Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Workers’ Comp Claims in Colorado’s Cannabis Industry Not as High as You Think
Apr 24 2019 // It’s a safe bet that there are a number of those among us who envision workers in the marijuana industry as mostly a bunch of mellow bud-blazers haphazardly performing the daily tasks of trimming, potting,...
California Workers’ Compensation Rating Bureau Issues Report on Opioids
Apr 24 2019 // The use of opioids has significantly and continuously declined in the California workers’ compensation system since 2012, a trend that may be leading to a shift in the patterns of medical treatments for...
California State Fund Launching Utilization Review Solution
Apr 23 2019 // California State Fund announced the rollout of a solution the worker’s comp carrier says will enable doctors to provide expedited care for injured workers. State Fund’s utilization review technology, called UR...
California Workers’ Comp Medical Dispute Resolution Letters Rose Last Year, Study Shows
Apr 22 2019 // After dipping for the first time ever in 2017, the number of workers’ comp medical dispute decision letters rose to an all-time high in 2018, according to a California Workers’ Compensation Institute study on...
Montana Passes Workers’ Compensation Law for Firefighters
Apr 22 2019 // Montana Gov. Steve Bullock has signed a bill to make it easier for firefighters to receive workers’ compensation for cancer and other occupational diseases. The bill signing ends a 20-year fight for...
New York Contractors Arrested in Workers’ Compensation Fraud Scheme
Apr 18 2019 // Two New York state contractors were arrested on charges they filed fraudulent applications for a roofing project in Amsterdam, N.Y., as part of a workers’ compensation fraud scheme. Jose A. Sanchez, owner of Sanchez...
Cal/OSHA Cites Manufacturer, Staffing Firm $300K for Amputation of Worker’s Fingers
Apr 16 2019 // Cal/OSHA has cited two employers more than $300,000 after a temporary worker lost two fingers cleaning machinery at a food manufacturing facility in Los Angeles, Calif. On Oct. 2, 2018, the employee for Priority Workforce...
Ohio Freight Hauler Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud, Must Repay $144K
Apr 16 2019 // The owner of a Mansfield, Ohio, freight hauling and trucking company convicted on four felony charges related to workers’ compensation fraud, has been ordered to pay the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation...
Ruling on Stabbing Prompts Calls for National Workplace Violence Prevention Standard
Apr 16 2019 // A federal commission decision that an employer had a duty to protect a social services worker who was stabbed to death by a client, even though the company did not violate any specific safety standard, reinvigorated...
California State Fund Reports Increase in Net Income in 2018
Apr 15 2019 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund reported an increase of net income and written premium in its just-released annual report for 2018. Financial highlights of the 2018 annual report include: Net income of...
Cal/OSHA Cites Contractor After Workers Hospitalized for Valley Fever
Apr 15 2019 // Cal/OSHA has issued serious health and safety citations to Underground Construction Co. Inc. of Benicia, Calif., after two of its employees contracted Valley Fever. The workers were reportedly exposed to the fungal disease...
AM Best Upgrades Issuer Credit Rating of Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurer Stonetrust
Apr 12 2019 // AM Best has upgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb+” from “bbb” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) of Stonetrust Commercial Insurance Co....
California Written Workers’ Comp Premium Down, Quarterly Report for Last Year Shows
Apr 11 2019 // California written premium for 2018 was 4 percent below 2017 and 6 percent below 2016 as recent declining premium rates have more than offset payroll growth, according to a report from the Workers’ Compensation...
California State Fund Launches Telehealth Services
Apr 11 2019 // California’s State Fund will now provide injured workers round-the-clock access physicians from a desktop computer, tablet or mobile phone. State Fund on Thursday announced its partnership with Kura MD, a provider of...
Two Texas Companies Charged in Separate Workers’ Comp Fraud Cases
Apr 11 2019 // Two Texas companies have been indicted by Travis County grand juries in separate cases involving alleged workers’ compensation premium fraud. The Texas Department of Insurance reported that Amer Haurani of Ambassador...
Louisiana Workers’ Comp Insurer Declares $51M Policyholder Dividend
Apr 10 2019 // Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based workers’ compensation mutual insurer, LWCC, will distribute a $51 million dividend for 2018 to more than 20,000 policyholders in mid-April. This amount represents one-fourth of the...
Progress Report on California Workers’ Comp Independent Bill Review
Apr 9 2019 // A progress report from the California Division of Workers’ Compensation on the state’s Independent Bill Review program shows seven of 10 decided cases resulted in additional payment for the provider. IBR is a...
Workers Injured at Texas Chemical Plant Damaged by Fire File Suit
Apr 8 2019 // A growing number of lawsuits are springing from the ashes at a Houston-area chemical plant that caught fire this week killing a worker. Two plant employees filed separate state suits Wednesday against KMCO LLC, claiming...
Morones Promoted to Director of Claims at CompWest
Apr 4 2019 // CompWest has promoted Lila Morones to director of Claims. Morones has been with the company for 11 years. She has 28 years of insurance industry experience. In addition to CompWest, Intercare Insurance, Morones has worked...
Loss-Cost Reduction for Workers’ Comp Insurance Approved in Pennsylvania
Apr 2 2019 // Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner Jessica Altman has approved a loss-cost filing, including a 12.95% reduction in loss-costs – a component in determining workers’ comp insurance rates paid by businesses. This...
