Kentucky files lawsuit against Kroger

• Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman filed a lawsuit against the Kroger Company for its role in the devastating drug crisis in Kentucky.
• Between 2006 and 2019, Kroger and its more than 100 pharmacies in the Commonwealth were responsible for over 11% of all opioid pills dispensed in Kentucky.
• Kroger also allegedly bought over four billion morphine milligram equivalents (MMEs) of opioids for Kentucky between 2006 and 2019. That’s roughly equivalent to 444 million opioid doses;
• The lawsuit claims Kroger distributed almost 194 million hydrocodone pills to its Kentucky pharmacies between 2006 and 2019 and failed to implement any effective monitoring program to stop suspicious opioid orders.
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Nebraska court bars workers’ comp case

• The Nebraska Supreme Court barred a tort claim over an active shooter drill that prompted a workers’ comp claim
• A Catholic Charities employee sued the group after she suffered distress following an active shooter drill one morning at the office where she worked.
• The court further reasoned that the plaintiff was not barred from recovering workers’ compensation because her injury was nonphysical.
• She had claimed a physical injury to her back, and thus could not show that her claim would be barred as solely emotional.
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Missouri bill would impact workers’ comp claim for unborn children

• An employee for the Missouri Department of Transportation who was nearly six months pregnant was killed when her vehicle struck and killed her at a worksite.
• MoDOT has attempted to claim Anderson’s unborn child, Jaxx, as an employee, which would make the case a worker’s compensation issue rather than a wrongful death suit.
• Workers’ compensation laws in the state of Missouri shield employers from wrongful death lawsuits when an employee dies on the job.
• State representatives expressed support for a bill that would prohibit businesses or state agencies from considering an “unborn child” as an employee in a civil action and the Missouri Supreme Court trial is set for March.
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Industry working to attract more talent

• Nearly 400,000 employees are expected to retire from the finance and insurance industry by 2026, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• During February, the American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA) is partnering with its members and the Insurance Careers Movement (ICM) for the annual Insurance Careers Month social campaign, to promote the diverse and rewarding careers available in insurance and attract fresh talent into the industry.
• The Insurance Careers Movement will launch a global social media campaign highlighting available jobs in insurance and how the industry is accelerating innovation and serving policyholders and communities.
• To get involved, organizations can download the 2024 Insurance Careers Month Social Media Calendar and post social content using the campaign hashtags #InsuranceCareersMonth and #ICM2024.
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