Insurer orders to pay costs after injury
- A Texas Court of Appeals ruled an employee filing a personal injury claim can seek his exclusive remedy of recovery of workers’ compensation benefits from the insurance carrier, not the employer.
- The plaintiff in this case was working when he fell from a ladder, fractured his left heel bone, injured his left knee and ankle, and later filed a lawsuit seeking damages.
- The trial court ruled in the defendant’s favor and summarily dismissed the plaintiff’s claims of negligence and gross negligence.
- The plaintiff appealed, arguing that summary judgment was improper because there was a remaining factual issue about whether he was an employee or an independent contractor when the injuries occurred.
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County sets workers’ comp rates
- Chautauqua County, New York lawmakers set the 2024 levy of participants’ share of the county’s self-insurance plan for workers’ compensation. The total cost of the plan is $3,374,500.
- Cities and villages will pay a total of $1,241,977, towns will pay a total of $544,068, while the county will pay $1,588,455.
- According to Finance Director Kitty Crow, the total workers’ compensation rates have dropped about $620,000.
- The only municipality that is not participating is the city of Dunkirk, which withdrew last year after it was told its rate was jumping $86,139.
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Fire department cancer decontamination grants in Florida
- Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Jimmy Patronis recently presented over $50,000 in cancer decontamination equipment funding to three fire departments in West Palm Beach.
- The grants were a top priority during the 2021 Legislative Session and within the Florida Department of Financial Services.
- The funds should help protect the health and safety of firefighters by providing financial aid to mitigate exposure to hazardous, cancer-causing chemicals.
- The allocation of the grants went to West Palm Beach Fire Department ($20,100), Marathon Fire Rescue ($24,750), and Coral Springs Parkland Fire District ($5,700).
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Workers’ comp fraud alter
- The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued a notice to financial institutions of increasing payroll tax evasion and workers’ compensation fraud taking place in the residential and commercial real estate industries.
- The notice is aligned with the Treasury Department’s ongoing implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act.
- The notice will include the establishment of a beneficial ownership information registry requiring certain reporting companies to file basic information with the agency about who controls their finances.
- The registry is set to take effect in 2024.
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