Auto insurance carriers must pay uninsured motorist benefits to insureds who are injured by motor vehicles while walking or bicycling, even if their policies explicitly provide coverage only to occupants of insured automobiles, an Illinois Appellate Court panel ruled. The panel said in an opinion released Friday that Illinois case law and public policy demand that Direct Auto Insurance Co….
Medical payments per claim decreased more than 3% in the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 in half of the states studied by the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based research organization studied medical costs for 2020 injuries with costs incurred through March 2021 in 18 states, finding that the reductions —following four years of stable or modest growth —…
With more people working from home, workers compensation has become a 24-hour exposure for employers, some experts say. Estimates show an increase in the number of employers allowing telecommuting or hybrid arrangements since the COVID-19 pandemic, and alleged work-from-home injuries are resulting in comp claims. Details of contested claims show the difficulties employers face in determining their validity. At least…
A unanimous Indiana Supreme Court has granted transfer to a personal injury case brought by a severely and permanently injured woman which is raising questions of whether subsequent litigation can be filed against a group of defendants when other defendants have already been held liable. The case, Kathryn Davidson v. State of Indiana, et al., 21A-CT-1516, was the only one…
An Indiana-based contractor who conducted work in Kentucky but failed to disclose the out-of-state operations to its workers compensation insurer is on the hook for a workplace injury, a federal appeals court ruled Tuesday, affirming a lower court decision. Custom Mechanical Construction Inc. in Evansville, Indiana, had an insurance policy with Accident Fund Insurance Co. of America at the time…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is proposing $201,379 after finding a candy manufacturer’s plant in Bellwood, Illinois, continues to expose workers to amputation hazards and failed to utilize lockout procedures for the third time in five years. OSHA said Wednesday that it has issued five citations to Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania-based Ferrara Candy Co. for one repeat violation and four…
An Oregon State University study found an association with increasing temperatures and increased rates of injury claims that were more pronounced among workers in the agricultural and construction sectors. The study analyzed about 92,000 accepted claims and found that the rate of injuries is about 4% higher when the maximum heat index exceeds 75 degrees. The incident ratio for agriculture…
