A lack of transparency in workers compensation pharmacy continues to be an issue for much of the industry, according to a CompPharma study released Tuesday. Opioid prescriptions and overall pharmacy spend declined between 2017 and 2018, reported Maggie Valley, North Carolina-based CompPharma in its 16th annual Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers Compensation study. However, 83% of the survey…
Compared with rising medical costs, cash benefits paid to injured workers are continuing to decline, which experts peg to safer workplaces curbing injury severity and time away and legislative changes that make it tougher to claim workers compensation among the reasons. “We’ve been doing an outstanding job in modernizing workers compensation and taking a lot of waste and abuse out…
A customer alleges he was injured after being hit by poorly stacked wood during a visit to The Home Depot in Collinsville. Home Depot argues the customer contributed to the incident because of his own negligence. Mitchell Adams filed suit in Madison County Circuit Court, alleging he suffered injuries when he was struck by the wooden planks as he walked…
A police officer faces accusation he was responsible for an accident that left the passenger in another vehicle needing surgery. A lawsuit was filed against the officer, James Allen Hunt, and his employer, the City of Alton, in the wake of the Nov. 30, 2018, accident. Pamela Price claims the police officer failed to yield to ongoing ahead of making…
The average medical payment per claim with more than seven days of lost time in Illinois was more than 15 percent higher than the median of 18 states studied, according to a recent study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI). For 2017 claims (at 12 months), the average medical payment per workers’ compensation claim was 15 percent higher than…
Retail industry workers miss an average of 24 days of work due to injuries, according to a report released Thursday by AmTrust Financial Services Inc. The average loss due to injury paid to retail workers is $11,641 for men and $7,030 for women, according to New York-based AmTrust’s Retail Risk Report, which analyzed 20,000 workers compensation insurance claims from its…
Nonfatal occupational illnesses and injuries held steady in 2018, marking the first time since 2009 that they did not decline, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. Private employers reported 900,380 occupational injuries or illnesses that caused a worker to miss a day of work in 2018, and 2.8 instances of occupational illnesses or injuries per 100 full-time equivalent workers…
A worker claims his employment was terminated after he made a claim for workers’ compensation benefits. Lyle Tonnon, who currently lives in Green Bay, Wisc., filed suit Sept. 30 against Belleville company Royalty Tech following his termination on Feb. 27, a week after he suffered a workplace injury. Tonnon is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, plus other amounts including…
A bicyclist claims he suffered serious injuries after crashing into a steel gate cable lying across a road. Brian Ewing filed suit Oct. 2 against the owner of a parcel of land that allegedly allowed the cable and wood post to become detached from the rest of the gate. The plaintiff filed suit against Paul D. Nance and a family…
Federal workplace safety officials have levied $1,591,176 in penalties against a silicon chemical products manufacturer after four employees suffered fatal injuries in an explosion and fire at the company’s Waukegan, Illinois, plant on May 3, 2019 The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) also cited AB Specialty Silicones LLC for 12 willful federal safety violations and…
