Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Report: Illinois Workers’ Comp Costs Per Claim Still High
Feb 2 2010 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim for medical care of injured workers in Illinois were among the highest of 15 study states one year after implementation of its first medical fee schedule effective 2006,...
Louisiana Comp Costs Per Claim 35% Higher than Most States
Jan 29 2010 // The costs per all paid workers’ compensation insurance claims in Louisiana averaged 35 percent higher than the typical study state, according to a Massachusetts-based research group that studies workers’...
Workers’ Comp Costs per Claim in Minnesota Lower than Most States
Jan 29 2010 // Workers’ compensation costs per claim for injured workers in Minnesota are among the lowest of 15 states, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The study by the Cambridge,...
2010 Will Challenge Calif. Insurance Agents, But Bright Spots Ahead
Jan 29 2010 // In 2009, independent insurance agents and brokers faced a “perfect storm” with the economic downturn, premiums at a fraction of what they used to be, and unemployment and home foreclosure rates up. But 2010 may...
Texas Workers’ Comp Medical Costs per Claim Stabilized
Jan 28 2010 // Medical costs per workers’ compensation claim in Texas were stable in 2007, following several years of dramatic decreases, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). The decline...
Agricultural Injuries Account for 5.5% of Calif. Workers’ Comp Claims
Jan 27 2010 // Agricultural claims cost the California workers’ compensation system $1.46 billion in loss payments, according to a recent “Industry Scorecard. According to the Scorecard, which provides data on accident year...
Kansas State Fair Wants to Opt Out of Workers’ Comp Pool
Jan 27 2010 // Kansas State Fair officials are asking the legislature to allow the fair to opt out of the state workers’ compensation insurance pool. Fair officials want to be able to buy insurance from a private company, but state...
Oregon Emergency Service Volunteers Entitled to Workers’ Comp Benefits
Jan 26 2010 // Emergency service volunteers that are injured while assisting with a state of emergency may be entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, according to the state Department of Consumer and Business...
Builders’ Lobby Sponsors Washington Workers’ Comp Initiative
Jan 25 2010 // A politically active construction-industry group wants voters to decide whether Washington’s workers’ compensation system should face private competition, a move opposed by organized labor and top Democratic...
Kentucky Supreme Court Curbs State Use of Private Agency Funds
Jan 25 2010 // In a case involving two workers’ compensation funds, the Kentucky Supreme Court has ruled that lawmakers and the governor cannot replenish the state’s general fund using monies from accounts with commingled...
Ohio Workers’ Comp Bureau Adds Options to Deductible Program
Jan 25 2010 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation (BWC) is expanding a deductible program put in place last year. The large deductible program will offer deductible levels between $25,000 and $200,000 and is intended to give...
Oklahoma Lawmaker Says Bill Will ‘Fast Forward’ Workers’ Comp Reform
Jan 25 2010 // Oklahoma state Rep. Lewis Moore, R-Edmond, says a bill he has filed combining health and workers’ compensation insurance coverage for employees will allow around-the-clock health coverage and “fast...
New Jersey Court: Coffee Break-Injury Gets Full Disability
Jan 25 2010 // A New Jersey plumber who was severely injured while driving to a coffee break can collect full workers’ compensation benefits, a Superior Court has ruled. The decision centers on injuries suffered by Jesse J. Cooper...
Workers’ Comp Reform High on Oklahoma GOP Legislative Agenda
Jan 24 2010 // Reforming Oklahoma’s workers’ compensation system will be among the top legislative goals for Republican lawmakers in 2010. GOP leaders in the state Senate and House of Representatives say overhaul of the...
Labor & Industries: Washington’s Workers’ Comp System Is Sound
Jan 24 2010 // Characterizations by a recent Washington State Auditor’s report on the state’s workers’ compensation insurance system has the state Department of Labor and Industries (L&I) worried that people will...
Economic Downturn Puts Pressure on Return-to-Work Programs
Jan 24 2010 // The recent recession and record unemployment rates have increased pressure on the workers’ compensation insurance system to help return injured employees back to work while effectively managing costs. That was one of...
Colorado Gov. Studies Workers’ Comp Insurer Sale
Jan 22 2010 // Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is meeting with an investment banker to study the possible sale of the state’s interest in Pinnacol Assurance, a state-chartered workers compensation insurer, his chief counsel said. Ritter...
Safety National Launches a New Large Casualty Program
Jan 22 2010 // St. Louis, Mo.-based excess workers’ compensation coverage provider Safety National has introduced a comprehensive large casualty program, which combines the company’s large deductible workers’...
Michigan Workers’ Compensation Claim Costs Among Lowest, Most Stable
Jan 21 2010 // Workers’ compensation total costs per claim in Michigan are among the lowest of 15 states, and the growth of these costs in Michigan over time has been more stable than in most other study states, according to a new...
Nevada Commissioner Approves Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease
Jan 21 2010 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Scott Kipper has approved a filing for an average decrease of 7.6 percent for workers’ compensation insurance voluntary loss costs and a 3.7 percent average decrease for workers’...
