workers’ compensation News

After Decades of Delays, Broken Promises, Coal Miners Hail Rule to Slow Rise of Black Lung

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A half-century ago, the nation`s top health experts urged the federal agency in charge of mine safety to adopt strict rules protecting miners from poisonous rock dust. The inaction since — fueled by denials and lobbying …

A.M. Best: Workers’ Comp Outpacing Rest of Property/Casualty Commercial Sector

Workers’ compensation insurers’ underwriting results continued to outpace the rest of the U.S. property/casualty (P/C) commercial sector in 2022, as they benefited from the long-term decline in workplace accidents and a reduction in fraudulent claims, according to an AM Best …

Workers’ Compensation Undercuts Employer Liability Exclusion, U.S. Appeals Court Rules

Since workers’ compensation shields an employer from liability, an insurer may not be able to rely on an employer liability exclusion in a commercial general liability policy to avoid claims. That’s the potentially costly message a federal appeals court has …

Ore. Supreme Ct. Refuses to Expand Exception to Exclusive Remedy

A law passed by the state legislature in 2001 to address a court decision that created an exception to workers’ compensation exclusive remedy did not create a new exception, the Oregon Supreme Court ruled. In a unanimous decision Friday, the …

California Supreme Court, Warning of Litigation ‘Deluge,’ Rejects Take-Home COVID Claims

An employer owed no duty of care to the wife of an employee who was hospitalized after contracting COVID-19 that was carried home from the workplace by her husband, the California Supreme Court ruled Thursday. In a unanimous decision, the …

Conn. Supreme Ct. Rejects Work Comp Claim by Part-Time Firefighter

A firefighter must be shown to have worked 20 or more hours a week to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled in reversing an appeals court and state workers’ compensation officials. …

Connecticut High Court Nixes Workers’ Comp for Firefighter with Heart Condition

A firefighter must be shown to have worked 20 or more hours a week to be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits under state law, the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled in reversing an appeals court and state workers’ compensation officials. …

Contractor Says it has Settled Lawsuit with Sick and Dying Coal Ash Workers

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – Attorneys for a group of workers who believe their jobs cleaning up a massive coal ash spill in Tennessee led to a slew of illnesses, including fatal cancers, have reached a settlement with the contractor who …

Ala. Ct. Affirms Order to Return Injured Worker’s Psyche Records

Malik Woodard asked his doctor not to look at records of the treatment he received from a psychologist while recovering from crush injuries that happened when a one-ton battery cabinet fell on him while at work. Dr. Victor Chin obtained …

Wisconsin Supreme: UI Insurer Cannot Deduct Money that Was Paid but Reimbursed

Wisconsin law allows insurers to deduct from their liability any amounts paid for the same injury by a worker’s compensation carrier, but does that include amounts that are paid and later reimbursed? Secura Supreme Insurance Co. argued that repayment makes …