workers’ compensation News

Black Elk Energy Agrees to $4.2M Penalty Over Deadly Gulf Oil Platform Fire

An energy company pleaded guilty on May 12 to safety and environmental charges, agreeing to a $4.2 million penalty and avoiding manslaughter charges in connection with a 2012 offshore oil platform fire that killed three workers. Court documents show Houston-based …

Massachusetts Court Affirms How to Calculate Interest in Workers’ Comp Suit

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has affirmed the Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) reviewing board’s decision in a case involving how interest should be assessed on unpaid workers’ compensation claims. The DIA is responsible for overseeing the workers’ compensation system in …

California Division of Workers’ Compensation Suspends 4 Medical Providers

California’s Department of Industrial Relations and the Division of Workers’ Compensation has suspended four more medical providers from participating in California’s workers’ compensation system. The suspensions were made possible by the passage last year of Assembly Bill 1244, which requires …

Ohio Plant Fined $570K after Worker Loses Hand, Part of Arm

An auto parts maker in Ohio is being fined nearly $600,000 after a worker in Oregon, Ohio, lost his right hand and part of his arm in an industrial accident. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration says the accident …

OSHA: South Dakota Firm Ignored Safety Rules Before Deadly Building Collapse

A construction company that was remodeling a historic downtown Sioux Falls, S.D., building when it collapsed and killed a worker willfully ignored precautions, federal workplace safety officials allege. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration on April 30 issued two …

Louisiana’s Retailers Casualty Reports $1.7M Policyholder Dividend

Baton Rouge, La.-based Retailers Casualty Insurance Co., a workers’ comp insurer managed by Summit, has declared a $1.7 million policyholder dividend for the 2015 policy year. Retailers Casualty policies are available in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Each dividend is …

California DWC Posts Interim Report on Workers’ Comp Drug Formulary

California’s Division of Workers’ Compensation has posted the second interim status report on its efforts to promulgate regulations for an evidence-based workers’ compensation drug formulary. The regulations were as required by a law passed last year, Assembly Bill 1124. The …

Workers Injured at Facebook Construction Site in California

Authorities say work has halted at a Facebook building under construction after an equipment failure caused part of the structure to collapse, injuring two workers. KNTV reported two construction workers were injured after they fell about 40 feet while assembling …

Massachusetts Court Sides with Norfolk & Dedham in Personal Injury Suit

The Massachusetts Appeals Court has upheld a Superior Court decision that defendant, Norfolk & Dedham Mutual Fire Insurance Co., did not engage in unfair settlement practices in its handling of a personal injury claim. The court also reversed the portions …

Report Shows California Workers’ Comp Written Premium up in 2016

California’s Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau has completed its report on statewide workers’ comp insurer loss and premium experience through Dec. 31, 2016. The major findings of the WCIRB report include: California written premium for 2016 was roughly $18.1 billion, …