workers’ compensation News

Inadequate Inspections and Oversight Cited in Fatal WV Helicopter Crash

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Inadequate inspections by an operator and a lack of oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration were partly to blame for the crash of a Vietnam-era tourist helicopter that killed six people in West Virginia two years …

Cyber Risk: West Virginia OIC Plans to Dispose of Older Workers’ Comp Files

The West Virginia insurance commissioner’s office has adopted a new policy: It will soon begin destroying workers’ compensation claim files that are 10 years old or older. “Given increasing cybersecurity concerns and the type of information contained in the closed …

Markets/Coverages: Hanover Enhances Work Safe Program; Berkley Adds AttorneyShield; Encore Fiduciary Moves Into Management Liability

The Hanover Enhances Its Holistic Work Safe Program The Hanover. Insurance Group has expanded its Hanover Work Safe, a group of services promising a personalized approach to worker safety and claims handling. The Hanover’s claims specialists proactively gain insights into …

Mississippi Poultry Plant Settles With OSHA After Teen’s 2023 Death

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi poultry processing plant has agreed to a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor that requires it to pay $164,814 in fines and put in place enhanced safety measures following the death of a …

Client Mix-up Leads to Lawsuits, Bar Complaint Against Mississippi Comp Lawyer

What’s in a name? Thousands of dollars, a lost job, denied insurance coverage and the possibility of a suspended law license for a Mississippi workers’ compensation attorney, apparently. It all has to do with injured workers – both named Dorothy …

West Virginia Governor Touts 20th-Straight Workers’ Comp Loss Cost Decrease

The National Council on Compensation Insurance is recommending a 9.1% decrease in workers’ compensation loss cost projections for the West Virginia voluntary market. If approved by regulators, it would mark the 20th straight year of rate decreases for the state, …

OSHA Says Alleged Fall Hazards Could Cost Adidas in New York Nearly $400K

Federal workplace safety officials say that Adidas America Inc. – maker of one of the world’s best-selling sneakers – faces almost $400,000 in penalties for allegedly continuing to ignore federal workplace safety standards. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) …

Court, Not Board, Must Decide If Insurer Was Negligent After Canceling Policy

Claims that a workers’ compensation insurer acted with negligence after it canceled a policy are for a court, not the state’s workers’ compensation board, to decide, the Connecticut Appellate Court has ruled. Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. had succeeded before both …

Worker Falls to Death From Theater Construction Site in Boston

Boston police reported that a construction worker fell to his death while working on restoring Emerson College’s Cutler Majestic Theater on Friday, August 9. Police were called to the scene on Tremont Street at 12:45 pm. Photos showed scaffolding on …

Heatstroke Death of Baltimore Sanitation Worker Prompts Calls for Workplace Safety

Elected officials and union leaders in Baltimore are calling for safer and more humane working conditions for the city’s public works employees after a man collapsed and died from heatstroke last week while collecting trash during hot summer weather. Critics …