Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
WCRI: Virginia’s Medical Cost Per Workers’ Comp Claim Higher Than Most
Feb 2 2012 // Broad metrics of worker’ compensation costs show that Virginia is a lower cost state, largely due to a lower frequency of claims, according to a new report. But the report from the Workers Compensation Research...
Colorado Workers’ Comp Privatization Gets Cool Reception
Feb 2 2012 // A proposal to privatize the only state-chartered workers’ compensation company is getting a cool reception from a special panel reviewing the plan. A straw poll of the task force on Tuesday showed more than half to...
Texas Business Pleads Guilty to Hiding Payroll
Feb 2 2012 // A Midland, Texas-based company has pleaded guilty to misrepresenting the payroll of an affiliated firm, according to workers’ compensation insurer Texas Mutual Insurance Co. AB Abatement Inc. of Midland, pled guilty...
U-Haul Parent to Strengthen Loss Reserves on Discontinued Workers’ Comp Business
Feb 1 2012 // Reno, Nev.-based AMERCO (Nasdaq: UHAL) announced on Wednesday that following an internal review of its property and casualty subsidiary’s excess workers’ compensation business, Repwest will take a third quarter...
Study: California Workplace Safety Program Only Superficially Enforced
Feb 1 2012 // An occupational safety program that requires California businesses to eliminate workplace hazards only works when it’s adequately enforced. That revelation comes from Santa Monica, Calif.-based think tank RAND Corp.,...
Texas High Court Reaffirms Bar Against Policyholder Negligence Claims
Feb 1 2012 // In a decision that workers’ compensation experts say is good for Texas employees and employers alike, the Supreme Court of Texas issued a unanimous opinion on January 27, 2012, that bars negligence claims against...
Workers’ Compensation on Legislative Agenda for Oklahoma State Chamber
Feb 1 2012 // Taxation, workers’ compensation insurance and health care coverage top the State Chamber of Oklahoma’s agenda for the 2012 legislative session that kicks off on Feb. 6. The State Chamber’s business agenda...
Florida Lawmakers Tackle Check Cashing Ties to Workers’ Comp Fraud
Feb 1 2012 // Florida lawmakers are looking to give regulators and law enforcement officials more flexibility to investigate check cashing companies that may be facilitating fraud in the construction industry. The House Subcommittee on...
Report: California Workers’ Comp Insurers Returns Improved in 2010
Jan 31 2012 // After declining for four consecutive years, California workers’ compensation insurers’ return on net worth showed signs of improvement in 2010. That’s according to the data from the National Association...
3 New Workers’ Comp Arbitrators Appointed in Illinois
Jan 27 2012 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has appointed three more arbitrators for workers’ compensation system disputes. William Gallagher has 35 years of experience as an attorney concentrating on workers’ compensation in...
Oklahoma Company Sued Over Accident That Hurt Teens
Jan 27 2012 // The parents of two teenagers who were severely injured in a grain elevator accident in Oklahoma have filed negligence lawsuits against the business where the boys worked. Cherie Gannon, Lee Zander and Rhonda Zander filed...
Study: Recession Impacts California Workers’ Compensation
Jan 25 2012 // More people in California stayed on disability longer because a fewer “light duty” jobs are available in the down economy, authors of a study on worker’s compensation said. The impact of the recession on...
January P/C Reinsurance Renewals Flat or Up Slightly: Towers Watson
Jan 25 2012 // January 1 renewal rates for U.S. property/casualty reinsurance premiums showed firming with changes from -5 percent to +5 percent on an overall basis, with loss-affected property catastrophe business up considerably...
Texas Approves 13 Companies to Self-Insure for Workers’ Comp
Jan 24 2012 // The Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation (TDI-DWC) approved 13 renewals of the Certificates of Authority for companies to self-insure their workers’ compensation claims for a...
Workers’ Compensation Turn a Profit? Fahgettaboudit!
Jan 23 2012 // Workers’ compensation carriers with visions of profits over the next few years are dreaming. It ain’t goin’ to happen, according to insurance analysts at Standard & Poors Ratings Services. “All...
Outpatient Costs Higher in States Without Fee Schedules
Jan 23 2012 // States without fee schedules have higher hospital outpatient costs for common surgeries compared to states with fee schedules, according to a workers’ compensation study. The study found that significant variations...
N.Y. Says Worker Injured on Break Entitled to WC Benefit
Jan 23 2012 // A New York court has ruled that a worker taking a short break does not constitute an interruption of employment, thus a worker injured during such a break is entitled to workers’ comp benefits. The Appellate Division...
Court: Workers’ Comp Bars Iraq Convoy Drivers’ Suit Against KBR, Halliburton
Jan 23 2012 // A federal appeals court has rejected a lawsuit brought against KBR Inc. and Halliburton Co. by the families of two convoy drivers killed in a 2004 insurgent attack in Iraq. The U.S. Court of Appeal for the 5th Circuit,...
Florida Workers’ Comp Rate Hike Irks Businesses
Jan 23 2012 // Florida small businesses seeing their second workers’ compensation rate increase in as many years are calling on the state to reduce the increase because they fear it will harm the economy. A small business group is...
Iowa Work Comp Commissioner Lawsuit
Jan 23 2012 // Iowa Workers’ Compensation Commissioner Chris Godfrey filed a lawsuit accusing Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad of discrimination because the governor cut his salary by more than $30,000 after Godfrey declined to resign. He...
