Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

FIC Says Irresponsible Workers’ Compensation Rate Reductions Could Reverse Reform Progress

Oct 18 2005 // The Florida Insurance Council, (FIC) is warning regulators against steep, politically-motivated cuts in workers’ compensation insurance rates. FIC said the reforms resulting from the massive workers’ comp bill...

Hawaii Insurance Division Approves 18.2 Percent Workers’ Comp Decrease

Oct 18 2005 // The state of Hawaii Insurance Division has approved an 18.2 percent decrease in the cost of workers’ compensation claims, which likely will lower premiums for Hawaii companies beginning Jan. 1. According to the...

Gubernatorial Hopefuls in New York: Spitzer vs. Weld

Oct 17 2005 // Part 2: Spitzer Stresses Enforcement as Key to Fair Competition New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has made a name for himself exposing fraudulent and anti-competitive business practices in the securities, mutual fund...

WORKERS’ COMP CUT WEIGHED:

Oct 17 2005 // Workers’ compensation carriers have filed for a slight 2.3 percent reduction in loss costs in Rhode Island beginning in January. The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation has scheduled a hearing for Nov. 16...

WCIRB Survey Indicates California Workers’ Comp Reform is Working

Oct 17 2005 // State workers’ compensation claims and disability costs have dropped significantly since California’s workers’ compensation system was overhauled in 2003 and 2004, according to the Workers’...

Man Fined For Workers’ Comp Fraud

Oct 17 2005 // A San Diego County Superior Court judge has sentenced Kevin Vint, 50, of Del Mar, Calif., to three years formal probation for conspiracy to commit workers’ compensation insurance fraud and payroll tax evasion. Vint...

OSHA, HOME BUILDERS ASSOCIATION SIGN HOME SAFE PARTNERSHIP

Oct 17 2005 // A partnership between the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the Home Builders Association (HBA) of Metro Denver will reportedly identify and abate home construction site hazards and prevent hazards...

Gubernatorial Hopefuls in New York: Spitzer vs. Weld

Oct 17 2005 // New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has made a name for himself exposing fraudulent and anti-competitive business practices in the securities, mutual fund and insurance industries. Now he is running for governor in New...

Oct 17 2005 // Willis Group Holdings has appointed Vincent D. Liotta as executive vice president and production director of the Willis Re U.S. Specialty Practice. Earlier this year Willis Re merged its Global Marine, Aviation, Retro and...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // MASSACHUSETTS All Signs Point Down: Massachusetts auto rates will be going down in 2006, although by how much is not yet known. Insurance Commissioner Julianne Bowler received her third recommendation, this one calling for...

OSHA Hits Mo. Manufacturer with $159,000 Fine

Oct 17 2005 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued citations to Industrial Steel Fabrication Inc., Hazelwood, Mo., proposing penalties totaling $159,200 for alleged failure...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // OHIO Hospital Group Sues WC Bureau: The Ohio Hospital Association and a member hospital sued the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation in September on claims the state did not follow legal processes for a $50 million...

California Workers’ Comp Overhaul Sets Stage for Nationwide Reforms

Oct 17 2005 // The broad reforms in California’s workers’ compensation system serve as an example for the nation, as employers and insurers in the state are getting sizeable financial relief from runaway workers’...

Managing Co-Owner Dismissed

Oct 17 2005 // Man Fined For Workers’ Comp Fraud A San Diego County Superior Court judge has sentenced Kevin Vint, 50, of Del Mar, Calif., to three years formal probation for conspiracy to commit workers’ compensation...

WCIRB Survey Indicates California Workers’ Comp Reform is Working

Oct 17 2005 // State workers’ compensation claims and disability costs have dropped significantly since California’s workers’ compensation system was overhauled in 2003 and 2004, according to the Workers’...

News Briefs

Oct 17 2005 // California Judge throws out $700 million jury award in Executive Life Suit A federal judge has thrown out a $700 million (euro586 million) award for punitive damages won by the state of California in a lawsuit stemming...

N.C. Former Panthers Players Score Touchdown In Workers’ Comp Court

Oct 14 2005 // A handful of former Carolina Panthers players who were injured playing football have won their cases before the North Carolina Court of Appeals and one before the North Carolina Supreme Court. Jim Lore, a Raleigh attorney...

W.Va. School Bus Driver Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Workers’ Comp Fraud

Oct 13 2005 // Terry Lee Villers of Wirt County, W.Va. has pleaded guilty in Kanawha County Circuit Court of two felony counts of workers’ compensation fraud. According to Insurance Commissioner Janet L. Cline, Villers knowingly...

W.Va. Indicts Employer, Employee for Workers’ Compensation Fraud

Oct 12 2005 // West Virginia Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline, announced one employer, Brett A. Starr was indicted last month by a Kanawha County Grand Jury on the felony offense of Workers’ Compensation Fraud. At the same...

ICT Workers’ Comp Seminars Set for Austin and Dallas

Oct 12 2005 // The Insurance Council of Texas announced it will present its 2005 Workers’ Compensation Seminars in Austin on Nov. 10 and in Dallas on Nov. 15. Brian C. Newby, Gov. Rick Perry’s general counsel will be the...