It Figures

$3 Million

The amount in underpaid benefits uncovered by an audit of Minnesota’s worker’s compensation system. The $3 million in underpaid claims represents less than 1 percent of overall benefits paid, but auditors recommended that the Department of Labor and Industry improve oversight to catch more of the errors by insurers.

$5,000

The current figure triggering the South Dakota law requiring disclosure of prior damage to an auto. The state Senate is considering a measure that would require disclosure only if the damage exceeds 40 percent of a car’s retail market value.

$1 Million

The minimum personal liability insurance that gun owners in Indiana would have to carry under a bill proposed by Rep. Kenneth Dunkin. Any person who owns a firearm in the state would have to buy insurance “specifically covering any damages resulting from negligent or willful acts involving the use of such firearm while it is owned by such person.” A gun owner would be responsible after a firearm is lost or stolen until the loss or theft is reported to authorities.

$157 Million

The amount that jurors in a Superior Court in Indiana awarded a Lafayette woman for her lawsuit against the makers of a tree stand that malfunctioned, resulting in her husband’s death. Carol Simonton’s husband was found hanging from a tree where he had been scouting for deer. Simonton’s attorney said he did not know how jurors reached the $157 million. No one representing the defendants — L & L Enterprises of Hattiesburg, Miss., Ol’ Man Tree Stands of Jay, Fla., and TSR Inc. of Pace, Fla. — showed up for the trial.

$500

The lowest threshold in a new deductible program approved by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. The program offers five deductible levels from $500 up to $10,000 per claim. The deductible program will be available to employers beginning July 1, 2009.

Topics Gun Liability