Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Maine’s The MEMIC Group Promotes Carmody to Northeast Claims Director
Mar 16 2018 // Workers’ compensation specialist The MEMIC Group has promoted Michael Carmody to claims director of the northeast region, which includes MEMIC’s New Hampshire, Connecticut and New York offices. Carmody began...
Good News on Opioid Usage for a Change – it’s Down in California Workers’ Comp
Mar 14 2018 // Efforts to curb the use of opioids in California’s workers’ compensation system appear to be paying off. New research from the California Workers’ Compensation Institute on prescription drugs used to...
California OKs Workplace Rule to Protect Hotel Housekeepers
Mar 14 2018 // California has adopted a new workplace safety and health regulation designed to reduce work-related injuries to housekeepers in the hotel and hospitality industry. This is the first ergonomic standard in the nation written...
California Workers’ Comp Medical Review Volume Fell Slightly in 2017
Mar 14 2018 // New data on the Independent Medical Review process used to resolve California workers’ compensation medical disputes show that IMR volume dipped for the first time ever in 2017, but the outcomes were unchanged as IMR...
Commercial Insurance Prices Were Up Only Slightly in Q4
Mar 13 2018 // Prices for overall commercial insurance lines in the U.S. inched upward in the fourth quarter of 2017, although workers’ compensation and directors and officers liability prices actually declined and commercial auto...
Study: California Workers Not Weaned Off Opioids Had Much Higher Drug Costs
Mar 9 2018 // Injured workers who were not weaned off of opioids had much higher drug costs and higher treatment transaction volumes, according to a report released on Friday by the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating...
Barred Video Leads Texas Court to Reverse Jury Finding in Workers’ Comp Suit
Mar 8 2018 // The Texas Supreme Court has disagreed with the decision of a lower court to exclude, without having watched it, a company’s surveillance video of an injured employee in a workers’ compensation case. Because it...
Longer-Term Opioid Prescriptions Increases Lost Work Time: WCRI Study
Mar 8 2018 // Using prescribed opioids adds significant time to temporary disability taken by workers with work-related lower back injuries, according to a new industry study. Temporary disability is time that workers spend away from...
Tennessee Workers’ Comp Bureau Launches Online Filing System
Mar 8 2018 // The Tennessee Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has begun using a new online filing system. A news release says the TNComp system lets attorneys and self-represented litigants file without printing copies or traveling...
ICW Group Expands Workers’ Comp Coverage Into 5 New States
Mar 8 2018 // ICW Group Insurance Companies, a group of property and casualty carriers, is now writing workers’ compensation insurance in five new primary states — Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota and Missouri, the...
Indiana Workers’ Comp Formulary Bill Passes; Governor Urged to Sign
Mar 7 2018 // The Indiana General Assembly has passed legislation that adopts a drug formulary for the state’s workers’ compensation system. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is urging Indiana Gov....
In a Switch, Live Operator Answers Phones at Oklahoma Work Comp Commission
Mar 6 2018 // The Oklahoma Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) has replaced its automated answering service with a live operator during normal hours of operations. Announcing the switch, Commissioner Mark Liotta stated he finds...
Workers’ Compensation Insurtech Pie Insurance Starts Selling in 4 States
Mar 6 2018 // Digital agency Pie Insurance said it is ready to start selling its workers’ compensation policies in four states this month, with a goal of operating in as many as 20 states by the end of 2018. The startup that...
Florida Workers’ Comp Legislative Update: First Responder Benefits In, Attorney Fees Out
Mar 6 2018 // After two high-profile Florida Supreme Court cases threatened to significantly impact workers’ compensation rates in Florida in 2016, many insurance industry experts anticipated quick legislative action in 2017. But,...
Up, Down & Flat: Workers’ Compensation Pricing in 2018
Mar 5 2018 // Workers’ compensation rates in 2018 will be mixed, with some programs seeing pricing flat to down and others seeing spikes, according to a market prediction from the broker USI. In other words, market trends should...
People
Mar 5 2018 // Austin-based workers’ comp insurer, Texas Mutual Insurance Co., has added Benjamin A. Siddons as vice president of business development. Siddons joins Texas Mutual with more than 15 years of experience in the...
People
Mar 5 2018 // St. Louis, Missouri-based Safety National Casualty Corp. announced management changes that are effective April 1, 2018. Gene Maier, executive vice president and chief underwriting officer, is retiring. During his 33-year...
Nevada OK’s Filings for Moderate Workers’ Comp Loss-Cost and Assigned-Risk Rate Changes
Mar 1 2018 // Nevada Insurance Commissioner Barbara D. Richardson approved a slight decrease in workers’ compensation voluntary insurance loss costs and average increase for assigned-risk rates. Richardson approved two filings...
Report: Number of Qualified Medical Evaluators in California Workers’ Comp Fell
Feb 28 2018 // The number of qualified medical evaluators resolve disputes over California workers’ compensation claim issues fell 20 percent between January 2012 and September 2017, according to a new California Workers’...
Workers’ Comp Could Bring Savings for Maine Businesses
Feb 26 2018 // Maine businesses could save as much as $27 million this year thanks to a projected decline in workers’ compensation insurance claims. Maine Superintendent of Insurance Eric Cioppa said he approved a 12 percent...
