Workers Comp

A New York contractor has been indicted for allegedly defrauding the New York State Insurance Fund of nearly $3 million by underreporting employee payrolls in order to reduce his amount of required state insurance premium payments. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg Jr. announced Thursday the charges against Juan Escobar and his drywall and carpentry …

Indictment alleges N.Y. contractor defrauded state insurance fund of $3M Read More »

Florida lawmakers will consider adding crime scene investigators and 911 dispatchers to the list of professionals who qualify for the state’s presumption for post-traumatic stress disorder. H.B. 337, filed Monday, sets provisions that such a professional would need to witness or respond to qualifying events, such as mass killings or “directly witnessing” death or verbally …

Florida lawmakers to consider more first responders for PTSD coverage Read More »

A divided West Virginia Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a denial of benefits to a health care worker for her back conditions, finding they had not arisen out of a workplace accident but instead aggravated a preexisting condition. Donna J. Carter was working for Davis Health System when she injured her back in December 2019 …

Court upholds denial of benefits for worker with preexisting conditions Read More »

Under a bill filed in Mississippi, injured workers or surviving family members of those killed while at work would be able to sue the employers if certain criteria are met. S.B. 2863 would add an exception to the state’s exclusive remedy provision in workers compensation law “(w)hen an injured employee, or his legal representative in …

Bill would pave way for injured worker lawsuits Read More »

Washington state lawmakers will soon introduce legislation that would allow state regulators to better address workplace musculoskeletal injuries, a common driver of workers compensation claims.   Senate Bill 5217, which will be formally filed on Jan. 24, would repeal a current prohibition that prevents the state Department of Labor and Industries from enacting rules designed …

Washington bill would regulate musculoskeletal workplace safety Read More »

Legislation filed in New Hampshire would make all types of cancer among firefighters a presumptive occupational disease eligible for workers compensation. Senate Bill 71, introduced Wednesday, states that cancer diagnoses in firefighters are presumed to be occupationally caused, making active-duty, volunteer and retired fire department members eligible to collect comp benefits. The bill would remove …

Bill would expand cancer presumption for New Hampshire firefighters Read More »

Connecticut lawmakers on Friday read through two more bills that would extend the state’s workers compensation presumption for post-traumatic stress disorder to several classes of first responders. H.B. 6366 would extend benefits to volunteer emergency medical service personnel, first responder dive teams, K9 search and rescue personnel and dispatchers. H.B. 6370 would add to the …

Legislation seeks to add K9 personnel, video techs to PTSD law Read More »

Back, hip, knee and neck injuries that cause disability or death in law enforcement officers would be presumptive occupational diseases eligible for workers compensation benefits under a bill filed Thursday by Virginia lawmakers. The measure, House Bill 1905, would amend the state’s workers compensation law to state that these types of injuries would make numerous …

Virginia bill adds comp presumptive injuries for law enforcement Read More »

Workers compensation medical facility payments grew across all facility types and all U.S. regions during the past decade, with facilities costs constituting the largest driver of overall comp cost changes, according to a report released Wednesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance.   Nationwide, facility costs made up about 40% of all comp costs and …

Medical facility services largest driver of comp cost increases: Report Read More »

Connecticut lawmakers on Thursday introduced two bills that would amend workers compensation law that would expand post-traumatic stress disorder presumption — the third such bill this season — and require insurers to maintain death benefits that take into account consumer costs increases. H.B. 6284 would call for the state’s existing PTSD presumption for first responders …

Connecticut lawmakers introduce more comp reform bills Read More »