Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

Network Physician Use Increases in California Workers’ Comp Claims

May 11 2010 // Tthe percentage of medical services to injured workers delivered by network physicians jumped sharply immediately after Medical Provider Networks (MPNs) were introduced into the workers’ compensation system in 2005,...

Report: Workers’ Comp Combined Ratio Jumps; Results Suffer in 2009

May 11 2010 // As workers’ compensation premiums continued to decline in 2009, the combined ratio jumped nine points in 2009. According to recent report on the state of the workers’ comp market, the combined ratio rose to...

Workers’ Comp Drug Costs in Wisconsin 30% Lower Than Median

May 10 2010 // The cost per claim of prescription drugs used to treat injured workers in Wisconsin was significantly lower than in most study states, according to a new report by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The...

Calif. Insurance Guarantee Association Could Issue Bonds to 2013

May 10 2010 // The California Senate has passed a bill to extend extend from Jan. 1, 2011, to Jan. 1, 2013, the sunset date on the authority of the California Insurance Guarantee Association (CIGA) to issue revenue bonds to pay...

West Virginia Firefighters Angered by Workers’ Comp Increase

May 7 2010 // West Virginia volunteer fire departments are protesting an increase in workers’ compensation premiums charged by BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co. Tom Miller with the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department says his...

Louisiana Lawmakers Shelve Bill on Saints’ Workers’ Comp Issue

May 5 2010 // The Louisiana Legislature won’t be meddling any further this session in a workers’ compensation dispute between NFL players and the New Orleans Saints. The Saints had been pushing a bill to lessen its...

Safety National Names Csik Chief Financial Officer

May 4 2010 // Alternative market insurance provider, Safety National in St. Louis, Mo., has promoted Senior Vice President John Csik to the position of chief financial officer and treasurer. Csik takes over these positions from Duane...

Indiana Supreme Court Sides With Insureds in Farm Liability Dispute

May 4 2010 // The Indiana Supreme Court has found that an insurance company was wrong in denying coverage for injuries to an employee of an independent contractor under a farm personal liability policy. Indiana farmers Rick and Katrina...

Arizona Privatizing Workers’ Compensation Insurer

May 3 2010 // The Arizona Legislature has approved a bill that to privatize the state workers’ compensation insurer as an Arizona mutual insurance company, beginning Jan. 1, 2013. The State Compensation Fund (SCF) was created in...

Animal Workers in Peril

May 3 2010 // The Dangers of Working With Wild Animals In 2010, Dawn Brancheau, a trainer at SeaWorld in Orlando, Fla.,was grabbed by a killer whale as she stood in a wading area at the edge of his tank. Reports said she was grabbed by...

OSHA to 15,000 U.S. Employers: ‘Ready or Not, Here We Come’

May 3 2010 // In early March 2010, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) sent a letter to approximately 15,000 U.S. employers who had reported higher rates of and more severe workplace injuries than the national...

It Figures

May 3 2010 // $28.2 Million The Ohio Insurance Institute (OII) has reported that the amount of insured losses from a series of storms in February will be at least $28.2 million, with 12,173 claims filed so far across the state. Losses...

Georgia Close to Opening State Insolvency Pool for Workers’ Claims

May 3 2010 // Georgia lawmakers have voted to allow employers whose injured employees lost medical benefits when a major workers compensation carrier went under to buy into the state insolvency fund. Sponsored by Rep. Carl Rogers,...

May 3 2010 // 30 Terry Lisotta, former CEO of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. was sentenced to 30 months in prison for improperly spending more than $29,000 of the company’s money on lavish meals, trips, sports tickets...

Pennsylvania Exotic Dancer Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud

Apr 30 2010 // A Pennsylvania woman has been charged with workers’ comp fraud after authorities found her moonlighting as an exotic dancer while collecting benefits from a waitress job she claimed she couldn’t do. In 2007,...

Calif. Workers’ Comp Premiums Not Affected By Rating Formula Changes

Apr 29 2010 // A recent report by the Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California indicates that total statewide pur premium generated after application of 2010 workers’ compensation experience modifications has not...

Employers Direct Relaunched as PacificComp to Work With Independent Agents

Apr 28 2010 // Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Pacific Compensation Insurance Co. (PacificComp), formerly Employers Direct Insurance Co., has relaunched its business with a new name and transformation from a direct writer of workers’...

Michigan Injured Workers’ Drug Costs Lowest in Study

Apr 28 2010 // The cost per claim of prescription drugs used to treat injured workers in Michigan is the lowest among 16 states studied. According to the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), the average payment per claim for...

Georgia Firms Could Buy Into Insolvency Pool for Workers’ Claims

Apr 22 2010 // Georgia lawmakers have voted to allow employers whose injured employees lost medical benefits when a major workers compensation carrier went under to buy into the state insolvency fund. Sponsored by Rep. Carl Rogers,...

Oklahoma House Passes Workers’ Compensation Reform Measure

Apr 22 2010 // Legislation aimed at improving the state’s workers’ compensation system for injured workers and reducing costs for Oklahoma employers has passed the House of Representatives. Senate Bill 1973, by Rep. Dan...