It Figures

$69 Million

The Medical Mutual Liability Insurance Society dividend that Maryland Insurance Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler has ruled it must pay to the state, not to policyholders. The dividend, reported by the insurer in September, is due to the state as reimbursement for subsidies paid under the Medical Provider Rate Stabilization Fund, according to Tyler.

128

The number of occupational injuries and illnesses per 10,000 workers last year requiring days away from work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department Labor. That was a decrease of 6 percent from 2005. There were 1.2 million cases requiring days away from work in private industry, which represented a decrease of 51,180 cases (or 4 percent). Median days away from work was 7 days in 2006, the same as the prior two years.

$180 Million

The amount of damages being sought by families of two New York firefighters killed in a blaze in a government-owned skyscraper. The families have sued the state and the city, charging the incompetence of multiple agencies caused their deaths. The firefighters died on Aug. 18 of cardiac arrest after climbing 14 floors into the burning building, which was being dismantled. A broken standpipe, which hadn’t been inspected in more than a year, hampered efforts to fight the fire.

$2.4 Billion

The cost of the proposed lead paint cleanup in Rhode Island about which paint firm Sherwin-Williams Co. has demanded more information. Sherwin-Williams, based in Cleveland, is one of three former lead paint manufacturers found liable last year of creating a public nuisance in a landmark lawsuit brought by the Rhode Island attorney general. The companies are appealing the February 2006 verdict. Sherwin-Williams identified 20 broad categories of questions about the plan that it said still needed to be answered, including which specific properties are covered by the plan and how many children, if any, live in those homes.

518

The number of businesses in Massachusetts that failed to offer insurance options to their employees under the state’s landmark health care law. That was far lower than original estimates. Under the law, any business with 11 or more full time workers must offer insurance options or pay an annual $295 fee to the state for each uninsured employee.