Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Why Back Surgery Rates Vary by Location
Jul 14 2015 // The probability of injured workers getting back surgery depends on the area of the country in which they seek treatment for their back pain. According to a Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) study, “Why...
NGM Insurance Introduces Expanded Workers’ Comp Program in Virginia
Jul 13 2015 // The Main Street America Group’s NGM Insurance Co. has introduced an expanded workers’ compensation program in Virginia via its network of independent insurance agents throughout the commonwealth. “The...
Connecticut Workers’ Comp Commission Unveils New Mediation Program
Jul 13 2015 // The Connecticut Workers’ Compensation Commission (WCC) on July 1 launched a new program providing mediation opportunities for possible settlement of contested cases. Under the program, parties in a litigated matter...
Feds Say Texas Deaths Show DuPont Has ‘Failed’ Safety Program
Jul 13 2015 // U.S. regulators on took DuPont to task for a massive gas leak last year that killed four workers at a plant in Texas, placing the chemical company in its “severe violator enforcement program” and saying the...
Nebraska High Court Reverses Work Comp Ruling Favoring Employee
Jul 13 2015 // The omission of one word in a workers’ compensation court ruling favoring a co-op employee hurt during a company party led the Nebraska Supreme Court to reverse the ruling on July 10. The case stems from a 2010...
New Mexico Court Favors Worker in Medical Marijuana Case
Jul 13 2015 // The New Mexico Court of Appeals has ruled that a patient in the state’s medical marijuana program who was injured on the job must be reimbursed by an employer for the expense of marijuana used for treatment. The...
4 Commercial Auto Endorsements Every Insured Should Consider
Jul 13 2015 // Insurance Services Office (ISO) lists more than 100 endorsements available for use with the business auto policy (BAP) (the total number varies by state). Out of this mass of policy-altering endorsements, most designed to...
Ohio Workers’ Comp Bureau Begins Overcharge Repayments
Jul 10 2015 // The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation has paid hundreds of millions to state employers overcharged for insurance premiums and has dropped its appeal of a decision that led to the payments. The Ohio Supreme Court...
2015 Tennessee Insurance Legislation Wrap-Up
Jul 9 2015 // Below is a summary of Tennessee legislation that pertains to insurance enacted in 2015. Uninsured Motorist, “James Lee Atwood Jr. Law” The James Lee Atwood Jr. Law, named for a driver who was killed by an...
Small Number Causing California Worker’s Comp Review Excess
Jul 8 2015 // A small number of physicians are responsible for a large portion of the independent medical review of worker’s compensation cases in California, a process that could be costing payers in excess of $100 million, a...
Mass. Dept. of Industrial Accidents Assessment Rate Lowered to 5.75%
Jul 6 2015 // The Massachusetts Department of Industrial Accidents (DIA) reduced the assessment that private employers pay to the state on workers’ compensation policies to 5.75 percent of the policy premium for the new fiscal...
Agents Need to Know About Texas Workers’ Comp E-Mod Changes
Jul 6 2015 // The number 1.00 means different things to different people. In baseball, 1.00 represents a perfect batting average. But in college, a 1.00 grade point average is about as bad as it gets. In workers’ compensation, a...
Summary of 2015 Tennessee Insurance Legislation
Jul 6 2015 // Below is a summary of Tennessee legislation that pertains to insurance enacted in 2015. Public Chapter 152 – Enacts the “Protection of Volunteer-Insured Drivers of the Elderly (PROVIDE) Act.” Grants...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Losses and Expenses for 2014 Rise, Ratios Fall
Jul 1 2015 // Insurer losses and expenses rose in 2014 from the year before but ratios fell, a California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau report on workers’ comp losses and expenses for 2014 shows. The report...
Tort, Work Comp Reform Among Illinois Gov.’s Budget Holdouts
Jun 30 2015 // Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner has an answer to the state Capitol budget impasse: adopt five “structural reforms” that make it cheaper to do business in Illinois. House Speaker Michael Madigan of Chicago calls the...
New Mexico Court Rules Farm, Ranch Laborers Eligible for Workers’ Comp
Jun 30 2015 // The New Mexico Court of Appeals has cleared the way for farm and ranch laborers to receive workers’ compensation benefits. In a ruling issued this week, the court declared unconstitutional a provision in state law...
Ninth Circuit Court Upholds California’s Workers’ Comp Liens
Jun 30 2015 // The U.S. Ninth Circuit court on Monday upheld California’s fee requirement on workers’ compensation liens. The lien fees were a key part of Senate Bill 863, the workers’ comp reform bill passed in 2012....
Redpoint Insurance Acquiring Hallmark Workers’ Comp Business
Jun 25 2015 // Dallas-based Redpoint Insurance Group LLC is purchasing the workers’ compensation business of American Hallmark Insurance Co. of Texas, located in Austin. The acquisition is expected to close effective July 1, 2015....
NYSIF Issues Update on Elimination of WCB Fees, Weekly Benefit Rate
Jun 22 2015 // The New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) issued an update on June 19 noting that Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently announced the elimination of a number of Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) fees as a part of the 2015-16...
Owner of Mass. Asbestos Abatement Firm Indicted for Work Comp Fraud
Jun 22 2015 // A Massachusetts man who owns an asbestos abatement company has been indicted for allegedly failing to accurately report the nature of his company’s work to avoid paying thousands of dollars in insurance...
