Workers Comp

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a chemical plant operator for 16 violations for not doing enough to protect employees from exposure to chemicals, including ethylene oxide, a known carcinogen. OSHA said Tuesday it issued both repeat and serious safety and health violation citations to BCP Ingredients Inc., a subsidiary of Balchem Corp., …

Workers at chemical plant exposed to dangerous substances: OSHA Read More »

An Arizona appellate court reversed a decision denying a workers compensation claim by a firefighter with brain cancer. The Arizona Court of Appeals said Tuesday Robert Vande Krol should have been permitted to move forward with his claim even though it was filed before a 2021 comp law revision that heightened the standard to rebut …

Firefighter’s cancer comp claim improperly denied Read More »

While there are some issues that could eventually affect the workers compensation line, much of the story was the same with regards to 2023 mid-year renewals, according to experts who say the line remains the most profitable, competitive and predictable. Medical inflation, the aging workforce, and economic uncertainty are among the issues experts say they …

Workers comp line remains ‘favorable and predictable’ Read More »

Sexual assault in the workplace is a crime that can happen almost anywhere. It happens in restaurants. It happens in offices and at retail stores. It happens to housekeeping staff in hotel rooms. It happens on business trips and in parking lots, advocates for assault victims and legal experts say.  “It happens so much more …

When sex crimes take place in the workplace Read More »

While the term sexual harassment has been in widespread use since the 1970s, some experts say employers still fail to adequately train employees on what constitutes improper behavior and it’s putting businesses at risk.  Incidents occur despite ever-increasing regulations on mandatory workplace training, they say.  “What’s happened is it has become a check-the-box exercise for …

Experts say employers lag in sexual harassment prevention training Read More »

It’s not always the act of sexual assault or harassment that puts companies at risk, as few have direct control over the intentional acts of others; it’s when companies don’t promptly respond to concerns that liability issues arise, experts say.  “It’s important that companies take immediate action in responding to these claims and address the …

Failure to respond to assaults opens employers to liability Read More »

In May, Ramona Tanabe became president and CEO of the Workers Compensation Research Institute, where she began working in 1996. During her tenure, she has helped the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based institute evaluate the workers comp industry by conducting studies on state policies and trends. Business Insurance Assistant Editor Louise Esola interviewed her recently on her work …

View from the top: Ramona Tanabe, Workers Compensation Research Institute Read More »

The insurance claims sector is tapping into technologies such as machine learning and artificial intelligence to increase efficiency, improve outcomes and detect fraud.  Whether it is a simpler version of AI that can be used to automate back-office processes or the newer generation AI, which can be used to analyze policyholders’ claims history and policy …

AI technology builds momentum in claims sector Read More »

Commercial insurance rates rose an average of 5% in the second quarter, as commercial property and cyber liability saw the biggest increases, according to data from insurance exchange MarketScout Corp. released Friday. Cyber liability rates rose 13.3%, softening from a 15.7% increase in the first quarter, according to the Dallas-based company. Commercial property rates rose …

Commercial rates up 5% in Q2: MarketScout Read More »

With incidents of workplace violence on the rise at health care facilities, researchers now say receptionists at general physician practices are also experiencing increased levels of patient aggression. An article published Thursday in the open-access journal Family Medicine and Community Health says that patient aggression against receptionists is having an adverse effect on doctors’ offices, …

Patient aggression causing workplace safety concerns for receptionists Read More »