Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines
All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.
R.I. Workers’ Comp Rate Cut to be Heard at Nov. 16 Hearing
Sep 28 2005 // Workers’ compensation carriers have filed for a slight 2.3 percent overall reduction in loss costs in Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Department of Business Regulation has scheduled a public hearing for Nov. 16 on the...
W.V. Woman Indicted for Cashing Husbands’ Checks After His Death
Sep 27 2005 // Karen Manley Richards has been indicted in Fayette County, W.V. on a felony offense of workers’ compensation fraud according to an announcement in Charleston, W.V. by Insurance Commissioner, Jane L. Cline. Richards...
W.V. Big ‘I’ Convention: Commissioner Cline, Experts to Discuss Workers’ Comp Issues
Sep 27 2005 // West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline, and leading West Virginia insurance instructors, experts and officials will address the Oct. 7 to 10 annual Professional Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of...
Ky. Councilman Pleads Guilty in Workers’ Comp Scheme
Sep 27 2005 // Danny W. Miller, a Central City, Ky. Councilman, has pleaded guilty to bilking the federal government out of more than $100,000 in workers’ compensation benefits during a four-year period. Miller appeared in the...
TDI Staff Available in Houston to Assist Victims of Hurricanes Rita and Katrina
Sep 26 2005 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced that beginning Sept. 26, staff members are being deployed to its Houston Insurance Assistance Center (IAC) to assist Hurricane Rita victims with their insurance questions and...
Oregon Says Employers will Pay $33.4M Less in Workers’ Comp Fees
Sep 25 2005 // Employers will pay $33.4 million less in state worker compensation fees in Oregon next year, officials said Thursday. Employers also can expect average worker compensation insurance rates to remain at the same level in...
R.I. Nightclub Owners’ Bankruptcy Filing Stays Workers’ Comp Court Trial
Sep 25 2005 // The owners of a Rhode Island nightclub where a fire killed 100 people filed for bankruptcy last Friday, saying they faced a staggering amount of debt and could no longer pay off their creditors. Jeffrey and Michael...
Hawaii Workers’ Comp Claims Declining
Sep 22 2005 // State of Hawaii officials say the number of workers’ compensation claims filed in the state is on the decline. Preliminary figures show 2004 saw 2,347 fewer workers’ comp claims filed than in 2003, a drop of...
TDI Prepared to Help Those Impacted by Hurricane Rita
Sep 22 2005 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced it is preparing staff and resources to be ready for the aftermath of Hurricane Rita, wherever the storm makes landfall. TDI said it is maintaining staff at the Division of...
WCRI: Despite Improvements ‘Concerns’ Remain in Ark. Workers’ Comp System
Sep 22 2005 // The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute reported that Arkansas’ workers’ compensation system has experienced a period of stability after extensive reforms were passed in 1993, but maintained that...
CA Division of Workers’ Comp Hosting Spanish Workshop for Workers
Sep 21 2005 // The California Division of Workers’ Compensation (DWC) will conduct its first Spanish-language workshop for injured workers on Wed., Sept. 21. At the free, one-hour workshop, workers will learn about their right to...
Calif. State Fund to Collect $66,355 in Fraud Case
Sep 20 2005 // Superior Court Judge Christopher G. Wilson ordered the owner of three Humboldt County bars to pay State Compensation Insurance Fund $66,355.00 in restitution for defrauding the workers’ compensation insurance...
Okla. Labor Department Begins Campaign to Promote Safety Program
Sep 20 2005 // The Oklahoma Labor Department announced its nationally recognized Safety Pays OSHA Consultation Program is the focus of a statewide radio outreach promotion that began Sept. 19. The 30-second spots are intended to boost...
Court Ruling Says Asbestos-Related Disease Does Not Constitute ‘Bodily Injury by Accident’
Sep 19 2005 // The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, recently issued its opinion in Graphic Packaging International Inc. v. Employers Insurance of Wausau, upholding the validity of an exclusion for “bodily injury by...
Wash.’s L&I Proposes 3.8% Boost in Workers’ Comp Rates
Sep 19 2005 // Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries has proposed increasing hourly workers’ comp rates by an average of 3.8 percent in 2006. If adopted, the higher premiums would cover anticipated increases in the...
People
Sep 19 2005 // Five Florida physicians recently received the 2005 Florida CHOICE Awards for Workers’ Compensation in Tampa, Fla. The awards honor physicians for demonstrating excellence in treating injured employees, and are...
Texas’ Workers’ Comp Reform Takes Effect, Deemed a ‘Win-Win’ for All
Sep 19 2005 // Conference panelists remain hopeful legislation will help state’s troubled system. The Insurance Council of Texas recently held its 2005 workers’ compensation conference in Austin, Texas, where different...
News Briefs
Sep 19 2005 // UTAH UTAH SUPREME COURT RULES WCF ASSETS NOT OWNED BY STATE: The Utah Supreme Court has declared that Workers Com-pensation Fund’s assets are owned by policyholders, not the state. The ruling in favor of WCF settles...
By Patricia-Anne Tom
Sep 19 2005 // Court Ruling Says Asbestos-Related Disease Does Not Constitute ‘Bodily Injury by Accident’ The U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, recently issued its opinion in Graphic Packaging International Inc. v....
Two to Watch
Sep 19 2005 // The old saying goes, “No man’s life, liberty or property are safe while the legislature is in session.” We can all breathe easier and let the children out of the house, now that the Texas Legislature is...
