Latest Workers' Compensation Headlines

All the headlines from our Workers' Compensation Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Starr Insurance Companies Extends Defense Base Act Coverage to Small Contractors

Aug 2 2019 // Starr Wright Insurance Agency, Inc. (Starr Wright USA), a division of Starr Insurance Companies, has a launched a distribution channel for Starr Insurance Companies’ Defense Base Act insurance coverage, specifically...

Fewer Injured Workers Receiving Opioids Under Workers’ Compensation But States Vary

Aug 2 2019 // Fewer injured workers are receiving opioids to treat pain than in previous years, as medical providers are turning more to non-opioid medications and physical therapies.A new study of injured worker claims from 27 states...

Report: Written Worker’s Comp Premium in California to Fall by $1B in 2019

Jul 31 2019 // Expect workers’ compensation insurance rates in California to continue to fall, with total written premium expected to drop by $1 billion or more for 2019 despite the positive impacts of continued economic growth, a...

Company Faces $724K in Federal Fines for Hazards at Ohio Plant

Jul 31 2019 // An automotive glass manufacturer has been cited by federal workplace safety officials for exposing employees to multiple safety and health hazards at its production plant in Moraine, Ohio.Fuyao Glass America Inc. faces...

California Self-Insurers Board Greenlights Workers’ Comp Alternative Security Program

Jul 30 2019 // The board of the California Self-Insurers’ Security Fund has approved the 2019/20 Alternative Security Program.The ASP provides a financial backstop to replace security deposits required to collateralize self-insured...

OSHA Fines Virginia Shipbuilder More Than $13K for Safety Violation

Jul 26 2019 // The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Newport News Shipbuilding more than $13,000 for a safety violation after investigating the death of an employee. However, the violation was unrelated to the...

Louisiana Workers’ Comp Carrier, LWCC, Adds Irby, Promotes Sanders

Jul 25 2019 // Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based workers’ compensation provider, LWCC, has hired Seth Irby as chief marketing and customer experience officer, and promoted Gary Sanders to vice president.Irby brings to LWCC a variety of...

U.S. Appeals Court: Ohio Work Comp Solicitation Ban at Odds with Free Speech Law

Jul 25 2019 // In siding with a law firm in a case involving access to workers’ compensation claimant information and the use of that information for solicitation, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has declared...

Pets Account for Nearly 400 Workers’ Comp Claims A Year in Oregon

Jul 25 2019 // Slip and falls, flying tools, poor posture. The workplace can be dangerous, and now you can add pets to the risks that Oregon workers face.Dogs and cats have accounted for more than 1,900 claims since 2014 received by...

Missouri Contractor Faces $212K in Penalties Over Trench Hazards

Jul 24 2019 // Federal workplace safety officials have cited a Missouri contractor for exposing employees to trench engulfment hazards and imposed more than $212,000 in penalties.The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety...

Oklahoma Manufacturer Cited, Fined $187K for Serious Workplace Hazards

Jul 24 2019 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited HE&M Inc., a Pryor, Oklahoma-based metalworking band saw manufacturer, for exposing employees to fall, machine...

California Financial Advisor Sentenced to 10 Years for Embezzling $1M

Jul 24 2019 // California financial advisor Tom Fallon, 65, has been sentenced in Long Beach Superior Court after being convicted in an open plea of 25 criminal counts of money laundering and grand theft.Fallon was sentenced to 10 years...

With Commissioner’s OK, Wisconsin Workers’ Comp Rates to Fall by 8.8%

Jul 23 2019 // Wisconsin’s chief insurance regulator has approved an overall 8.84% decrease in workers’ compensation premium rates.The new rates approved by Commissioner of Insurance Mark Afable are effective Oct. 1, 2019,...

Washington Woman Charged with Running Construction Business While on Disability

Jul 23 2019 // A Spokane, Wash.-area woman faces a felony theft charge for allegedly running a construction business while claiming she was too disabled to work.Deborah J. Steeneck, 59, is accused of stealing more than $11,000 in...

Pennsylvania Resort Employee Injured in Bear Attack During ‘Safari Tour’

Jul 23 2019 // Officials say a worker at a western Pennsylvania resort was injured in a bear attack while guiding a routine “Safari Tour” of wildlife kept at the property.Nemacolin Woodlands Resort says the Himalayan bear...

Sage Program Underwriters Offers Workers’ Comp for Shooting Sports Industry

Jul 23 2019 // Sage Program Underwriters has launched a new national workers’ compensation program for the shooting sports industry. The exclusive program targets all aspects of the industry including: Indoor & outdoor...

Report Shows California Workers’ Compensation Premiums Falling

Jul 22 2019 // Workers’ compensation insurance premiums in California are declining as continued rate decreases more than offset the impacts of continued economic growth, according to the Workers’ Compensation Insurance...

Method Insurance Brings Specialty Workers’ Comp Program to Illinois

Jul 22 2019 // Method Insurance Service is expanding and offering its specialty workers’ compensation program for underserved high-hazard, debit mod, mid-market risks in Illinois.Method is a program administrator for Service...

PTSD Coverage for First Responders Left Out of Ohio Workers’ Comp Budget

Jul 19 2019 // Lawmakers have approved a two-year budget for Ohio’s insurance fund for injured workers after missing the initial deadline at the end of June and covering the gap with a temporary budget. The nearly $645 million...

Berkshire Hathaway’s Applied Underwriters Settles Workers’ Comp Dispute with New York

Jul 19 2019 // Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary Applied Underwriters will voluntarily halt the selling of a reinsurance-based, loss-sensitive workers’ compensation product in New York under an agreement with the state regulator who...