Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Texas Company Cited After Employee Fatalities; Fined Nearly $500K
Jul 14 2020 // A company in Pasadena, Texas, has been cited by federal officials and faces penalties of almost $500,000 for exposing employees to confined space hazards after two workers died. The U.S. Department of Labor’s...
Next Showdown in Congress: Protecting Workers vs. Protecting Employers in Pandemic
Jul 14 2020 // Congressional leaders are squaring off over the next pandemic relief bill in a debate over whom Congress should step up to protect: front-line workers seeking more safeguards from the ravages of COVID-19 or beleaguered...
Former Owner of Cleaning Company Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jul 14 2020 // The former owner of a Massachusetts cleaning company has been charged with wage theft and workers’ compensation insurance fraud, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha announced. Marcello Pompa, of Saugus,...
California Workers’ Comp Self-Insured Claims Flat in 2019, But Incurred Losses Rose $35M
Jul 13 2020 // California workers’ compensation private self-insured claim frequency was relatively stable in 2019 as the incidence of medical-only and lost-time claims registered only marginal declines after increasing in 2017 and...
P/C Insurance Survey: 55% Back Worker Presumption; 54% See Interrupt Cases Failing
Jul 13 2020 // A slight majority (54%) of property /casualty insurance industry professionals think insurers will succeed in defeating legal and political attempts to force them to pay business interruption claims from the coronavirus...
Essential Workers With COVID-19 Face Workers’ Compensation Uncertainty
Jul 13 2020 // Lauded for their service and hailed as everyday heroes, essential workers who get the coronavirus on the job have no guarantee in most states they’ll qualify for workers’ compensation to cover lost wages and...
Illinois Candy Company Fined $485K for Workplace Injuries
Jul 9 2020 // A Chicago-area candy company has been fined nearly $500,000 for workplace injuries, including a fingertip amputation, federal regulators said. The incidents occurred at Ferrara Candy in Bellwood, Ill. An employee lost a...
Worker Injured at Construction Site Can Sue Under Massachusetts’ Statute of Limitations
Jul 8 2020 // A worker injured at a Massachusetts construction site can sue under the state’s three-year statute of limitations despite being a resident of Connecticut, a Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled. The decision...
Injured Workers Pharmacy Will Pay $11M to Settle Complaint By Mass. AG’s Office
Jul 6 2020 // A mail-order pharmacy that fought frequent court battles against workers’ compensation insurers will pay $11 million and change its business practices to settle a civil complaint by the Massachusetts attorney...
Houston Pharmacist Gets 10 Years in $21M Workers’ Comp Fraud Case
Jul 6 2020 // A Houston pharmacist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a $21 million workers’ compensation fraud case. George Philip Tompkins, 75, the self-proclaimed “Compound King” and former owner of Piney...
California Workers’ Comp Direct Written Premium Continued to Fall Last Year, Report Shows
Jul 6 2020 // California workers’ compensation total direct written premium continued to decline in 2019, falling 7.0% to a five-year low of $11.42 billion, as nine out of the state’s 10 largest insurer groups wrote less...
Texas Work Comp Division: Healthcare Providers Indicted for Drug Distribution, Fraud
Jul 2 2020 // Three Texas healthcare providers will face trial for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and mail fraud, according to the Texas Department of Insurance – Division of Workers’ Compensation. On June...
Missouri Contractor Fined $224K after Trench Collapse, Employee Injuries
Jun 30 2020 // A Missouri contractor has been cited by federal workplace safety officials for trenching and excavation violations after an employee suffered severe injuries when a 20-foot trench collapsed during excavation of Creve Coeur...
California Workers’ Comp Bureau Paid $4.6B Medical, $3.8B Indemnity Losses in 2019
Jun 30 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California has released its report on workers’ comp losses and expenses for 2019. Findings in the WCIRB report, 2019 California Workers’ Compensation...
Houston Pharmacist, Wife Sentenced in $21M Workers’ Comp Fraud Case
Jun 29 2020 // A Houston pharmacist has been sentenced to 10 years in prison in a $21 million workers’ compensation fraud case. George Philip Tompkins, 75, the self-proclaimed “Compound King” and former owner of Piney...
California Adopts Workplace Safety Standards Protecting Nighttime Ag Workers
Jun 26 2020 // California has adopted new workplace safety standards to protect agricultural employees who work at night. These are reportedly the first lighting standards in the nation written specifically to protect agricultural...
Iowa Lawmakers Dispute Finding of No Violations at Tyson Plant Despite Deaths
Jun 25 2020 // Iowa’s workplace safety agency says an inspection did not uncover any violations at Tyson Foods’ largest pork processing plant, where several employees died after contracting the coronavirus. The Iowa...
California Workers’ Comp Classification Inspection Report Expanded for Agents
Jun 23 2020 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California is expanding its Special Inspection Report program to allow agents and brokers to request a WCIRB physical inspection of their clients’ California...
North Carolina Electric Distributor Cited for Safety Hazards at Florida Worksite
Jun 23 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Florida Progress LLC, operating as Duke Energy Florida LLC, for exposing employees to excavation hazards at a Zephyrhills,...
There’s Plenty of Room for Improvement in U.S. Commercial Lines: Fitch
Jun 22 2020 // With an industry overall combined ratio for 2019 hovering just below 100, and individual lines like long-tail liability moving 10 points over breakeven, the U.S. commercial lines market has “plenty of room for...
