Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Health Care Reform To Have Major Impact on Workers’ Compensation
Dec 16 2009 // Workers’ compensation insurers and actuaries need to prepare for upcoming changes arising from proposed healthcare reform and the shifting medical landscape, attendees of the Casualty Actuarial Society (CAS) annual...
Texas Court Allows $70M Judgment in Workers’ Comp Case to Stand
Dec 16 2009 // A Texas court in San Antonio has affirmed the jury award of $70 million plus interest in a workers’ compensation case brought against Discover Property & Casualty Insurance Company, a St. Paul Travelers...
Colorado Blog Calls Attention to Workers’ Comp Depression
Dec 15 2009 // Workers’ compensation treatment often overlooks addressing the mental and emotional consequences of an injury that keeps one out of work, the Colorado Workers’ Comp Blog says. The blog is calling attention to...
Mass. Court: Teacher On School Ski Trip Due Workers’ Compensation
Dec 14 2009 // A Massachusetts teacher injured while voluntarily chaperoning students on a ski trip is entitled to workers compensation benefits, the state’s highest court has ruled. On a Peabody High School ski club trip, Karen...
New York Officials Sue Workers’ Compensation Trust Manager CRM
Dec 11 2009 // Insurance administrator CRM Holdings is being sued for $405 million by New York’s workers compensation board and faces a separate $150 million lawsuit by the state attorney general over its alleged fraud in the...
Supreme Court Refuses Michigan Workers’ Comp Racketeering Suit
Dec 10 2009 // Workers’ compensation litigation arising out of Michigan and involving claims of federal racketeering violations is headed back to lower courts for trial after the U.S. Supreme Court declined to consider it. The U.S....
California Workers’ Comp Insurers Ask for Average 4 Percent
Dec 10 2009 // Workers’ compensation insurance rates in California will be relatively stable and increase by an average of only 4 percent in 2010, the Department of Insurance said. The Department’s announcement comes a month...
S. California Agent Sentenced in Workers’ Comp Theft Case
Dec 8 2009 // Randy Jay Barrett, 41, of Canoga Park was sentenced to 240 days in jail and five years probation after pleading guilty to one count of felony grand theft. Barrett was also ordered to make restitution to his victim and a...
Rathbun Named Medical Director at Louisiana Workers’ Comp. Corp.
Dec 8 2009 // Katharine C. Rathbun, MD, MPH, is now serving as medical director for Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation, the company announced. Dr. Rathbun will be responsible for providing medical support for programs...
Injury Severity, Not Legal Fees, Drives Workers’ Comp Costs in Illinois
Dec 7 2009 // The severity of injury and level of impairment — not the workers’ legal fees — have the most effect on payout for workers’ compensation claims among Illinois construction workers, researchers at the...
Study Says Increased WC Benefits Lengthens Claim Duration
Dec 7 2009 // States that increase the maximum weekly benefit for workers compensation can expect to see temporarily total disability, injured workers making claims for longer, almost a week longer, according to a new study released by...
State Fund Announces 5% Rate Increase
Dec 6 2009 // California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund announced it has filed a 5 percent rate increase in collectible premium. The revised rate will apply to new and renewal workers’ compensation policies effective on...
Declarations
Dec 6 2009 // No Workers’ Comp for Illegals “We are going to provide a mechanism for those claims to be investigated and if the people turn out to be unauthorized there will be no coverage. We will try to wring costs out of...
Tennessee Workers’ Comp Mandate for Contractors Remains Up In Air
Dec 6 2009 // A special legislative session to reconsider a pending change to workers’ compensation insurance requirements in Tennessee will only take place if there’s a consensus among lawmakers, according to Gov. Phil...
Oklahoma Reform Plan Would Phase Out Workers’ Comp Court
Dec 6 2009 // Oklahoma state Rep. Mark McCullough said in mid-November he plans to file legislation to overhaul the state’s workers’ compensation system. While the proposed legislation would keep the current Workers’...
Top 7 High-Growth Industries and Their Unique Insurance Needs
Dec 6 2009 // According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the seven fastest growing industries between now and 2016 are: Management, Scientific and Technical Consulting Services; Individual and Family Services; Home Health Care...
Study: Workers’ Comp Claim Duration Increases as Benefits Go Up
Dec 2 2009 // A new study of the workers’ compensation benefits in Oregon and New Mexico has found that as the benefits have increased, so have claims durations. The National Council on Compensation Insurance used a...
Washington Rates Workers’ Compensation Rate
Dec 2 2009 // Workers’ compensation rates in the state of Washington will climb by an average of 7.6 percent next year under changes adopted by state officials. State Labor and Industries Director Judy Schurke (SHUR’-key)...
Texas Approves 13 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp
Dec 2 2009 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) approved the renewal of the Certificates of Authority for 13 companies to self-insure for workers’ compensation claims for a...
Independent Business Group Earns More Than $335K in Texas Mutual Dividends
Dec 2 2009 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company announced a $335,220 dividend to the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) workers’ compensation purchasing group for manufacturers. The group has earned more than $878,000...
