Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

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...

Zenith Affected by Declining Premium, Lower Investment Income

Apr 22 2010 // Zenith National Insurance Corp. based in Woodland Hils, Calif., has reported a net loss for the first quarter 2010 of $0.8 million, or $0.02 per share, compared to net income for the first quarter 2009 of $2.6 million, or...

Florida’s SUNZ Insurance Expands Workers’ Compensation to 5 States

Apr 21 2010 // SUNZ Insurance Co., a St. Petersburg, Florida-based insurer, has added five states to its coverage area for writing workers’ compensation policies. Known primarily for its presence in Florida, SUNZ said it is now...

Oklahoma Lawmaker Wants to Send Work Comp Claims to Civil Courts

Apr 21 2010 // Oklahoma State Rep. Ken Luttrell is proposing a complete overhaul of Oklahoma’s worker’s compensation system that would result in sending all workers’ compensation claims to district civil...

People

Apr 19 2010 // Central Insurance Companies of Van Wert, Ohio, announced the retirements of Michael E. Thompson and George J. Gress. Additionally, Central promoted Jana L. Ringwald to vice president of Commercial Underwriting for its...

Illinois Injured Worker Prescription Drug Costs Lower Than Study Median

Apr 19 2010 // The payment per claim for prescription drugs used to treat injured workers in Illinois was slightly lower than in most study states, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The...

Bill Targeting New Orleans Saints Workers’ Comp Issues Expanded

Apr 19 2010 // An attempt by the New Orleans Saints to lower its workers’ compensation costs for injured players has mushroomed into an issue that would apply to all businesses and employees in Louisiana. The Saints were pushing a...

West Virginia Doctor Probed Over Workers’ Compensation Prescriptions

Apr 19 2010 // Investigators have seized a small fortune from a Mingo County, West Virginia doctor in a case that parallels a previous raid of a Williamson pain clinic, court filings show. The U.S. District Court papers disclose that...