Flash: California Court Approves Rehabilitation Plan

• The California Department of Insurance’s Rehabilitation plan for Applied Underwriters conserved California Insurance Company has been approved.
• The judge noted that the Department’s plan is completely rational and should be implemented.
• The decision will resolve years of litigation from California employers.
• Applied Underwriters is expected to appeal yet again.
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PA Employers to Enjoy Workers’ Comp Savings

• The Pennsylvania Insurance Department and the Department of Labor and Industrial have announced some significant decreases in workers’ comp rates.
• The announcement is in keeping with the state’s attempt to make businesses more competitive.
• 370 insurance companies operate in Pennsylvania.
• The announcement also brings to the forefront the state’s efforts to offer employers and employees state- of- the- art safety training.
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Injured Worker Gets Another Bite

• The State Supreme Court of New York, Appellate Division has asked the New York Workers Comp Board to reconsider an injured worker’s case in-light-of omitted medical evidence.
• The worker filed a claim against his employer for work-related hearing loss. The worker, the employer, and employer’s insurance company were at odds as to how much hearing loss he sustained.
• The injured worker challenged the decision downgrading his hearing loss asserting that audiogram test results had been omitted.
• The Board said the workers’ appeal was not timely. The appellate court ruled that considering the carrier’s attorney did not object to the worker’s request to ignore the untimeliness, it must consider the omitted audiogram.
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