Tag: Workers Comp

Lawmakers in New York are considering a bill that would amend the state’s existing law on communicating with an injured worker’s doctor.

A.B. 8957, introduced Tuesday and sent to the labor committee, states that it would “not constitute improper influence or an attempt to improperly influence if a claimant’s attorney or representative communicates, verbally or in writing, with an injured employee’s treating provider or a claimant’s medical consultant” nor would it “presumed” that such communication was an attempt to improperly influence decisions.

Under current law, with few exceptions, “improper influencing or attempt by any person improperly to influence the medical opinion of any physician who has treated or examined an injured employee” is considered a misdemeanor.

 

 

 

One month into the new year and the years-long trend to expand, amend or introduce legislation involving post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental injuries as occupational diseases continues.

More than a dozen new and revived bills have been filed since December. Some call for new presumptions or add types of workers that would qualify, some deal with diagnoses and treatments for mental injuries, and some offer new parameters for qualifying for benefits.

As examples:

• Colorado is considering a bill that would provide benefits for all workers who are repeatedly exposed to trauma.
• Arizona and Virginia lawmakers have introduced bills that would expand presumptions to include emergency dispatchers.
• West Virginia lawmakers are considering a bill that would expand which professionals can diagnose a first responder with post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Kentucky lawmakers are considering amendments that would make off-duty work compensable for PTSD.

“There’s a lot of expansion in the presumption space,” said Brian Allen, Salt Lake City-based vice president of government affairs for Enlyte LLC, which provides workers compensation services.

This year looks much like 2023 in terms of the wave of bills introduced, according to annual analyses by the National Council for Compensation Insurance in Boca Raton, Florida. Last year’s results were mixed, with most bills introduced failing to gain traction. In 2022, only three states enacted changes after more than 60 bills were introduced, according to two separate analyses by NCCI.

In 2023, the trend of expanding PTSD presumptions beyond first responders was successful in two states: Connecticut now allows all workers who witness harrowing events to qualify for PTSD presumption, and Washington now allows nurses the same benefits as first responders.

The costs of implementing presumptions are unknown as data is limited, experts say.

A spokeswoman for the NCCI wrote in an email that “first responders are typically employed by municipalities who are often self-insured and therefore are not required to report data to NCCI. … This limits the amount of information available to NCCI since this population of employees may represent a greater proportion of work-related PTSD claims.”

The financial concerns are a major sticking point for municipalities, which have fought PTSD legislation in the past.

Aiming to take the issue out of the workers compensation system, lawmakers in Georgia, Indiana and Mississippi have introduced bills that would create programs for first responders suffering from PTSD that include such parameters as benefit limits and treatment options.

John Hanson, Atlanta-based vice president at Alliant Insurance Services Inc., said the Georgia bill to create an alternative program for first responders with PTSD is in response to the unknown costs associated with keeping the claims in the workers comp system.

California and Minnesota have reported high volumes of claims of PTSD, which typically include frictional costs associated with claim acceptance, he said.

“All of the costs associated with investigation, with litigation or arbitration are growing very quickly as opposed to just the claim costs,” said Mr. Hanson, who supports the Georgia bill.

Steven A. Bennett, vice president of workers compensation programs and counsel for the Washington-based American Property Casualty Insurance Association, said the industry needs strict standards for claiming PTSD.

“Mental injuries are subjective. … It’s unclear whether this injury is due to work, or due to something in the person’s private life or something hereditary,” he said. “That’s why mental claims are problematic.”

APCIA advocates for changes to presumptions so that they “have limitations on the scope of employment on the type of situations recoverable,” and for proof of mental illness, “we would like a clear and convincing standard, and we would want it to be for very specific, egregious circumstances,” Mr. Bennett said.

Florida, for example, in 2019 modified its PTSD presumption for first responders to require that the worker witness a so-called “qualifying event” to receive care and income benefits. That change went into effect one year after the state passed the original presumption bill.

Lawmakers in Colorado are considering a bill that would provide workers compensation benefits to workers who repeatedly experience traumatic events at work if they meet certain conditions.

H.B. 1140, which was introduced and sent to the House Business Affairs and Labor Committee on Monday, refers to the term “complex trauma,” which is defined in the bill as chronic or repeated exposure to traumatic events, including witnessing death, sexual assault, child abuse, domestic violence, or a motor vehicle accident causing bodily injury, with long-term emotional or physical symptoms.

The bill stipulates that workers must have passed a psychological fit-for-duty assessment at the time of hire and not have been previously diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder to be eligible. A licensed psychiatrist or psychologist must “reasonably believe” the complex trauma experience has caused post-traumatic stress disorder, according to the bill.

Lawmakers on Monday also read through H.B. 1139, which would remove the requirement that a surviving spouse relinquish workers comp death benefits upon remarriage, stating that “death benefits will be paid to a dependent surviving spouse of a deceased employee for life, regardless of remarriage, if the surviving spouse receives death benefits pursuant to current law, and the deceased employee was a state employee who worked in a job with a high-risk classification.” That bill was assigned to the Business Affairs & Labor Committee.

 

Kentucky legislators have introduced legislation that would amend the state’s workers compensation law to expand who is permitted to treat injured employees.

House Bill 401, filed Monday, would allow a physician licensed in any state, commonwealth, district or U.S. territory to treat injured workers.

Current law only permits doctors licensed in Kentucky to take workers comp claims.

The measure was sent to the House Committee on Committees.  

 

The construction sector topped the list for workplace injuries in 2023, reporting three times the number of workers compensation claims out of all industries, according to a workplace safety trends report released Monday by Texas Mutual Insurance Co.

Thirty-nine percent of serious injury claims were filed by construction workers compared with 11% in mining, 11% in administrative, support, waste management and remediation services, and 7% in manufacturing the report states.

The workers comp insurer said that overall, 2023 saw 6% more serious workplace injury claims compared to the previous year.

Within construction, there was a 500% increase in power and communication line-related accidents and a 175% increase in oil and gas pipeline and related structures construction, according to the report.

There were also 150% more claims involving electrocutions in 2023.

The report also said 2023 saw a nearly 50% increase in claims involving employees struck by objects or heavy equipment across the board.   

 

  

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Friday that it cited a Georgia plumbing contractor after an employee suffered a fatal fall at a work site in June 2023.

OSHA cited Silver Creek-based K&D Plumbing Inc. for willfully failing to develop and implement a permit-required confined space entry program before allowing workers to enter a manhole.

The worker who died was part of a three-person crew replacing a sewer line at a high school in Rome, Georgia. The employee entered a manhole to clear a blockage when they fell about 20 feet and later died from the fall and exposure to high levels of hydrogen sulfide gas, OSHA stated.

The company was also cited for six serious violations for failing to provide ladders to employees and failing to implement controls for water accumulation inside the trench.

OSHA proposed $184,387 in penalties. K&D Plumbing has 15 business days to contest the citation and proposed penalties. 

 

 

National Council on Compensation Insurance President and CEO Bill Donnell plans to retire in February 2025, the ratings agency announced Thursday.

Mr. Donnell joined NCCI in 2015 after serving as president of Swiss Re’s property and casualty reinsurance business. He previously was chief marketing officer, global casualty leader and president of specialty commercial lines for GE Insurance Solutions, which Swiss Re acquired in June 2006.

A search committee is being formed to evaluate candidates to succeed him at NCCI.

 

Legislators in Oklahoma this week pre-filed legislation that would make line-of-duty mental injuries compensable for first responders.

Senate Bill 1457 would enable police officers, firefighters (both professional and volunteer) and emergency medical technicians who suffer on-the-job post-traumatic stress disorder to collect workers compensation benefits.

Generally, Oklahoma workers who suffer a work-related mental injury are barred from workers comp unless the diagnosis accompanies a physical injury.

The legislation would create an exemption for first responders.

Under the bill, employers would be obligated to provide “reasonable and necessary medical treatment” for first responders with PTSD for up to one year if the claim is found compensable.  

First responders with compensable mental injuries would be eligible for permanent disability benefits not exceeding $50,000 if they are unable to perform their job duties after reaching maximum medical improvement.

 

 

 

Rhode Island lawmakers have introduced legislation clarifying what types of workers would be considered employees for workers compensation purposes.

Senate Bill 2236, filed Wednesday, would, among other things, expand the definition of “employee” to include “any person providing labor or services for remuneration.”

The burden would be placed on an employer to prove that the worker is an independent contractor not eligible for workers comp benefits.

An individual would not be considered an employee if an employer can prove the person is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity, performs work that is outside the usual course of hiring, or is customarily engaged in an independently established trade.

The bill would also amend the definition of employee for the purposes of unemployment benefits and wage laws.