AI impacting workers’ comp
- A new study showed that AI-enabled workers’ compensation claims management reduced legal involvement for lost-time claims by 15%.
- This reduction translates into a 5% savings in lost-time claim costs, equating to an estimated annual savings of $3.5 million based on the study’s insurers managing an average of $70 million in lost-time claims, according to Gradient AI.
- The study revealed that insurers leveraging AI effectively reduced legal involvement by 15% because AI models were able to assess claim complexities, predict the likelihood of legal involvement, and provide early warnings to claims adjusters.
- AI’s proactive identification of potential legal engagements resulted in a notable 5% reduction in lost-time claims costs, equivalent to an annual $3.5 million based on the study’s insurers averaging $70 million in lost-time claims.
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Family of dead worker wins claim
- An injured worker in Virginia died in a motor vehicle accident while he was at work.
- While driving a truck filled with sand, he experienced a heart attack causing him to run off the road and crash into a tree.
- The deceased worker’s widow originally hired a different attorney from a large Virginia law firm to pursue a workers’ compensation claim.
- Faced with that evidence, the insurance company agreed to mediation, ultimately paid $175,000 and settled the case.
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Legalization of marijuana’s impact on worker’ comp
- Evaluations of the effects of legalization policies and marijuana on workplace performance have documented a number of positive outcomes, including decreased absenteeism, fewer workplace fatalities, and a decrease in workers’ compensation claims.
- Similar studies assessing the impact of adult-use legalization laws have also failed to support the alarmist rhetoric espoused by Issue 2’s opponents.
- Such laws are now in place in 23 states, with Delaware, Maryland, and Minnesota adopting these policies earlier this year. No state has ever repealed or even rolled back their laws and public support for legalization has never been higher.
- These policies are largely working as politicians and voters intended and they are preferable to criminal prohibition.
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Nevada Supreme Court rules on workers’ comp case
- The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the state’s workers’ compensation statutes contain a traveling employee rule that generally permits an employee (or their heirs) who is on work-related travel to recover workers’ compensation benefits.
- These benefits are available when the employee suffers an injury that, although not directly work-related, occurs as a result of “eating, sleeping and administering to personal needs away from home.”
- the Nevada Supreme Court said the appeal presented a pure question of law and concluded that the appeals officer’s decision “was legally erroneous.”
- In particular, the appeals officer misinterpreted the individual’s distinct departure exception to the general traveling employee rule.
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