Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Brokers Assess Current Construction Insurance Market: Thumbs Up

Jul 29 2016 // Amid ups and downs, the construction market has nevertheless enjoyed steady growth over the past four years. Now construction insurance specialists believe the market is really heating up. The competition has carriers...

CastlePoint National Conserved by California Regulator to Protect Policyholders

Jul 29 2016 // CastlePoint National Insurance Co., the sole remaining carrier member of the Tower Group, was placed into conservation on Thursday by order of the San Francisco Superior Court to protect policyholders and injured workers...

Florida Business Owner Accused of Stealing $1M in Workers’ Comp Scheme

Jul 29 2016 // Owner of a Fort Myers, Fla., staffing and payroll services firm was arrested in mid-July over the alleged theft of more than $1 million, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater and the Department...

Oklahoma High Court: Workers’ Comp Icy Sidewalk ‘Slip and Fall’ Claim Compensable

Jul 25 2016 // The Oklahoma Supreme Court reversed the decision of an Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission administrative law judge and ruled that a workers’ comp claim for a slip and fall on an icy sidewalk next to an...

Workers’ Comp Disability Guidelines Withdrawn from Guidelines.gov

Jul 25 2016 // The Work Loss Data Institute (WLDI) has withdrawn its Official Disability Guidelines from the National Guideline Clearinghouse, a public resource for evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, operated by the U.S....

Oklahoma Labor Department: OSHA Penalties to Rise Aug. 1

Jul 25 2016 // The Oklahoma Department of Labor is warning businesses in that state that civil penalty amounts assessed by federal safety regulators for workplace safety violations are going up beginning Aug. 1. The Oklahoma DOL says...

Navigating California’s High Workers’ Comp Rates and Excessive Lawsuits

Jul 25 2016 // California employers routinely pay the highest insurance rates for workers’ compensation in the country. The increasing rates are due to several factors including rising medical costs and an aging workforce. In this...

California Workers’ Comp is Biased Against Women, Suit States

Jul 25 2016 // California’s workers’ compensation system discriminates against women by judging benefits on the basis of stereotypes and ignoring harm done to women — such as refusing permanent benefits when a woman...

South Carolina Workers’ Comp Loss Costs Going Up, New Filing Requirements Take Effect

Jul 25 2016 // New requirements regarding the implementation of changes in workers’ compensation loss costs have been passed by the South Carolina Legislature, and the insurance department is reminding insurers to ensure they...

OSHA, State Probe New York’s Latest Crane Collapse

Jul 24 2016 // State and federal officials are investigating what caused a huge construction crane to collapse across the Tappan Zee Bridge north of New York City, an accident that somehow caused no serious injuries but added to a list...

Texas Air Liquide Plant Cited for Workplace Safety Violations

Jul 22 2016 // Federal safety officials have cited Air Liquide Large Industries US LP for workplace health and safety violations at the company’s plant in Corpus Christi, Texas. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational...

Texas Regulators Recognize Chaparral Industries for Safety Programs

Jul 21 2016 // The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation recognized Chaparral Industries for exemplary workplace safety programs and low rates of work-related injuries and illnesses at its Odessa facility. Director of Workplace...

New York Workers’ Compensation Loss Costs Going Up Oct. 1

Jul 21 2016 // New York has approved a 9.3 percent average hike in workers’ compensation loss costs. The new benchmarks will go into effect Oct. 1. New York businesses, while not pleased, see the hike as necessary in order to keep...

South Carolina Workers’ Comp Loss Costs Going Up, New Filing Requirements Take Effect

Jul 21 2016 // New requirements regarding the implementation of changes in workers’ compensation loss costs have been passed by the South Carolina Legislature, and the insurance department is reminding insurers to ensure they...

Judge Tells Washington Woman to Repay $25K in Workers’ Comp Scam

Jul 20 2016 // A Washington woman injured in a robbery at her workplace pleaded guilty this week to felony theft. Yurizan Cuevas, 33, of Federal Way, reportedly worked full time as a nanny while claiming she was too disabled to...

WorkCompCentral Founder DePaolo Remembered as ‘Innovative Thinker’

Jul 19 2016 // The founder of WorkCompCentral died on Sunday in a motorcycle crash, according to employees reporting on the website. David DePaolo, 56, was reportedly in the Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu Hills, Calif. in the...

Massachusetts Lowers Employer Assessment for Workers’ Compensation

Jul 19 2016 // The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) reduced the assessment that private employers pay to the state on workers’ compensation policies to 5.6 percent of the policy premium for the new fiscal...

Workers’ Comp Line Achieves ‘Significant’ Profit in 2015: Fitch

Jul 18 2016 // The U.S. workers’ compensation insurance market achieved a “significant” underwriting profit in 2015, but trends call into question whether such a result can be repeated, Fitch Ratings concluded in a new...

Illinois Emergency Medical Service Provider Fined $290K for Workplace Hazards

Jul 14 2016 // Federal safety and health investigators have cited Altamont Ambulance Service Inc. in Fairview Heights, Ill., for workplace safety and health violations and find the company $290,100. The federal Occupational Safety and...

Oklahoma Labor Department: OSHA Penalties Rising Aug. 1

Jul 13 2016 // The Oklahoma Department of Labor is warning businesses in that state that civil penalty amounts assessed by federal safety regulators for workplace safety violations are going up beginning Aug. 1. The Oklahoma DOL says...