Prison System’s Worker’s Comp Claims Costs up 20%

prison

The New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision paid more than $255 million in workers’ compensation to employees in fiscal 2026, a 20.2% increase from the previous year, according to an updated dashboard from the Correctional Association of New York.
The average payout per full-time equivalent employee rose 36.5% to $14,832. Workers’ compensation-related absences accounted for 93,184 lost workdays statewide.
Reported incidents fell about 12.4%, while staffing levels dropped at a similar rate. Lost workdays per full-time equivalent employee declined from 6.1 to 5.4.

The Nevada Court of Appeals upheld the denial of permanent total disability benefits to a retired Las Vegas firefighter, in Gold v. City of Las Vegas and CCMSI. The court affirmed the district court’s denial of judicial review, finding he failed to show that restrictions tied to his occupational asthma prevented him from working as a firefighter.
The firefighter filed a workers’ compensation claim for occupational asthma in 2021 and sought permanent total disability benefits after retiring in April 2023. The city’s third-party administrator, CCMSI, denied both the claim and the total disability request. An appeals officer overturned the claim denial but upheld the denial of permanent total disability benefits.
His physician said he could continue working as a firefighter but could not perform fire suppression tasks and needed an inhaler to work, and described the restrictions as permanent. Under Nevada law, firefighters partially disabled by an occupational lung disease may elect permanent total disability benefits if they cannot perform work as a firefighter.
The court found substantial evidence supporting the appeals officer’s conclusion, including the physician’s statement that the firefighter could keep working and claim forms identifying him as both a firefighter and a paramedic. It said Gold presented no evidence about his job responsibilities showing the restrictions prevented him from doing his job.

Insurance Commissioner Trinidad Navarro announced that workers’ compensation insurance rates in Delaware will decrease for the 10th year in a row, effective Dec. 1. The voluntary market is expected to see average loss costs fall 3.99%, and the residual market an average rate reduction of 4.11%. Actual savings will vary by policy.
The announcement followed confirmation of the Delaware Compensation Rating Bureau filing by independent actuaries and a public hearing with the bureau and the state’s Ratepayer Advocate.
Senate Bill 248, sponsored by Sen. Nicole Poore, this year has updated the Workplace Safety Program so that participating employers can again access the full premium discounts of up to 12%. Previous legislative changes had inadvertently led to lower discounts after the bureau filed a new Experience Rating Plan.
As of year-end 2025, 853 employers saved an estimated $3.6 million through the Workplace Safety Program, which gives discounts for completing annual safety inspections and implementing recommended improvements.