While opioids continue to dip in workers compensation, prescriptions to manage opioid dependency and possible overdose were up 11% in 2022, according to a report released Wednesday by Enlyte LLC. The percentage of high-dosage opioid claims with naloxone, which can reverse negative effects of an overdose, rose to 7.3%, up from the 5.8% reported in …
A recent California Supreme Court ruling that employers aren’t responsible for so-called “take-home COVID” — when workers infect family members — has tossed the issue out of the workers compensation arena, experts say. The court ruled July 6 that businesses don’t owe a duty of care to relatives of workers who contract COVID-19 on the …
Ruling in ‘take home COVID’ case a win for employers: Experts Read More »
Workers compensation insurers’ underwriting results continued to outpace the rest of the U.S. property/casualty commercial sector in 2022, as they benefited from the long-term decline in workplace accidents and a reduction in fraudulent claims, according to an A.M. Best industry segment report released Tuesday. The report notes that favorable prior-year loss reserve development continued to bolster the …
Comp a ‘profit engine’ for property/casualty: A.M. Best Read More »
The Minnesota Court of Appeals Monday denied the appeal of a critical care nurse who had sued a psychiatrist for medical malpractice after she filed a workers compensation claim alleging work-related post-traumatic stress disorder. The court dismissed the suit for failure to state a claim and because the nurse failed to file various court motions …
Comp psychological exam doesn’t create doctor-patient relationship Read More »
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Thursday launched a national emphasis program to prevent workplace hazards in warehouses, processing facilities, distribution centers and other “high-risk retail” establishments. OSHA says the program is in response to the growth in warehousing and distribution centers, paralleled by increases in workplace accidents, citing Bureau of Labor Statistics data that show …
OSHA announces national emphasis program for warehouses, distribution centers Read More »
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a Missouri company for 55 health and safety violations after a sawmill worker was killed after getting pulled into machinery. OSHA on Thursday announced the citations and $346,954 in proposed penalties against Don Gibson, doing business as Missouri Mats, following the Jan. 11 fatality at a …
Missouri company cited after sawmill worker killed Read More »
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a New Jersey construction contractor for exposing workers to potentially deadly falls of up to 30 feet. OSHA said Tuesday it cited Newark-based Main Line Contractor Corp. for 17 serious and four willful violations and proposed $333,052 in fines after inspectors visited work sites in Berlin, Cape …
New Jersey contractor cited for exposing workers to fall hazards Read More »
Sedgwick Claims Management Services Inc. on Thursday announced the launch of Sedgwick Government Solutions, a new business to further expand its administrative and managed care offerings to the federal government. The news follows the company’s 2021 acquisition of Managed Care Advisors Inc., a Bethesda, Maryland-based government contracting firm and provider of workers compensation and specialty …
Sedgwick announces business for US federal sector Read More »
An examination of workers compensation pharmacy data showed a 1.06% increase in drug prices for injured workers between May 2020 and May 2023, according to a white paper released Thursday by MyMatrixx, a Jacksonville, Florida-based pharmacy benefits manager and subsidiary of Express Scripts Holding Co. MyMatrixx said the data showed that comp drug price increases …
Report shows modest drug price increases in comp Read More »
A U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General said in a report issued Wednesday that it had has to cancel one previously contracted audit of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s pandemic readiness due to budget issues. The OIG, which had previously audited OSHA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and found issues with enforcement …
Budget constraints pinch ability to investigate OSHA: Report Read More »