Delaware system has mixed results

• A new study from the Workers Compensation Research Institute found that total costs per claim with more than seven days of lost time in Delaware decreased in 2020 and then increased in 2021.
• Changes in the availability of medical services and economic conditions were the main factors behind the 2020 and 2021 findings.
• Medical payments per claim decreased in 2020 and then increased in 2021, reflecting utilization changes during the pandemic; prices for professional services have been fairly stable since 2017.
• Wages of workers with injuries and duration of temporary disability increased in 2020 and 2021 following small changes in prior years.
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Work resumes after employees are injured during a building collapse

• Construction has resumed after the partial collapse of a seven-story, 112-unit apartment building under construction in New Haven, Connecticut.
• Involving more than 4 million pounds of concrete, the collapse injured eight workers, two critically.
• All of the injured workers were released from area hospitals within a few days of the accident
• Workers were pouring more than 4 million pounds of concrete when a building under construction on Lafayette Street collapsed.
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New workers’ comp app making impact

• The Claim Mobile App launched on October 5 by the New York State Insurance Fund to serve workers’ compensation policyholders, has gotten over 1,000 downloads.
• “We’re really pleased with the initial rollout,” said Gaurav Vasisht, executive director and CEO of NYSIF.
• NYSIF has about 200,000 policyholders, with $1.9 billion in annual premiums and over $20 billion in invested assets.
• It is the largest workers’ compensation insurer in New York State and in the top 10 of U.S. workers comp insurers.
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Highway crash that killed six could have been prevented

• An investigation by Maryland Occupational Safety and Health investigation blames the State Highway Administration for violations that contributed to the deadly March crash on I-695 that killed six highway workers.
• On March 23, police said two drivers, Lisa Lea, 54, and Melachi Brown, 20, were driving at a high rate of speed down I-695 when Lea changed lanes, hitting Brown. Lea’s car tumbled out of the intersection and killed six highway workers.
• The MOSH notification cited SHA for failing to post traffic control signs in advance of openings in the temporary concrete barrier where Lea’s vehicle entered the construction zone.
• Lea and Brown are also facing charges.
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