covid-19 workers compensation News

COVID-19 Can Be Occupational Disease, Colorado Court Says in Worker Death Case

For the first time, a Colorado appellate court has concluded that COVID-19 can be an occupational disease that is compensable under the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act. The Colorado Court of Appeals ruling came in a case in which Life Care …

Court Upholds Denial of Widow’s COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Death Claim

The widow of a man who died from COVID-19 has been denied workers’ compensation benefits because she failed to prove that the death was work-related. The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of New York on May 1 upheld the …

Study Traces COVID-19 Impact on New York Workers’ Compensation Claims

During the height of the pandemic, New York workers’ compensation indemnity payments increased while medical payments decreased. That’s according to a new report from the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) that found that indemnity benefits per claim grew 10% for …

Amazon Workers in New York City Win Partial Revival of COVID-19 Safety Lawsuit

Amazon.com Inc. must face a claim that it failed to protect New York City warehouse workers and their families from COVID-19, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Tuesday while dismissing the bulk of the workers’ 2020 lawsuit. The 2nd U.S. …

Berkshire’s Candymaker Must Face Worker’s Suit Over Husband’s COVID Death: California Court

A California candymaker must face a lawsuit by an employee who says she caught COVID-19 at work and gave it to her husband, resulting in his death, a state appeals court held on Tuesday, upholding what appeared to be the …

No Delays Found in Medical Care for Workers’ Compensation Claimants During COVID

Despite potential obstacles posed by the coronavirus pandemic, injured workers experienced no meaningful delays in access to medical treatment under their employers’ workers’ compensation programs during the pandemic. Research from the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) also shows that states …

Workers’ Compensation Should See Profit This Year But Maybe Not in 2021: Fitch

Despite the economic challenges from the coronavirus pandemic, the workers’ compensation insurance market is likely to report strong profitability in 2020 thanks to savings from lower claims frequency due that are currently outpacing pandemic-related losses, according to Fitch Ratings. However, …

Vast Majority of COVID-19 Workers’ Compensation Claims Are Small, Says NCCI

If COVID-19 behaves like other workers’ compensation lung and disease claims, about two out of 100 cases may result in some degree of permanent partial disability and one out of 2,000 may result in permanent total disability, according to a …