Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Okla. Labor Department Begins Campaign to Promote Safety Program
Sep 20 2005 // The Oklahoma Labor Department announced its nationally recognized Safety Pays OSHA Consultation Program is the focus of a statewide radio outreach promotion that began Sept. 19. The 30-second spots are intended to boost...
Court Ruling Says Asbestos-Related Disease Does Not Constitute ‘Bodily Injury by Accident’
Sep 19 2005 // The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, recently issued its opinion in Graphic Packaging International Inc. v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, upholding the validity of an exclusion for “bodily injury by...
Wash.’s L&I Proposes 3.8% Boost in Workers’ Comp Rates
Sep 19 2005 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has proposed increasing hourly workers’ comp rates by an average of 3.8 percent in 2006. If adopted, the higher premiums would cover anticipated increases in the...
People
Sep 19 2005 // Five Florida physicians recently received the 2005 Florida CHOICE Awards for Workers’ Compensation in Tampa, Fla. The awards honor physicians for demonstrating excellence in treating injured employees, and are...
Texas’ Workers’ Comp Reform Takes Effect, Deemed a ‘Win-Win’ for All
Sep 19 2005 // Conference panelists remain hopeful legislation will help state’s troubled system. The Insurance Council of Texas recently held its 2005 workers’ compensation conference in Austin, Texas, where different...
News Briefs
Sep 19 2005 // UTAH UTAH SUPREME COURT RULES WCF ASSETS NOT OWNED BY STATE: The Utah Supreme Court has declared that Workers Com-pensation Fund’s assets are owned by policyholders, not the state. The ruling in favor of WCF settles...
By Patricia-Anne Tom
Sep 19 2005 // Court Ruling Says Asbestos-Related Disease Does Not Constitute ‘Bodily Injury by Accident’ The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, recently issued its opinion in Graphic Packaging International Inc. v....
Two to Watch
Sep 19 2005 // The old saying goes, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” We can all breathe easier and let the children out of the house, now that the Texas Legislature is...
Spitzer Subpoenas The Hartford Over Annuities, Workers’ Comp
Sep 18 2005 // The Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. has received another subpoena from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer about variable annuity sales. The subpoena, which the Hartford disclosed to the U.S. Securities and...
AIA Says Workers’ Comp Rate Reduction Recommendation Demonstrates Reforms are Working
Sep 16 2005 // The following statement is in response to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Governing Board’s decision to recommend that Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi (D) decrease workers’...
West Virginia Circuit Court Convicts Employer for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Sep 15 2005 // Richard J. Custer Jr. has been convicted in Marshall County Circuit Court on felony a felony charge of making a false statement to the West Virginia Workers’ Compensation Commission for providing false information...
AIA Pleased with Results of 2005 Calif. Legislative Session
Sep 14 2005 // The California legislature adjourned sine die on Thursday, Sept. 8, 2005, and the American Insurance Association is pleased with the overall results. “When the session began in January, insurers faced numerous...
TDI to Provide Insurance Assistance at All Texas Disaster Recovery Centers
Sep 14 2005 // The Texas Department of Insurance reported that it deployed staff to all Texas disaster recovery centers (DRCs) to assist Hurricane Katrina evacuees with their insurance questions and claims, including workers’...
AIA Urges Calif. Gov. to Veto Legislation Unraveling 2004 Comp Reforms
Sep 14 2005 // The American Insurance Association is urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) to veto SB 1023, authored by Senator Joe Dunn (D). This measure rolls the clock back by reinstating redundant penalties that were eliminated in...
SIIS to Host Workers’ Comp Forum
Sep 13 2005 // Southwestern Insurance Information Service announced it will host a Public Policy Forum featuring Albert Betts, Jr., commissioner of the Division of Workers’ Compensation at the Texas Department of Insurance. This...
Texas Workers’ Comp Conference Presentations, Handouts Posted to DWC Web Site
Sep 13 2005 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) has posted videotaped presentations and handouts from the 15th Annual Texas Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference on the DWC Web...
The Noble Group, Thoits Insurance Team Up
Sep 13 2005 // Bill Fairbrother and Ali Fairbrother-Gatt, both of The Noble Group, joined Thoits Insurance on Sept. 1 as vice presidents serving business clients’ workers’ compensation and property casualty insurance...
LWCC Says Hotlines Are Open for Injured Workers, Policyholders, Agents and Providers
Sep 12 2005 // Expressing its concern and support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation (LWCC) said its stands ready to provide assistance to its policy and their injured workers, as well...
Tenn. Duo Scammed $6M in Workers’ Comp Funds; Sentenced to 26 Months Jail Time
Sep 12 2005 // Oliver Bruce Hurley of Speedwell, Tenn., and Charles William Johnson, of Tazewell, Tenn., have been sentenced to 26 months in prison four months after pleading to mail fraud related a scheme to hide employees from...
Workers’ Compensation Web Reporting Portal Opened by PMSI-Tmesys
Sep 9 2005 // PMSI-Tmesys, a workers’ compensation services provider in Tampa, Fla. has introduced a web portal reporting service that provides instant, self-service reporting capabilities to its clients. Using the PMSI-Tmesys Web...
