Our Resources

• Seriously injured stripper not entitled to workers comp benefits: S.C. appeals court
  A stripper seriously injured by a stray bullet fired during an altercation in the club where she was working is not entitled to workers compensation benefits because she was not an employee, South Carolina’s Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.

Workers compensation lawyer Orange County
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
San Diego Archives Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California

• Treatment guidelines help reduce amount of services used for low back injuries: WRCI
  Medical treatment guidelines can help reduce the amount of medical services used for lower back injuries, but produce mixed results for helping to treat other types of injuries, according to the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
• N.J. comptroller’s report warns of ‘undisclosed revenue-share agreements’ by TPAs
  Third-party administrators may be generating revenue through undisclosed “side agreements” that drive up public employers’ workers compensation costs, a report by the New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller warned recently.
• California lawmakers approve workers compensation reform package
  California lawmakers approved a massive workers compensation reform package Friday that advocates say will boost benefits for injured workers while helping California employers to cope with rising comp rates for 2013.

Workers Compensation Press Updates
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Southern California
San Diego  Workers Compensation Southern California

• DMEC conference looks at ways to improve disease management
  DENVER — Employers failing to gain desired results from disease management and wellness programs might consider a broader-than-usual array of issues such as managers’ treatment of workers.
• Target deploys clinical case management
  DENVER — A successful pilot program involving tens of thousands of employees and a control group proved to retailer Target Corp. that clinical case management efforts could significantly reduce short-term disability durations.
• DMEC draws 603
  DENVER — A record 603 people attended the Disability Management Employer Coalition’s annual conference held Aug. 12-15 in Denver.

Orange County workers compensation lawyer
San Diego Archives – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Chula Vista Archives – Workers Compensation Southern California

• Texas court rejects retaliation claim by injured worker
  Companies that opt out of Texas’ workers compensation system cannot be sued for retaliation under the state’s Orange County workers compensation attorney, a Texas appellate court has ruled.
• 18.8% workers comp rate hike for Massachusetts rejected
  Massachusetts’ insurance commissioner has rejected a request to increase workers compensation rates by 18.8%.
• Passage of California workers comp reform bill could lead to reduced rates
  The California State Compensation Insurance Fund says it plans to seek a 5% to 7% reduction in its workers compensation rates if California legislators pass a workers comp reform bill this week.
• Claims that include opioid prescription more likely to become catastrophic: Report
  Workers compensation claims that include prescriptions for certain opioid painkillers are nearly four times more likely to develop into catastrophic claims, according to a recent report in the Journal of Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

workers compensation attorney Southern California
Workers Compensation Legal News Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Southern California

• Enstar to buy workers comp insurer SeaBright in $252 million deal
  Bermuda-based Enstar Group Ltd. says it will acquire Seattle-based workers compensation insurer SeaBright Holdings Inc. in a $252 million deal.
• OFF BEAT: Often minor injuries add up to big workplace claims
  A British county council paid nearly $8,700 in compensation to an employee who alleged that a spinal injury resulted from wearing a too-tight uniform, according to a report.
• Calif. workers compensation reform bill could increase costs by $300 million: Report
  A workers compensation reform bill introduced in the California Senate last week would result in a $300 million increase in comp costs for insurers and employers by 2014, according to analysis by the California Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating…
• Injured worker entitled to benefits for related mental illness: Court
  A surgical assistant disabled from a compensable back injury is also entitled to workers compensation benefits for a related mental illness, the Tennessee Supreme Court Special workers compensation attorney Appeals Panel ruled Thursday.

Workers Compensation Press Updates
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California

• NCCI requests 6.1% increase in Florida workers compensation rates
  NCCI Holdings Inc. is seeking a 6.1% increase in workers compensation rates paid by Florida employers, the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation announced Thursday.
• Former Redskins player awarded workers comp benefits for back injury
  The Washington Redskins must pay workers compensation benefits for a former punter who suffered a back injury while warming up for a game, the Maryland Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday.
• Calif. workers compensation insurers costs up by $1B in 2011: Analysis
  California workers compensation insurers’ medical, indemnity and administrative expenses reached $12.48 billion for calendar year 2011, up from $11.2 billion the prior year, according to a California Workers’ Compensation Institute bulletin.
• Worker’s loss-of-consortium tort claim cannot proceed: Court
  The wife of a California worker cannot pursue a tort claim against his employer for injuries that prevented him from performing “necessary duties as a husband,” the California Supreme Court said Monday.
• Workers compensation suit hinges on group cut
  A class action lawsuit that, if successful, could end up paying more than $1 billion to employers who believe they overpaid for workers’ compensation insurance and workers compensation attorney Orange County opened Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court.
• Aetna to buy Coventry Health for $5.6B
  (Reuters)—Insurer Aetna Inc. said it will buy rival Coventry Health Care Inc. for $5.6 billion in cash and stock to boost its share of government business and benefit from U.S. health care reforms.

Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California

• Q&A: Excellence in focus
  Discussions about an employer’s workers compensation program typically focus on specific considerations, such as insurance coverage structure, claims management or loss control strategies.
• California’s Workers Compensation Bureau proposes rate hike
  California’s Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau will recommend a 12.6% average pure premium rate increase that would be effective Jan. 1, 2013, for new and renewing policies.

workers compensation attorney
Workers Compensation Southern California
National City Archives  Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California

• NFL sues insurers over defense of player lawsuits
  The National Football League has filed a lawsuit alleging that nearly three dozen commercial general liability insurers refused to defend the organization against at least 143 lawsuits filed by former players.
• Workers comp is exclusive remedy for widow of worker killed on the job: Court
  The widow of an Illinois restaurant worker who was murdered by a co-worker cannot sue her husband’s employer for negligence because of exclusive remedy provisions for Illinois’ workers compensation law, a state appellate court says.
• California bureau to recommend 12.6% increase for workers compensation premiums
  California’s Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau will recommend a 12.6% average pure premium rate increase that would be effective Jan. 1, 2013, for new and renewing policies.
• Calif. workers comp bill would limit self-insurance, increase disability benefits
  A workers compensation reform bill set to be proposed in California would limit some companies’ ability to self-insure for workers comp claims and would increase total permanent disability benefits for workers by $720 million per year, according to a…
• SOLUTION ARC: Workers Comp Pricing
  Employers are facing increasing costs for workers compensation coverage, while insurance underwriters are less willing to offer guaranteed-cost policies, which cap an employer’s premiums regardless of adverse loss experience.
• OFF BEAT: British city bans use of common office supplies over risk of injury
  The National Health Service in Manchester, England, has banned a sharp metal instrument that has been impaling workers recently: the file fastener.
• NCCI asks for 3.8% advisory workers comp rate reduction in Illinois
  SPRINGFIELD, Ill.—NCCI Holdings Inc. has asked the Illinois Department of Insurance to consider a 3.8% decrease in advisory workers compensation rates for 2013, the department said in a statement Friday.

Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California

• Creative claims settling
  Experts say workers compensation claims handlers need to think outside the box to devise settlements that help injured workers resolve long-standing cases.
• Fast action, solid resources stop claims spiraling
  Failing to pay adequate attention to an employee immediately after he or she is injured can quickly result in expensive, tough-to-close workers compensation cases, veteran risk managers say.

workers compensation lawyer
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Southern California
National City Archives – Workers Compensation Southern California

• Workers cannot accumulate impairment ratings for separate injuries: Maine Court
  PORTLAND, Maine—The Maine Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that an injured worker cannot combine impairment ratings for accidents that he suffered, limiting the number of weeks that he can collect workers compensation benefits for some of his injuries.
• Employers, unions close to deal to reform California workers comp system
  SACRAMENTO—Employers and labor unions are close to cutting a deal to reform San Diego workers compensation system while boosting disability benefits, according to reports published Thursday.
• California rating bureau eyes increase in workers compensation pure premium advisory rates
  SAN FRANCISCO—The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California is considering a 7.
• OFF BEAT: Cup of coffee packs a punch for worker
  An Australian man who was punched in the arm by a coworker over a cup of hot coffee was denied workers compensation.
• Retired NFL player cannot file for workers comp benefits in Calif.: Court
  PASADENA, Calif.—A retired National Football League player cannot file for workers compensation benefits in California because he did not prove that he suffered injuries in the state, the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled Monday.
• N.J. worker can’t sue ACE USA over unpaid medical bills: Court
  TRENTON—Exclusive remedy provisions prevent a New Jersey man from suing his workers compensation insurer over pain and suffering caused by its failure to pay his medical bills, the New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled.
• New York’s medical database aims to curb prescription drug misuse
  States seeking to deter the abuse and diversion of controlled narcotic prescription pain medications should look to New York state’s efforts to implement a “real-time” drug-monitoring registry with teeth.
• More employers turning to workers compensation residual markets
  An increasing number of U.S. employers seeking workers compensation insurance coverage are getting pushed into their states’ markets of last resort as insurers walk away from riskier, less profitable accounts.
• Florida cracks down on check-cashing workers compensation scam
  Florida officials are cracking down on a scheme that uses check-cashing businesses as part of a plan to avoid paying workers compensation insurance premiums.

Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California
Workers Compensation Press Updates – Workers Compensation Southern California