workers’ compensation News

California Claims Adjuster and Chiropractor Arrested in $1.6M Operation

Claims adjuster, Agop Sarafian, 65, of La Crescenta, Calif., and chiropractor, Shahe Topjian, D.C. 65, of Granada Hills, Calif., were arrested on felony insurance fraud charges after allegedly conspiring to defraud Sarafian’s employer, the State Compensation Insurance Fund, by setting …

City of Baltimore to Compensate Family of Officer Shot Before Testimony

The city of Baltimore has agreed to pay workers compensation benefits to the family of a police detective who was fatally shot in the head a day before he was scheduled to testify before a grand jury investigating police corruption. …

How Auto Workers Are Keeping Factories Running and Masks On

When the coronavirus pandemic slammed the United States in March, the Detroit Three automakers shut their plants and brought their North American vehicle production to an unprecedented cold stop. Now, four months after a slow and sometimes bumpy restart in …

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, …

AccuRisk, Convex Expand Occupational Insurance for Texas Nonsubscribers

AccuRisk Solutions has teamed up with Convex Group to offer occupational accident and employer’s liability coverage to Texas employers that have opted out of workers’ compensation. AccuRisk254 is available in all Texas counties. AccuRisk said the partnership allows it to …

Oregon Contractor Fined for Multiple Job Safety Violations

Oregon OSHA has fined a general contractor in Roseburg more than $38,000 for multiple serious job safety violations, including repeatedly failing to follow the minimum requirements to protect workers from fall hazards that could reportedly kill them. The division cited …

Amazon Injuries Could Spark Higher Workers’ Comp Rates for Fulfillment Centers

Injuries in Amazon.com Inc. warehouses could damage more than just the company’s reputation. They could start to hurt the e-commerce giant’s bottom line, as well. Washington state’s workplace safety regulator says workers in Amazon’s highly automated warehouses are injured at …

Report: Few Virus Cases in Working Age Californians Result in Comp Claims

Only one-in-14 COVID-19 cases involving working-age Californians from May through September of 2020 has been claimed as a job injury, while only 1-in-25 COVID-19 deaths among working age individuals has been claimed to be work-related according to a new California …

Washington Developing Wildfire Smoke Worker-Safety Rules

The Washington Department of Labor & Industries is developing new workplace safety and health rules regarding wildfire smoke. The L&I announced the move this week in response to an increasing number of acres burned by wildfires in the state each …

California Trucking Firm Owners Charged in Alleged $450K Workers’ Comp Fraud

Trucking company owners Hardip Singh, 44, and Amandeep Kaur, 36, were charged this week with multiple counts of insurance fraud after allegedly misclassifying employees as independent contractors in a scheme to underreport payroll by more than $1.4 million, resulting in …