Wisconsin Cuts Average Workers’ Comp Rates 2% Wisconsin employers will pay lower workers’ compensation insurance premiums for policies incepting on or after Oct. 1 after state officials approved an average 1.97% rate reduction. The reduction is expected to save businesses an estimated $36 million over the next year. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development […]

  $95K PTSD Settlement Approved for Officer Involved in Fatal Shootings The Wauwatosa Common Council in Wisconsin voted 11-0 on Sept. 29 to approve a $95,000 workers’ compensation settlement for former police officer Joseph Mensah, related to a PTSD claim he filed in April 2025, which will be paid through the city’s workers’ compensation fund […]

  First Responders Accuse Sedwick of Dragging Its Feet on Claims Fort Worth police officer Bobbie Sanchez says she’s still fighting for adequate medical care more than two years after a July 2024 altercation in which a suspect elbowed her in the face, dislocating her jaw and permanently damaging both temporomandibular joints, highlighting ongoing struggles […]

  Court Upholds Award to Worker with Alcohol in His System The Kentucky Supreme Court upheld a workers’ compensation award to a traffic control flagger for Louisville-based Safe Zone Services who was struck by a vehicle in March 2023, while crossing a highway to return from an authorized trip to a convenience store for a […]

  Chemical Burn Negligence Suit Tossed Over Exclusive Remedy A federal judge dismissed with prejudice a worker’s negligence lawsuit against Oklahoma-based Occidental Chemical Corp., ruling the company was his statutory employer and that Louisiana workers’ compensation law was his exclusive remedy following a September 2023 chemical burn injury. The worker, an employee of contractor Turner […]

  Worker Barred From Seeking Injury Damages in Retaliation, Discrimination Suit New Jersey’s Appellate Division reversed a trial court order that had allowed a former material handler for Ekornes Inc. to pursue compensatory damages for his shoulder injury and present evidence of workers’ compensation benefits to a jury as part of his discrimination and retaliation […]

  Schools Board Okays $1.8M Emergency Transfer to Its Workers’ Comp Fund The Loudoun County School Board in Virginia approved a $1.8 million transfer into the division’s workers’ compensation fund Sept. 22, after actuarial estimates fell short of actual claims, which rose 25% from the end of fiscal year 2025 to the end of FY26, […]

  Washington Proposes 4.9% Workers’ Comp Rate Hike for 2027 The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is proposing an average 4.9% increase in the state’s workers’ compensation insurance rates for 2027, which would raise coverage costs by about $1.44 a week per full-time employee, with employers covering roughly 75% of the premium and […]

  Nevada Replaces Fixed Workers’ Comp Payroll Cap With New Formula Nevada employers will see a major shift in workers’ compensation premium calculations starting Oct. 1 under SB 317, which eliminates the state’s longstanding $36,000 annual payroll cap per employee. The fixed cap is being replaced with a floating cap tied to the state’s maximum […]

  Texas Updates Minimum and Maximum Benefits The Texas Division of Workers’ Compensation published updated benefit tables for fiscal year 2027, which runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30, 2027, with the state average weekly wage set at $1,314.32. Temporary income benefits will have a weekly minimum of $197 and a maximum of $1,314; impairment […]