workers’ compensation News

Study Links Chiropractic Care to Lower Costs, Faster Return to Work

Chiropractors are involved in only a small fraction of workers’ compensation claims for low back pain in states where insurers or employers control the choice of medical provider, but a report released Tuesday suggests that skepticism about runaway costs may …

Kansas Supreme Court Orders More Fact-Finding in Air Ambulance Case

Federal law may prohibit states from regulating prices charged to insurers by air ambulance providers, but that doesn’t absolve the Workers’ Compensation Board of its responsibility to determine whether the billed charges are “usual and customary,” a split Kansas Supreme …

Visit to Goodyear Clinic Extends Life of Workers’ Comp Claim, North Carolina Court Finds

If insurers and employers want to deny a workers’ compensation claim because it was filed too late, they shouldn’t forget about a visit to the company doctor, which extends the clock under the quirks of North Carolina’s comp statutes. And …

Court Says Federal Law Preempts in Tossing New York Suit Over Amazon Worker Safety

A New York state appeals court on Tuesday dismissed state Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit accusing Amazon.com Inc. of failing to adequately protect thousands of workers at two New York City facilities against COVID-19. The Appellate Division in Manhattan said …

Weight-Loss Surgery Covered by Workers’ Comp, Carolina Appeals Court Finds

Workers’ compensation insurer Erie Insurance Group must pay for weight-loss surgery for an obese woman who was injured at her child-care center, the North Carolina Court of Appeals decided this week. The appeals court upheld the North Carolina Industrial Commission’s …

Ouch. Massachusetts Worker Shoulders Burden of Injury Omitted From Lump Sum

A Massachusetts woman who signed a lump sum settlement with her workers’ compensation carrier over a right shoulder injury cannot later obtain benefits for a left shoulder injury linked to the same incident because she did not specifically mention the …

Travelers: New Hires May Drive Work Comp Claim Frequency

A new report by Travelers says workers with less than a year’s time on the job filed 35 percent of all workers’ compensation claims, a troubling statistic considering that employers are in the midst of an historic hiring spree. Rich …

Fla. Appeals Court Narrows Going and Coming Rule in Work Comp

A Florida appeals court has put a fine point on the still-evolving “going and coming rule” in workers’ compensation law. The 1st District Court of Appeal found that a man injured on his way to a jobsite was not due …

TPA’s Rapid-Fire Work Comp Claim Denials Cost Vermont Insurer $100K

A workers’ compensation insurer must pay $100,000 under an agreement with Vermont state regulators because its claims administrator gave short shrift to claims for post-traumatic stress disorder and other occupational diseases. Acadia Insurance Co. on April 18 reached an agreement …

Psychiatrist Paying $3M to Resolve False Billing Allegations

A Philadelphia psychiatrist and his wife agreed to pay $3 million to resolve allegations that they billed the federal workers’ compensation program for services that were not performed, US Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams’ office announced. Federal prosecutors accused Dr. Harry …