Post-Pandemic Costs Stable

May 8, 2023

Florida workers’ comp market evens out

  • Total costs per claim with more than seven days of lost time in Florida remained stable in 2020 and 2021, following growth of 4–5% per year from 2016 to 2019, according to the WCRI.
  • Indemnity benefits per claim in Florida remained stable in 2021 following a moderate increase in 2020.
  • Wages of workers with injuries in Florida grew faster in 2020 and 2021 than in prior study years.
  • Medical payments per claim in Florida decreased by 5 percent in 2020 followed by little change in 2021, a change of pattern from the previous moderate growth from 2016 to 2019.
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Unscrupulous contractors costly to workers’ comp

  • There are an estimated 2.16 million construction workers in the U.S. who are illegally paid and misclassified as independent contractors every year by thousands of unscrupulous contractors.
  • Many of these workers are intent on defrauding federal, state, and local governments out of an estimated $8.4 billion.
  • The Pennsylvania Joint Task Force on the Misclassification of Employees found that these misclassifications resulted in an annual loss of $91 million to Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund.
  • This illegal practice increases employee costs, including paying workers’ compensation benefits.
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Minnesota House passes PTSD bill

  • The Minnesota House approved a bill to spend $104 million to fund treatment programs for public safety workers diagnosed with PTSD.
  • The workers will also get their wages and benefits while in treatment.
  • The hope is more police officers will return to work and reduce the numbers on permanent disability.
  • The appropriation also would reimburse local governments for the medical insurance premiums they are obligated to cover when an employee gets pension disability benefits.
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Law firm sued for misplacing workers’ comp

  • A Florida law firm was sued for malpractice after allegedly misplacing a client’s workers’ compensation claim settlement funds.
  • Thomas Hall filed a complaint in the Leon County Circuit Court against Gus Soto and My Attorney Inc., alleging legal malpractice, fraud, and other claims.
  • Hall entered into a contract with The Soto Law Firm for legal representation regarding a workers’ compensation claim.
  • He claims Soto failed to properly supervise his staff and manage a trust account in accordance with the rules regulating the Florida Bar Association.
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