Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

Texas Workers’ Comp Commissioner: We’ve Come a Long Way

Oct 6 2008 // The Texas workers’ compensation system is not working perfectly, but “it has come a long way,” says the state’s new Commission-er of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon. In a speech before an...

Crane Safety Guidelines Needed

Oct 6 2008 // In March 2008 a construction crane collapsed into a neighborhood bar and nearby apartments in New York City, killing seven people. In Bellevue, Wash., in June 2006, a large crane fell into an apartment building killing a...

Oct 6 2008 // Albert Betts, former Texas Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation, joined Thompson Coe Cousins & Irons LLP as a partner in the Insurance Law and Governmental and Legislative Advocacy Sections, effective Oct. 1,...

Crane Safety Guidelines Needed

Oct 6 2008 // In March 2008 a construction crane collapsed into a neighborhood bar and nearby apartments in New York City, killing seven people. In Bellevue, Wash., in June 2006, a large crane fell into an apartment building killing a...

Hawaii Files for 11.6 Percent Workers’ Comp Decrease

Oct 6 2008 // Hawaii’s Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs’ (DCCA) Insurance Division announced that the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) filed a request for a decrease of 11.6 percent in the...

Washington Proposes 3% Increase in Workers’ Comp Rates

Oct 6 2008 // Washington’s Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has proposed a 3 percent increase in 2009 workers’ compensation rates. Average premiums would go up by under 2 cents per hour worked. “We are...

Report Says North Dakota Workers’ Comp Claims Not Wrongly Denied

Oct 2 2008 // The interim chief executive of North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency say he’s pleased with a new consultant’s report that found no evidence Workforce Safety and Insurance wrongly denied...

California Governor Vetoes Workers’ Comp Legislation

Oct 2 2008 // California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed three bills he said would have interfered with the state’s workers’ compensation system. SB 1115 Permanent Disability Apportionment would have prohibited...

Washington Group Allowed to Use Workers’ Comp Rebates for Politics

Oct 1 2008 // The Building Industry Association of Washington can continue to spend money on the governor’s race while a court case against the group moves forward, a judge ruled. Thurston County Superior Court Judge Christine...

Protective Insurance, Paladin Catastrophe Enter Agreement

Oct 1 2008 // Indianapolis-based Baldwin & Lyons, Inc. announced on October 1 that its subsidiary, Protective Insurance Co., has entered into an agreement with Paladin Catastrophe Management to produce casualty clash and...

New Workers’ Comp Medical Director Wants Patient Choice in Ohio

Sep 30 2008 // Injured workers would have a wider choice of doctors and greater access to new medical technology. Businesses would face less government red tape. To people who have experienced a job injury claim handled by the Ohio...

Texas Sets Workers’ Comp Benefit Rates

Sep 29 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation announced that the workers’ compensation state average weekly wage for Fiscal Year 2009 is set at $750 and is effective for dates of injury...

California Workers’ Comp Insurance Rating Bureau Reports Q2 Results

Sep 26 2008 // The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California (WCIRB) has released its summary of the second quarter insurer results, which ended June 30, 2008. The report lists the following...

California Approves Legislation To Transform Workers’ Comp Insurer

Sep 26 2008 // Calif. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed legislation to help transform the Golden State’s workers’ compensation insurer, the State Compensation Insurance Fund. Assembly Bill 1874 and Senate Bill 1145 are an...

Pollock to Head New Workers’ Compensation Unit for Keating Group

Sep 26 2008 // The Keating Group (tKg), a new England excess and surplus lines wholesaler, has named Todd S. Pollock as president of tKg Comp, its newly formed workers’ compensation division. Pollock began his career in 1995 with...

New Texas Work Comp Commissioner: We’ve Come a Long Way

Sep 26 2008 // The Texas workers’ compensation system is not yet working perfectly, but “it has come a long way,” says the state’s new Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon. In a speech before...

Study Shows Increase in Treatments per Workers’ Comp Claims

Sep 26 2008 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance, headquartered in Florida, posted a new research study regarding a continuing increase in treatments per workers compensation claims. NCCI says in recent years, workers’...

Massachusetts Woman Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Evasion Scheme

Sep 25 2008 // A Dartmouth woman has been sentenced to 6 1/2 years in federal prison for paying more than $40 million in cash wages through the temporary employment agencies she ran with her husband in order to evade millions of dollars...

Texas Workers’ Comp Discount, Interest Rate Set for Q4 2008

Sep 25 2008 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation has set at 5.22 percent the interest and discount rates provided for in the Texas Workers’ Compensation Act. The new rate is effective Oct....

Wyoming Lawmakers Say Workers’ Comp Benefits Need Increase

Sep 22 2008 // Some Wyoming lawmakers say it’s time to increase many of the benefits given to injured workers under the state’s workers’ compensation program. The Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee...