workers’ compensation News

Meat Plant Workers Being Denied Workers’ Compensation for COVID-19: Reuters

Saul Sanchez died in April, one of six workers with fatal COVID-19 infections at meatpacker JBS USA’s slaughterhouse in Greeley, Colorado, the site of one of the earliest and deadliest coronavirus outbreaks at a U.S. meatpacking plant. Before getting sick, …

Iowa Beef Plant Fine After Coronavirus Outbreak: $957

Iowa regulators have issued their first citation to a meatpacking plant with a large coronavirus outbreak that sickened its workforce — a $957 fine for a minor record-keeping violation. The outbreak at the Iowa Premium Beef Plant in Tama in …

New York Drywall Installer Arrested for Failing to Provide Workers’ Comp Insurance

New York State Inspector General Letizia Tagliafierro has announced the arrest of a capital region area drywall installer who allegedly failed to provide legally required workers’ compensation insurance to his employees. Dennis R. Hammonds, 40, owner and operator of Hammonds …

Travelers Offers Artificial Intelligence for Companies to Assess Worker Safety

The Travelers Companies said it has started using artificial intelligence to offer business customers virtual and onsite ergonomic assessments. Travelers claims to be the first insurance carrier to provide the service. According to the insurer, the new offering combines AI-based …

NTSB: Loose Joint Caused Train Derailment that Killed Man in Texas

A loose, improperly fastened rail joint led to a 2017 derailment in a North Texas rail switching yard that killed a worker, the National Transportation Safety Board has found. A misaligned rail joint allowed the flange of a freight car …

Two Wounded in Connecticut Workplace Shooting, Suspect in Custody

A shooter opened fire and wounded two people outside a Connecticut business Tuesday and was taken into custody at gunpoint on a highway in Massachusetts, police said. Both victims were treated at a hospital and discharged. Authorities identified the alleged …

Purdue Report: 21 Work-Related Deaths on Indiana Farms in 2019

Indiana had 21 work-related deaths on farms deaths last year, the fewest number of documented cases since 2013, Purdue University announced on Sept. 22. Three of the victims were children under the age of 5, while 11 were 60 or …

California Farm Worker Arraigned for Alleged Workers’ Comp Fraud

Eduardo Medina Ruelas, 46, of Sanger, Calif., was arraigned this week on multiple counts of felony insurance fraud after allegedly defrauding his employer and RISICO Claims Management Co. to collect $38,000 in workers’ compensation insurance benefits and medical treatment he …

Coronavirus Safety: U.S. Behind Global Rivals in Protecting Meat Plant Workers

The U.S. government is falling behind global rivals when it comes to protecting meatpacking workers from Covid-19 infections, even though the nation’s plants were among the first to confront rampant cases across factories. In Germany, the government is ready to …

Kansas Supreme Court Weighs Guidelines for Compensating Injured Workers

The Kansas Supreme Court has waded into the fray over obscure medical guidelines that will determine how much money workers injured on the job can collect. Justices on Sept. 17 heard legal arguments on Zoom over which edition of the …