Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
People
Jul 19 2010 // Paulette Lundy has been promoted to vice president of Human Resources for Maryland’s Injured Worker Insurance Fund (IWIF), a workers’ compensation insurer. She previously served as director of human resources...
Colen Joins Keenan & Associates as Senior Vice President
Jul 19 2010 // Keenan & Associates, a privately held brokerage and consulting firm in Torrance, Calif., announced that Bernard Colen has joined the company as senior vice president in the public agencies property/casualty...
Former North Dakota Work Comp Director’s Appeal Denied
Jul 19 2010 // North Dakota’s Supreme Court has upheld the felony conviction of former state workers’ compensation director Sandy Blunt, though the decision was not unanimous. Blunt appealed his December 2008 conviction on...
Conviction of Adviser Upheld in Fraud of Ohio Work Comp Agency
Jul 16 2010 // A federal appeals court has refused to allow a new trial for an investment adviser serving 12 years in the loss of $216 million at the state agency for injured workers. The three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court...
Mining Firms Complain Democrats’ Safety Bill Too Harsh
Jul 15 2010 // The nation’s top mine safety official urged quick passage this week of a bill that would crack down on mines with safety problems, despite industry complaints that the legislation is too punitive. Mine Safety and...
Washington Workers’ Comp Initiative Qualifies for Ballot
Jul 15 2010 // An initiative to eliminate Washington’s workers’ compensation insurance monopoly and allow private insurers to offer coverage for workplace injuries has qualified for the November ballot. Secretary of State Sam...
Markel to Acquire Workers’ Compensation Insurer FirstComp
Jul 15 2010 // Specialty insurer Markel Corp., has struck a deal worth at least $135 million to acquire Aspen Holdings, which sells workers’ compensation under the name FirstComp to small businesses in 31 states. Aspen, which is...
Zurich, Artex Expand Workers’ Comp to Temporary Staffing Firms
Jul 13 2010 // Zurich has expanded its relationship with program administrator Artex Risk Solutions, Inc. to offer workers’ compensation insurance to temporary staffing companies, focusing on clerical, professional, medical...
Self-Employed Contractor Cannot Hold Hirer Vicariously Liable for Job Injuries
Jul 12 2010 // Property owners who hire independent contractors are not vicariously liable for on-the-job injuries to the contractor’s employees, the California Supreme Court has ruled. The state high court extended the decision in...
OSHA Offers Quick Access to Whistleblower Protection Information
Jul 12 2010 // Workers who “blow the whistle” on prohibited or unlawful practices in the workplace as well as safety and health discrimination play an important role in assuring compliance with federal laws, according to the...
Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner Appoints New Medical Advisor
Jul 12 2010 // Dr. Donald Patrick will join the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation as the medical advisor effective July 12, 2010. Dr. Patrick served as the executive director of the Texas Medical...
Imperial Sugar to Pay $4 Million Fine for Deadly Georgia Blast
Jul 9 2010 // Imperial Sugar has agreed to pay more than $4 million in fines for safety violations at its Georgia refinery where a dust explosion killed 14 workers in 2008, federal regulators said. The settlement with the U.S....
New York Workers’ Compensation Fund Premium, Accounts Down
Jul 7 2010 // For 2009, the New York State Insurance Fund reported workers’ compensation premium of $1.31 billion and disability benefits premium of $16.6 million. The competitive fund wrote 41 percent of the state’s...
Colen Joins Keenan & Associates as Senior VP
Jul 7 2010 // Keenan & Associates,a privately held brokerage and consulting firm based in Torrance, Calif., announced that Bernard Colen has joined the company as senior vice president in the public agencies property/casualty...
UPMC WorkPartners Offers Workers’ Compensation in Pennsylvania
Jul 7 2010 // UPMC WorkPartners, part of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, has announced a new workers’ compensation product line offering dollar one coverage for Pennsylvania companies. “Health care reform is...
Pratt Joins NSM Insurance in Pennsylvania
Jul 7 2010 // Geoff Pratt is joining NSM Insurance Group as director of Workers’ Compensation Programs. Pratt brings 23 years of underwriting and risk management experience in monoline workers compensation. He last served as vice...
Some Question Campaign Run by Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Judge
Jul 7 2010 // The presiding judge of the Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Court has created a furor by choosing to retain his post while running for a job as an Oklahoma County district judge. Some attorneys say Judge Kent Eldridge...
Midlands to Provide Work Comp Program for Oklahoma Restaurants
Jul 6 2010 // Oklahoma City-based Midlands Management Corp. announced it has been selected as the endorsed workers’ compensation program provider for members of the Oklahoma Restaurant Association (ORA). In choosing Midlands as...
Liberty Mutual Wins Dismissal of Workers’ Comp Claim for Injured Massachusetts Carpenter
Jul 5 2010 // Judge: Endorsement Must Be Requested by Insured Liberty Mutual was right to deny workers’ comp benefits for a self-employed carpenter who severely injured his hand, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled. The...
Oklahoma Placing Pegasus Insurance into Rehabilitation
Jul 5 2010 // A district court judge has authorized Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner Kim Holland to place Pegasus Insurance Co. into rehabilita-tion. Pegasus specializes in workers’ compensation for professional employer...
