Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Berkshire Insurance Units Slump in Q2
Aug 10 2015 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. posted second-quarter profit that missed analysts’ estimates because of higher claims costs at insurance units including Geico. Net income dropped 37 percent to $4.01...
Court Decision May Impact Workers’ Comp Side Agreements in California
Aug 7 2015 // A recent court decision may have the potential to change the practice of side agreements in workers’ compensation policies California, a practice that some say often goes on under the regulatory radar. Zurich...
OSHA: 33 Injured in Missouri Aluminum Plant Explosion
Aug 6 2015 // Preliminary investigations indicate molten aluminum hitting water caused explosions that injured more than 30 employees at a southeast Missouri aluminum plant, a federal agency said. The U.S. Department of Labor’s...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Premiums Growing at Double-Digit Rates
Aug 5 2015 // Workers’ compensation premiums in California continue to grow at double-digit rates, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau. The WCIRB recently released its “State of the...
NCCI Proposes Decrease for Workers’ Comp Loss Costs in Maryland
Aug 4 2015 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) recently delivered a workers’ compensation loss cost filing to the Maryland Insurance Administration. NCCI stated in its July 28 filing that based on its review...
PURE Introduces Domestic Staff Workers’ Comp Coverage for Florida Members
Aug 4 2015 // Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange (PURE), the policyholder-owned property and casualty insurer of high net worth individuals and families, has introduced Domestic Workers’ Compensation Insurance for members...
West Virginia to See Decrease in Workers’ Comp Premiums
Aug 3 2015 // Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin says employers in the state will see an estimated $43 million reduction in workers’ compensation premiums in the coming year. Tomblin says employers have saved more than $323 million since the...
Report on California Workers’ Comp Reforms Touts Successes
Aug 3 2015 // The Department of Industrial Relations and its Division of Workers’ Compensation have released a report on progress implementing California’s workers’ compensation reforms. The report details increased...
SASSI Expands Workers’ Comp Program Into Additional States
Jul 31 2015 // SASSI, the Salon and Spa Specialty Insurance agency, has added an additional market for its workers’ compensation insurance program, enabling the agency to write this coverage in additional states. The program is...
Texas Company Fined $112K for Safety Violations at Energy Facility
Jul 31 2015 // The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited Southcross Energy Partners GP LLC for seven safety violations at its cryogenic natural gas processing facility in Gregory, Texas. Safety officials have...
Texas Approves 12 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp
Jul 30 2015 // The Texas Department of Insurance’s Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) renewed approval for 12 employers to self-insure workers’ compensation claims. Together, the companies employ about 45,000...
Louisiana-Based Workers’ Comp Insurer Expands Into Texas
Jul 30 2015 // LUBA Workers’ Comp, based in Baton Rouge, La., is now offering workers’ compensation insurance coverage to businesses in Texas. LUBA Workers’ Comp covers businesses in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi...
Texas Company Fined $424K for Trench Collapse
Jul 29 2015 // One minute he was working in the 8-foot trench below ground. The next, he was being buried in it. His co-workers came to his rescue, digging him out with their bare hands. Moments after they pulled the injured man to...
Report on California Workers’ Comp Reforms Touts Successes
Jul 23 2015 // The Department of Industrial Relations and its Division of Workers’ Compensation have released a report on progress implementing California’s workers’ compensation reforms. The report details increased...
New Mexico Court Favors Worker in Medical Marijuana Case
Jul 20 2015 // The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that a patient in the state’s medical marijuana program who was injured on the job must be reimbursed by an employer for the expense of marijuana used for treatment. The...
Small Number Causing California Workers’ Comp Review Excess
Jul 20 2015 // A small number of physicians are responsible for a large portion of the independent medical review of workers’ compensation cases in California, a process that could be costing payers in excess of $100 million, a...
Why Back Surgery Rates Vary by Location
Jul 20 2015 // The probability of injured workers getting back surgery depends on the area of the country in which they seek treatment for their back pain. According to a Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) study, “Why...
Missing Word Leads to Reversal of Employee-Favorable Ruling in Nebraska
Jul 20 2015 // The omission of one word in a workers’ compensation court ruling favoring a co-op employee hurt during a company party led the Nebraska Supreme Court to reverse the ruling on July 10. The case stems from a 2010...
Opioid Abuse Rises in Construction, Manufacturing Sectors: CNA
Jul 20 2015 // CNA recently issued two new reports that examine the growing prescription opioid abuse epidemic and its effect on the U.S. workforce, focusing on the construction and manufacturing industries, which are particularly at...
Massachusetts Lowers Work Comp Assessment Rate
Jul 20 2015 // The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) reduced the assessment that private employers pay to the state on workers’ compensation policies to 5.75 percent of the policy premium for the new fiscal...
