Washington mulls proposal to help death investigators
- A proposed bill in Washington State would allow workers’ comp for personnel expressing claims of PTSD and was sent to the House Labor and Workplace Standards Committee.
- Under current law, state employees are eligible for workers’ compensation from the Washington State Department of Labor and Industries if they are injured or suffer a disability resulting from their line of work.
- However, mental conditions caused by stress are ruled out and cannot fall under an occupational disease, meaning that most workers who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder don’t qualify for benefits.
- Medical examiners are then left with the sorrowful job of communicating and treating grieving family members.
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West Virginia Supreme Court to rule on workers’ comp case
- West Virginia’s Supreme Court will hear arguments on an issue of first impression involving how workers’ compensation decisions could impact separate lawsuits.
- The matter could have long-reaching implications because the West Virginia Supreme Court’s annual report for 2022 showed 135 workers’ compensation appeals to the West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals.
- Also, that year, when the Intermediate Court didn’t start taking cases until July 1, 2022, there were 83 new filings to the state Supreme Court.
- At the center of the appeal is the legal concept of collateral estoppel, which is also known as issue preclusion.
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Fewer claims lead to rate declines for schools
- Prairie South School Division in Saskatchewan, Canada, had a nearly 50% year-over-year decline in injury claims from employees during the 2022-23 school year, which led to an insurance premium discount of nearly $70,000.
- The Workers’ Compensation Board accepted 10 injury claims from division staff in 2023 versus 18 submissions in 2022, a decrease of 44.5%, the 2022-23 human resources accountability report showed.
- Meanwhile, the Workers’ Compensation Board accepted 26 claims in 2021 and 17 in 2020.
- The claims last year resulted in 257 time-loss days for $106,957 in compensation and medical costs. In comparison, claims in 2022 resulted in 364 time-loss days for $111,742 in compensation and medical costs.
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Workers’ comp update in New Jersey
- The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development’s Division of Workers’ Compensation litigated and closed nearly 32,000 cases in 2023.
- The agency collected almost $1.4 million in penalties from employers that did not have workers’ compensation insurance coverage.
- This coverage is important not only to ensure workers are properly protected but also because lack of workers’ compensation coverage is often a sign of worker misclassification.
- Preliminary estimates point to $625 million in temporary disability insurance benefits paid to more than 80,000 claimants, and $500 million in family leave insurance benefits paid to nearly 64,000 claimants.
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