Tag: Workers Comp

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday that it cited a pair of Wisconsin waste management companies that operate as a single entity after a temporary maintenance worker was severely injured in January while servicing a vehicle.  

OSHA cited Franksville-based John’s Disposal Service Inc. and John’s Recycling Inc. for two “serious” violations and proposed $367,401 in penalties.

The maintenance worker suffered severe injuries after a jacket sleeve was pulled into a vehicle’s running engine.

The agency said the companies failed to develop energy control procedures to protect workers servicing vehicles, failed to provide fall protection, failed to train forklift operators and didn’t provide hazard communication training to employees.

Inspectors discovered the secondary violations during two follow-up inspections after the initial January investigation, OSHA said.

The company has 15 business days to contest the citation and proposed penalties.

Business Insurance on Thursday announced the winners of the 2024 U.S. Insurance Awards during a live awards presentation in New York.

Highlighting the event was the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dave North, executive chairman of Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc.

In addition, teams of professionals from across the industry were honored for projects they collaborated on in the field of commercial insurance.

Finalists in 10 categories were selected by Business Insurance staff from more than 140 nominations.

The winners were selected by a panel of risk managers who independently assessed each of the finalists.

The 2024 USIA winners are:

Broker Team of the Year:

Alliant Insurance Services Inc.

Claims Team of the Year:

CorVel Corp./O’Reilly Automotive Inc.

Community Outreach Project of the Year (Donations):

Acrisure LLC

 Community Outreach Project of the Year (Pro Bono and Volunteer):

Group 1001

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative of the Year:

USI Insurance Services LLC

Insurance Consulting Team of the Year:

CyberCube Analytics Inc.

Insurer Team of the Year:

Coalition Inc.

Legal Team of the Year:

Anderson Kill P.C.

Risk Management Team of the Year:

Summit Ridge Energy LLC/Marsh LLC/ Everest Insurance, a division of Everest Re Group Ltd.

Specialty Intermediary Team of the Year:

USQRisk Insurance Services LLC

The awards program, which began in 2017, also raises funds to support organizations dedicated to fostering talent. Business Insurance endows scholarships administered by the Spencer Educational Foundation. The Foundation provides funds to risk management and insurance students, and grants to support risk management and insurance programs, including developing programs at universities without risk management degree programs, including HBCUs.

Profiles of the winners will appear in the September issue of Business Insurance.

 

 

 

 

A Tennessee trial judge improperly granted summary judgment to an auto insurer who argued its liability on an uninsured motorist policy should have been offset by workers compensation benefits paid to the driver, the Tennessee Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

The court reversed and remanded a trial judge’s grant of summary judgment to Erie Insurance Exchange, which argued it was entitled to have its payout obligation reduced by a workers comp award issued to Moye Jones.

Mr. Jones and his wife were involved in an auto accident with Cathleen Craddock, after which the couple sued its uninsured motorist insurer, Erie, over a coverage dispute.

Erie contended that Mr. Jones was injured while in the course and scope of his employment with ABC Holdings Inc., and that the injury was work-related and compensable.  

Erie also argued that Mr. Jones incurred additional medical expenses when he opted to treat outside of the workers comp system.

The trial judge granted summary judgment to Erie on the basis that additional workers comp benefits were payable to Mr. Jones but that he voluntarily waived them.

The appeals court, in reversing, said summary judgment was premature because “genuine issues of material fact remain as to whether Mr. Jones was entitled to additional workers’ compensation benefits and failed to pursue them, constituting a voluntary waiver of benefits.”

“We cannot say that a reasonable person could reach only the conclusion that workers’ compensation benefits were payable to Mr. Jones,” the court wrote. 

 

 

 

 

The proportion of work-related injuries among newly hired workers increased from 2017 to 2022, with workers under 25 reporting more frequent injuries than those 55 and older, according to a report released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

The report, which analyzed 8.4 million non-COVID-19 claims across 31 states, found that work injuries among workers with shorter tenure increased from 18% to 23% during the study period, the report states.

Five industries accounted for nearly three out of every four work injuries between 2017 and 2022, and 21% of all workplace injuries were for workers at or nearing retirement age, according to a report released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Researcher Institute. Those five industries are wholesale and retail trade, manufacturing, services, health care and social assistance, and transportation, warehousing and utilities. 

The most frequent injuries highlighted in the report were for sprains and strains at 37%, and lacerations and contusions at 26%. The latter accounted for nearly two-thirds of all compensable injuries.

Researchers also looked at trends between genders, finding that the proportion of injuries attributable to men increasing “significantly” in the clerical, professional and health care sectors, and the proportion of injuries among female workers increasing “noticeably” in agriculture, transportation and utilities. 

 

 

 

 

Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc. Thursday reported 6% underlying revenue growth in the second quarter as its reinsurance brokerage arm saw double-digit growth, but organic growth slowed in its consulting business.

Despite uncertainty in the economic outlook, the environment remains “supportive of growth,” John Doyle, Marsh McLennan’s president and CEO, said on a conference call with analysts to discuss the results.

“In general, we see continued economic growth in most of our major markets. The cost of risk in health care continues to rise, and labor markets remain tight, and the consensus probability of a near-term recession for major economies continues to decrease,” Mr. Doyle said.

Insurance and reinsurance pricing continues to moderate in some segments of the market, but certain lines, including U.S. excess casualty, are “showing early signs of stress,” Mr. Doyle said.

Marsh McLennan reported second-quarter revenue of $6.22 billion, up 6% overall and also on an underlying basis over the same period in 2023. Revenue in its risk and insurance services segment grew 7% on an underlying basis versus 4% in its consulting business. The broker continues to expect mid-single-digit or better underlying revenue growth for the year.

Net income for the second quarter rose 9% year-over-year to $1.13 billion.

Revenue at Marsh LLC, Marsh McLennan’s main brokerage arm totaled $3.27 billion, up 8% overall and 7% on an underlying basis. Marsh’s business in the U.S. and Canada generated $1.83 billion in revenue, up 8% overall and 6% on an underlying basis.

Its Europe, Middle East and Africa business reported $912 million in revenue, a 6% increase overall and 7% on an underlying basis. Asia-Pacific revenue was $391 million, up 9% overall and 7% on an underlying basis, and Latin America revenue totaled $137 million, up 1% overall and 8% on an underlying basis.

Reinsurance brokerage arm Guy Carpenter & Co. LLC reported $632 million in second-quarter revenue, a 10% increase over the prior-year period and up 11% on an underlying basis.

Demand for property catastrophe coverage increased at midyear renewals, as rates eased after significant increases in 2023, Mr. Doyle said.

Marsh McLennan’s consulting operations, Mercer LLC and Oliver Wyman LLC, reported a combined $2.22 billion in revenue, up 2% overall and 4% on an underlying basis.

Primary insurance rates were flat in the quarter, versus up 1% in the first quarter of this year, according to the Marsh Global Insurance Market Index.

Global property rates were flat in the quarter, compared with up 3% in the first quarter, Mr. Doyle said.

Casualty rates increased in the low single-digits, but U.S. excess casualty was up 10% in the quarter, he said.

Workers compensation rates saw low-single-digit decreases, while financial and professional liability rates and cyber pricing were down 5% and 6%, respectively.

The majority of property placements at midyear reinsurance renewals were completed with adequate capacity, Mr. Doyle said.

“Global property cat reinsurance rates were generally flat to down mid-single digits, with greater decreases for upper layers on accounts without losses,” he said.

The catastrophe bond market had its most active quarter on record with over 30 new bonds issued involving approximately $8 billion of limit, he said.

Casualty programs face continued underwriting scrutiny, but there was adequate capacity in the market. “Excess of loss programs with U.S. exposure saw upward pricing pressure, while U.S. ceding commissions were flat to down slightly,” Mr. Doyle said.

 

Total paid workers compensation claims in Minnesota fell 45% in 2022 from 20 years prior, with medical-only claims significantly dropping 56% and indemnity claims dipping by 3%, according to a 2024 Minnesota Workers’ Compensation System Report released Tuesday.

The report shows that the total cost of the state’s workers comp system was around $1.67 billion in 2022, and that the total system cost per $100 of payroll follows a multiyear cycle in line with nationwide insurance pricing.

In 2022, the three largest components of Minnesota workers comp costs were medical benefits at 33%, insurer expenses at 31% and indemnity benefits other than vocational rehabilitation at 30%.

The report also highlights the impact of COVID-19 on the workers comp system, noting that the pandemic led to an influx of comp claims that caused a 44% increase in the indemnity claim rate between 2019 and 2022. This reversed a downward trend in indemnity payments between 2002 and 2019.

For injury claims not related to COVID-19, the average period of total disability benefits was 9% longer in 2022 than in 2002, and the average duration of temporary partial disability decreased by 25% for non-COVID-19 claims during that same period, the report states.

 

 

 

Amazon.com Inc. on Wednesday pushed back on a scathing Senate report that its Prime Day sales event has led to a surge in injuries for its warehouse workers, saying the information in the report was outdated and disregarded more recent data.

The Health, Education, Labor & Pensions committee report, released on the first day of the 2024 sales event, comes after the company has faced years of scrutiny and citations from regulators and labor advocacy groups over its higher-than-average injury rates.

A year-long study by the committee zeroed in on Amazon’s safety practices using internal company data from 2019 and 2020, which Amazon confirmed it provided. The report found that the peak sales times resulted in the “highest weekly injury rates” for warehouse workers. It was also based on interviews with more than 100 current and former Amazon employees.

According to the report, 45 out of every 100 warehouse workers at Amazon were injured during the 2019 Prime Day event. The number included minor injuries the company was not required to disclose to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, such as bruises and superficial cuts, and other injuries it failed to report as required by law.

An Amazon spokeswoman said in an email, “this data is four or five years old and does not reflect the reality of Amazon safety today.”

The company has worked with OSHA in its investigations and has made changes to safety practices, she said.

“What’s concerning is that (the Senate committee) intentionally disregarded four years of continuous improvement with regard to Amazon’s safety metrics – despite having access to our safety data from 2019-2023.”

OSHA has cited Amazon numerous times in the past decade over alleged lapses in record-keeping protocols, ergonomic shortcomings, and fast-paced quotas that cause worker injuries, the outcomes of which have not been made public. Once cited, the company has 15 days to contest or enter into conference with OSHA.

The Amazon spokeswoman would not disclose results, writing that “(c)itations are accusations, not proof of wrongdoing, and employers have the ability to contest them – so, we do so when we disagree with the allegations or the recommendations aren’t feasible for our operations.”

OSHA did not return requests for comment on outcomes following Amazon citations.

 

An evenly divided Pennsylvania Supreme Court Tuesday affirmed a lower appellate court decision allowing a workers compensation medical billing dispute to continue being litigated in civil court, but dissenting justices said the decision violated workers comp exclusive remedy.

The state high court found the Pennsylvania Superior Court correctly determined the case of Elite Care Rx LLC vs. Premier Comp Solutions LLC should play out in trial court as opposed to the workers comp system.

The case concerns a dispute between billing agency Elite Care Rx and several workers comp insurers over prescription reimbursements that Elite Care says it is still owed.

Elite Care sought to have the case litigated in civil court because it contains claims of unjust enrichment, fraud and civil conspiracy, while the defendants contended the matter belonged before the Pennsylvania Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. The Superior Court sided with the plaintiff.

The state Supreme Court affirmed the Superior Court in a one-sentence order but did not release a full opinion.

Two justices wrote lengthy dissents arguing that the Superior Court got it wrong.

The lower court’s decision “plainly conflicts with the Workers’ Compensation Act’s exclusive remedy provision and was based upon a misunderstanding of the Act’s fee review provision,” Justice David Wecht wrote, adding that Elite Care’s “sole remedy lies in the administrative realm.”

 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill requiring employers to notify workers that they can consult an attorney for advice about their rights under the state’s workers compensation law.

Per A.B. 1870, employers will be required to display a poster that provides information such as the name of the company’s workers compensation insurer or, in the case of self-insureds, who is responsible for adjusting claims. The poster must also include information about the rights of injured workers to receive medical care, to select a treating physician, to receive indemnity benefits and the time limits to notify an employer of an occupational injury.

The new law also requires that the posters advise injured workers that they can consult a licensed attorney for advice about their work comp rights. Posters must also advise employees that in most instances, attorney fees are paid from the benefits an injured worker receives.

The new law, which had unanimous support in both chambers of the legislature, takes effect Jan. 1.

WorkCompCentral is a sister publication of Business Insurance. More stories here.

 

 

 

The U.S. Department of Labor said Tuesday it obtained a “landmark injunction” from a federal judge in Washington state against the U.S. Postal Service preventing the agency from retaliating against employees who report workplace injuries.  

The injunction follows an investigation by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration that found the Postal Service violated federal law that prohibits employers from retaliating against workers for reporting injuries.

“By issuing the broadest permanent anti-retaliation injunction to date, the U.S. District Court has recognized the U.S. Postal Service’s pattern of ignoring its own policies and unlawfully firing probationary workers who report injuries,” Marc Pilotin, DOL regional solicitor of labor in San Francisco, said in a statement.

Under a consent judgment, the Postal Service will pay $183,732 in lost wages, interest and damages to three employees found to be unlawfully terminated.

The DOL said it began suing the Postal Service in 2020 to protect probationary employees from retaliation in California, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington state who faced retaliatory discharges. 

The court order was issued by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington in Tacoma.