Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Employee Whiffs on Workers Compensation Claim for TopGolf Injury

Mar 19 2025 // An employee who claims he injured his knee while swinging a club during an employer-sponsored TopGolf event has failed to qualify for workers’ compensation benefits. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation...

Kentucky Bill to Trim State OSHA Agency Powers Now on the Governor’s Desk

Mar 18 2025 // The National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, a non-profit advocacy group, is sounding the alarm about a Kentucky bill that was passed swiftly this month and is now on the governor’s desk. If signed into...

CannGen Launches Workers’ Comp Program Through Crum & Forester

Mar 13 2025 // CannGen Insurance Services LLC is now offering workers’ compensation coverage for the legal cannabis industry through specialty insurance provider Crum & Forster. The program is available in all 50 states....

Maryland Report Says Many Workers Misclassified, Costing $59M in Workers’ Comp

Mar 10 2025 // Worker misclassification in Maryland is widespread, leaving thousands of workers without injury protection and depriving insurance companies of more than $58 million in workers’ compensation premiums each year,...

Frito-Lay Employee’s Injury in Hoops Tourney Ruled Out of Bounds for Workers Comp

Mar 5 2025 // A forklift driver for Frito-Lay who injured his achilles tendon playing in a company basketball game is not covered by workers compensation. The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission (VWCC) upheld the denial of benefits...

Ohio to Cut Private Employer Workers’ Comp Rates by 6%

Mar 4 2025 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation board of directors announced a 6% rate cut for private employees effective July 1, 2025. The reduction follows a 7% rate cut for private employers last year. Ohio’s...

No Time Limit on Adding Dependent to Open Workers Comp Claim: NH High Court

Mar 4 2025 // Adding a dependent to an open workers’ compensation death benefits claim does not constitute a separate claim, the New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled last week. Furthermore, the court concluded, there is no statutory...

Maryland’s Largest Workers Comp Insurer Files for 8% Rate Cut

Mar 3 2025 // Chesapeake Employers’ Insurance Co. has filed for an 8% net rate decrease with the Maryland Insurance Administration (MIA) effective April 1, 2025. The nonprofit company, which is the state’s insurer of last...

Florida Contractor in Fatal Fall Incident Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud

Feb 25 2025 // A Florida framing contractor has been sentenced to 48 months in prison and millions of dollars in fines and restitution after he failed to obtain workers’ compensation insurance and ignored safety practices, leading...

County Trash Collector’s Workers’ Compensation Claim Thrown Out

Feb 21 2025 // When the garbage truck stopped, the worker stepped down from the metal step on the back of the truck to run and retrieve a trash can. When his feet hit the ground, he heard a pop in his leg, felt pain in his knee, knelt...

People Moves: West Named Oregon Workers’ Compensation Division Administrator

Feb 20 2025 // The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services appointed Matt West as administrator of the Workers’ Compensation Division. West has more than 19 years of experience in the workers’ comp industry. He...

Cal/OSHA Cites Plumbing Companies $529K Following Trench Collapse

Feb 18 2025 // The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued citations totaling $529,640 to Smelly Mel’s Plumbing and Sewer Rat Plumbing following a trench collapse that seriously injured a construction worker in...

Renewal Rates Up YOY for All Commercial Lines Except Workers Comp: Ivans

Feb 14 2025 // Premium renewal rates increased year over year for all major commercial lines, except workers’ compensation, according to the January 2025 results of the Ivans Index. Month over month, commercial auto, business...

Cal/OSHA Ends COVID Prevention Non-Emergency Standards

Feb 11 2025 // California has ended enforcement of its COVID-19 nonemergency standards. The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health announced the expiration of its COVID-19 Prevention Non-Emergency Standards as of February....

Viewpoint: Early Executive Actions by Trump Portend a Major Contraction at OSHA

Feb 10 2025 // President Trump was sworn in for a second term the morning of January 20, and he spent the rest of that day setting a record for the most ever Day 1 executive actions. Among those Day 1 executive actions (and a couple...

‘Old School’ Job Search Benefits Injured Worker in Lost Wages Claim

Feb 7 2025 // A manufacturer and its workers compensation insurer thought an injured 60-year old service technician employee did not work hard enough to find a suitable replacement job as required to qualify for wage loss benefits....

OSHA Fines GE Appliance Maker Max Amount in Death of Alabama Worker

Jan 30 2025 // Safety regulators fined a GE appliance manufacturer the maximum amount allowed by law in the 2024 death of an Alabama worker who was killed after the company ignored standard safety procedures, the U.S. Occupational Safety...

Mississippi House Bill Puts New Rules on PBMs, But May Do Little for Workers’ Comp

Jan 29 2025 // A pharmacy benefits manager bill passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives last week may have little impact on drug costs in the state’s workers’ compensation system, even if that is part of the...

Washington Man on Workers’ Comp for 3 Years Caught on Video Carrying 48lb Table

Jan 29 2025 // A Pierce County, Washington, man has been ordered to pay back more than $60,000 to Washington’s workers’ compensation fund after videos reportedly showed he was working and carrying heavy objects in the years...

Two Workers Injured in Explosion at Cannabis Facility

Jan 27 2025 // Two workers were injured in an explosion and fire at a cannabis extraction facility on Maryland’s Eastern Shore last Wednesday, state fire officials said. Firefighters were called to PharmaCann in Stevensville for a...