workers’ compensation News

California Lodge Owner Convicted Of Insurance Premium Fraud

Brookdale Lodge owner Sanjiv Kakkar, 52, was sentenced to 364 days in jail and three years of probation after pleading no contest for two felony counts including insurance premium fraud and failing to maintain workers’ compensation insurance. Kakkar paid restitution …

Ex-Texas Chemical Firm Exec Gets Prison for Worker Death

A federal judge has sentenced the former president of a Port Arthur, Texas, chemical company to one year in prison for occupational safety crimes that led to an employee’s death. Matthew Lawrence Bowman is the former president and owner of …

Study Tracks Latest Changes in N.Y. Workers’ Comp System After 2007 Reforms

The ongoing effects of workers’ compensation reforms enacted in New York in 2007 are monitored by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) in a new study that focuses on objectives that are being achieved, objectives that are not being met, …

Illinois Workers’ Compensation Medical Care Costs Declining: WCRI

The costs of medical care to treat injured workers in Illinois are declining, the result of regulatory change enacted in 2011, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The report, Benchmarks for Illinois, CompScope 14th …

Ferndale, Michigan Workers Lose 1,052 1/2 Pounds, Save Money

Ounce by ounce, 30 Ferndale, Mich., city workers began to change their lives one year ago. Today, they are 1,0521/2 pounds lighter, and they’re saving the city big bucks – an estimated $131,000 this year alone – in health care …

$32M In California To Fight Workers’ Comp Fraud

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones awarded $32 million in grants to district attorneys across 36 counties in the state to combat workers’ compensation fraud. The grants, funded through employer assessments, support law enforcement efforts in investigating and prosecuting workers’ compensation …

Florida Court Reverses Itself: 104-Week Limit on Temporary Benefits Constitutional

A Florida district court has overturned an earlier ruling that found a 104-week limit on an injured worker’s temporary benefits unconstitutional. The court ruled instead that the limit represents a legal deadline to determine an injured worker’s eligibility for permanent …

California Construction Firm Owner, Family Sentenced for WC Fraud

The owner of a Northern California construction company and his family members in were convicted of committing workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud. Jeffrey Thranow, 59, owner of Costa Bella Builders was convicted of committing workers’ compensation insurance premium fraud for …

Complaints Mounting Over Pennsylvania’s Online Workers’ Comp System

Complaints are mounting over Pennsylvania’s new, online system for filing appeals in workers’ compensation cases, with critics saying it often cannot upload documents and sometimes makes paperwork disappear. A state Department of Labor and Industry spokeswoman said Monday the agency …

Report: Louisiana Could Have More Than 2M Jobs in 2015

Growth in the Lake Charles and Baton Rouge, La., areas is expected to help boost employment in Louisiana to an all-time high of more than 2 million jobs in 2015 in spite of plodding national growth, a new report said. …