Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

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

Sherman Resigns from Illinois Workers’ Comp Commission

Oct 26 2010 // The Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission reported that Commissioner Barbara Sherman has resigned effective Oct.25, 2010. Sherman has served on the Commission for 20 years. Commissioner Gore will cover oral...

High Unemployment Rate a Drag on Workers’ Compensation Insurers

Oct 25 2010 // The weak outlook for U.S. employment could hurt insurers that cover work-related injuries. Persistently high unemployment translates to fewer workers to cover, which cuts into revenue. And workers compensation providers...

Illinois Workers’ Comp 2011 Medical Fees to Increase 1.08%

Oct 25 2010 // Medical fees provided for in the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act will increase 1.08 percent in 2011, the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission reports. Fee schedule rates increase or decrease by the...

Agents Put $300,000 Behind Wash. Workers’ Comp System Privatization

Oct 25 2010 // A recent poll shows that Washingtonians are divided over whether to open the state workers’ compensation system up to the private market. Elway Poll results indicate 31 percent of voters are in favor of passing voter...

North Carolina’s Workers’ Compensation Medical Costs Among Highest

Oct 22 2010 // North Carolina’s medical costs per workers’ compensation claim were among the highest in a study of 15 states, according to a new report. The study by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Workers Compensation Research...

Workers Injured in Pennsylvania Coke Blast Sue U.S. Steel

Oct 22 2010 // Three men burned in a July explosion at U.S. Steel’s Clairton Coke Works have sued claiming the steelmaker’s managers directed them to repair a “live” gas line even after an alarm went off warning...

Montana Has Highest Workers’ Comp Insurance Rates

Oct 22 2010 // Montana has the highest workers’ compensation premium rates in the nation, at $3.33 per $100 of payroll, followed next by Alaska, which has a rate of $3.10 per $100 of payroll, according to a new study. In the 2010...

Businesses Support/Fight Wash. Workers’ Comp Initiative

Oct 22 2010 // Supporters of Washington’s workers’ compensation initiative 1082 have raised more than $3.3 million to try to open the state’s workers’ compensation system to the private market and eliminate the...

Texas Workers’ Comp Sept. Enforcements Bring Nearly $268K in Fines

Oct 22 2010 // The Texas Department of Insurance Division of Workers’ Compensation in September issued nearly $268,000 in fines in disciplinary actions. The orders issued by Commissioner of Workers’ Compensation Rod Bordelon...

Ohio Workers’ Comp Rate Reform Highlighted in National Study

Oct 22 2010 // A nationally-recognized study on the cost of workers’ compensation shows Ohio rates have improved dramatically over the past three years, the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation reported. The Oregon Study is...

California Commissioner Hopeful: Assemblyman Mike Villines

Oct 21 2010 // The election for California Insurance Commissioner is a weighty one. The person selected will be in charge of regulating the approximately 1,500 insurance companies doing business in the state. Assemblyman and Republican...

California Commissioner Hopeful: Assemblyman Dave Jones

Oct 21 2010 // On November 2, Californians will select a new insurance commissioner, charged with regulating the fourth-largest insurance market in the world at about $160 billion. Assemblyman and Democrat Dave Jones recently shared why...

UNICO Group Named WorkComp ‘Agency of the Year’

Oct 21 2010 // The Institute of WorkComp Professionals has named the UNICO Group of Lincoln, Neb., its “Agency of the Year.” “The UNICO Group has done a superb job showing employers that they can save money by working...

Utah Workers’ Compensation Carrier to Expand in the Western U.S.

Oct 21 2010 // Utah Business Insurance Company (UBIC) has retained Andrew Olwert as part of its leadership team in order to expand its footprint in the West. Mr. Olwert will initially help UBIC position itself both operationally and...

Maine Court: Injury en Route to Workers’ Comp Hearing Not Covered

Oct 18 2010 // Maine’s supreme court says a workers’ compensation beneficiary isn’t eligible for additional benefits for a car crash that happened en route to a mediation meeting. Kurt Feiereisen, a NewPage employee,...

Colorado Raising Workers’ Comp Insurance Loss Costs 3.4%

Oct 18 2010 // Most Colorado employers will be looking at an average 3.4 percent increase in workers’ compensation insurance loss costs, increasing the overall premiums they pay for workers compensation insurance in 2011, the state...

Workers’ Comp Fraud Leads to Jail Time for Hatchery Owner

Oct 18 2010 // The owner of an upstate New York fish hatchery has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for worker’s comp fraud, the New York State Insurance Department said. Edward Panus, was also ordered to repay $4,500 in benefits...

Court: Michigan Workers’ Comp Law Blocks Anti-Racketeering Suit

Oct 18 2010 // Michigan’s workers’ compensation statute blocks employee lawsuits against employers brought under federal anti-racketeering law, a federal judge has ruled. Federal Judge Paul D. Boren for the second time has...

Kentucky Auditor Clears League Over Workers’ Comp

Oct 18 2010 // Kentucky’s state auditor has found no fraud in the insurance buying practices of the Lexington-Fayette County Urban Government. Auditor Crit Luallen said her agency found no evidence to conclude that the city’s...

How a Smaller Georgia Agency Plays with the Big Boys

Oct 18 2010 // This is the David versus Goliath story of how the Mallory Agency, a small independent insurance agency in LaGrange, Georgia, has faced off against bigger agencies and won. Its weapons: “face time,” professional...