workers’ compensation News

Vocational School Owner Arraigned in $1M Workers’ Comp Fraud Case

Los Angeles area vocational school owner, Guillermo Frias, 65, of Paramount, and the school’s accounting manager, Yesid Colon, 54, of Baldwin Park, were arraigned following a California Department of Insurance investigation into allegations they submitted fraudulent claims to receive money …

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 …