Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Cal/OSHA Says Safeway Exposed Workers to Serious Hazards at Largest Warehouse
Jan 27 2025 // The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health cited Safeway $182,000 in proposed penalties for safety violations that reportedly put roughly 1,700 workers at risk of serious injuries at the company’s...
OSHA Cites Contractor in Death of Worker Who Fell From Boston Theater Scaffold
Jan 24 2025 // A construction contractor could have prevented the death of a worker at the Cutler Majestic Theater in Boston by following required fall protection measures, a federal investigation has found. Responding to a referral from...
Tennessee to See Another Drop in Average Workers’ Comp Costs This Year
Jan 22 2025 // Average workers’ compensation loss costs for the voluntary market in Tennessee will drop by 3.6% starting March 1, marking the 12th straight year for decreases in the state. The National Council on Compensation...
School Employee Kicked 25 Times in 11 Days Denied Workers Compensation
Jan 17 2025 // A Virginia student assistant who suffered injuries in both knees after being kicked 25 times over a period of 11 days is not entitled to workers’ compensation benefits. The Virginia Workers’ Compensation...
California Workers’ Comp Public Self-Insured Losses Rise Despite Claim Volume Decline
Jan 17 2025 // Increases in average medical payments and average indemnity payments drove public self-insureds’ total paid losses up last year even though the number of claims fell, a new report shows. The California Workers’...
Florida Appeals Court Upsets Applecart on Workers’ Comp Statute of Limitations
Jan 16 2025 // A recent decision and concurring opinion by a Florida appeals court may have upset years of practice and could raise costs for workers’ compensation insurers. Some claims that carriers were once ready to close out of...
