CO Bill to Change Insurance Standards A bill recently passed the Colorado State Appropriations Committee changes the way state employees are covered by workers’ comp. According to a summary of the bill, introduced by Senator Nick Hinrichsen, it removes the state’s ability to elect for self insurance for the state employees workers’ comp account. […]

PTSD: The Evidence Is There The Minnesota Supreme Court rules that a worker can rightfully claim benefits after hearing about an incident in 2020 that shook her to her very core. Janine Tea, a social worker for Ramsey County, says suffered post traumatic stress disorder in the course of her employment, when told that one […]

CO Employees Going Remote More than half of the Rocky Mountain State’s workers are working from home, according to Pinnacol Insurance, the state’s largest workers’ comp carrier. The uptick shows up in the company’s latest data, and it also shows that Colorado employers are also allowing employees to work outside Colorado. The number of remote […]

TN Governor Signs Insurance Bill Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has signed a bill to ensure self-insured workers’ comp claims get paid. The bill HB 2306/SB 2090 provides a mechanism to guaranty the payment of the claims to avoid financial loss to injured workers in the event the self-insured employer becomes insolvent. An association will be […]

Flash: Bureau Files for Workers’ Comp Rate Increase The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California is increasing pure premium rates for later this year. The rate is advisory. The increase is being driven by several factors, including increased loss development. Workers’ compensation remains California’s most competitive commercial insurance product. The Bureau also increased rates […]

Line of Duty Advances A Connecticut bill would expand the reach of workers’ comp benefits for first responders. Specifically, the bill would allow benefits to be awarded to family members of police officers and firefighters who die within 24 hours after a shift, from conditions such as a heart attack or stroke. HB 5279 would […]

Illinois Appellate Court: No Show No Case A court rules that because an injured worker never showed up, the case was properly dismissed. Injured worker Eugenia Bala filed a workers’ comp claim for injuries sustained while working for a home health care company in 2015. The company filed a motion to dismiss in a proceeding […]

Kansas Governor Signs Workers’ Comp Bill Governor Laura Kelly has signed SB 430 updating the state’s workers’ comp laws. The bill, among other things, increases the maximum benefits for injured workers. It also provides coverage for the National Guard. AB 430 also permits the settling of claims without the need for a hearing. Read More […]

NY Business Owner Cheats at Insurance A Garden-City business owner is being charged with insurance fraud after under-reporting payroll. Vassilios a.k.a William a.k.a Bill Handakas allegedly stated in his workers’ comp contract that his company had only two employees when it actually employed 13. Handakas ended up under-reporting thousands of dollars in payroll, according the […]

Hip Surgery Still Compensable The Idaho Supreme Court rules that an injured worker can still be compensated, if Medicaid covers the claim. Injured worker, Nickole Thompson, suffered injuries to her back and buttocks and hip when she tripped over a stack of mats. Despite hip surgery, Thompson continued to suffer from pain and asked for […]