report Shows Lower Bay Area Workers’ Comp Claims Costs
Jan 9 2017 // A report out today shows that San Francisco Bay Area residents account for 17.5 percent of California job injury claims but only 15. percent of claim costs. The report by the California Workers’ Compensation...
Oregon’s New Fall Protections Now 6′ And Up for Home Builders
Jan 9 2017 // A state regulation that took effect Jan. 1 requires Oregon construction contractors to make sure workers are protected from falls if work is done six or more feet above a surface. The Oregon Occupational Safety and Health...
Court Rules Florida Workers’ Comp Rate Hike to Remain, For Now
Jan 9 2017 // Florida’s workers’ compensation rate increase of 14.5 percent will remain in effect while a Florida appeals court reviews a legal challenge to the state’s recent ratemaking process. The First District...
Illinois Approves Large Workers’ Comp Deductible Rules
Jan 9 2017 // The Illinois Department of Insurance has posted in the Illinois Register a second notice of the approval by the Illinois Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (IJCAR) of rules concerning size limits on large deductibles...
Missouri Expects Another Decrease in Workers’ Comp Rates
Jan 9 2017 // Employers in Missouri should see a continued decrease in workers’ compensation insurance costs. The Missouri Department of Insurance is recommending a 4.6 percent decrease in workers’ comp insurance loss costs...
Midwest Regulation Report Card: States’ Grades Range from A to D
Jan 9 2017 // Grades assigned to the insurance regulatory systems in the Midwest states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin range from A to D in a...
