Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Virginia Police Officer Denied Workers’ Compensation Despite Statutory Presumption
Jan 30 2024 // A Virginia police officer has been denied workers’ compensation benefits for a heart condition despite the state law that his condition is presumed to be work-related. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation...
NCCI: Wage Growth Likely to Continue Workers Comp Payroll Growth
Jan 30 2024 // Despite a “significant slowdown” in job growth in 2023, a new National Council on Compensation Insurance briefing shared that “wage growth will likely continue to drive workers compensation payroll growth...
Three in Miami Charged with Workers’ Comp Payroll Fraud
Jan 30 2024 // Three Miami-area construction labor suppliers have been charged with underreporting payroll and shorting their workers’ compensation insurers more than $220,000 in premiums. Juana Ledezma and Luis Ledezma, associated...
Are Some Florida Workers’ Comp Judges Bending to the Political Winds on Fees?
Jan 29 2024 // Attorney fees in Florida workers’ compensation cases seem to be part of a story that will never end, and a state appeals court has added new life to the story with decisions that give support to both sides of the...
OSHA: Ohio Food Warehouse Exposed Workers to Ergonomic Hazards
Jan 26 2024 // Federal inspectors examining injury and illness records at a Fairfield food services warehouse found workers suffered severe injuries at nearly four times the average rate for their industry, with a high percentage of...
School Crossing Guard Beats City’s Bid to Stop Her Workers ‘ Compensation Benefits
Jan 25 2024 // The Virginia city of Chesapeake has lost its bid to deny workers’ compensation medical benefits to a school crossing guard who injured her wrist when she fell while keeping her eyes on children around her...
Tennessee Chalks Another Drop in Workers’ Comp Loss Costs
Jan 24 2024 // Workers’ compensation loss costs in Tennessee will drop an average of 9.4% for the voluntary market starting March 1, marking the 11th straight decrease for the state. The decrease follows declines of 10.2% in 2023...
New Jersey Expands Workers’ Compensation for First Responders
Jan 24 2024 // New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy recently signed into law a change in workers’ compensation coverage for volunteer and professional public safety and law enforcement personnel. The new law (A-5909/S-4267) amends current...
OSHA Fines Mississippi Poultry Plant $212,646 in Death of 16-year-old Worker
Jan 17 2024 // The Occupational Health and Safety Administration this week fined a Mississippi poultry processor $212,646 – an amount set by law – after a 16-year-old was pulled to his death inside a deboning machine last...
Texas Woman Sentenced for Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jan 17 2024 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company recently reported that a Travis County district court sentenced Ruth Castilleja of Baytown, Texas, on workers’ compensation fraud-related charges. Castilleja reported an on-the-job...
OSHA Announces Penalty Increases for 2024
Jan 16 2024 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said it is slightly raising civil penalty amount for 2024, effective Jan. 16. The Department of Labor’s OSHA said maximum penalties for serious and other-than-serious...
Indiana Bill Would Allow Employees to Select Physician in Workers’ Comp Cases
Jan 12 2024 // An Indiana lawmaker has proposed a bill that would allow employees to choose their attending physician in workers’ compensation cases. Rep. Charles Moseley, a Democrat, introduced House Bill 1246 this week, which...
Connecticut Extends PTSD Benefits to All Workers Under Workers’ Compensation
Jan 11 2024 // The new year brought with it an expansion of Connecticut’s workers’ compensation benefits with regard to post-traumatic stress injuries or disorders (PTSD). Prior to January 1, only first responders were...
NCCI: Shifting Workplace, Costs Are Top Concerns for Workers’ Comp Execs
Jan 10 2024 // A new survey finds ratings data, changes in the workplace and workforce, medical inflation and economic uncertainty are top of mind concerns for workers’ compensation insurance executives. The National Council on...
Iowa Supreme Court Upholds Decision to Bar Late Expert Reports in Workers’ Comp Case
Jan 8 2024 // The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday reinstated a deputy workers’ compensation commissioner’s decision to bar reports that were submitted too late by experts who weren’t certified, reversing decisions by the...
People Moves: Baum Named Chief Operating Officer of California Workers’ Comp Institute
Jan 4 2024 // The California Workers’ Compensation Institute named Gideon L. Baum chief operating officer. He will take over the role on Feb. 1. Baum most recently served as the vice president of policy at the California Hospital...
Medical Biller Charged With Stealing $1 Million in Workers’ Compensation Payments
Jan 4 2024 // New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the arrest and arraignment of a New Jersey man for allegedly stealing more than $1 million that was intended to be paid to doctors who provided medical care to injured...
‘Severe Violator’ Ohio Contractor Agrees to $730K OSHA Settlement
Jan 3 2024 // The U.S. Department of Labor has reached a settlement agreement to resolve litigation following a March 2022 investigation at a work site in Wheeling that resulted in a dozen citations issued against an Ohio-based...
Louisiana Workers’ Comp Rates to Fall by 9% in 2024
Jan 2 2024 // Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon has approved a 9% reduction in workers’ compensation rates for 2024. The decrease will take effect in May 2024. Louisiana has seen workers’ compensation rates fall...
Georgia Man Charged with Depriving Liberty Mutual of $9M in Workers’ Comp Premiums
Jan 2 2024 // Georgia authorities last week announced the arrest of a contractor charged with underreporting payroll and defrauding Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. of more than $9 million in premiums. Jose Martinez, 56, of Grayson, was...
