As heat exposure becomes a more visible workplace risk, workers compensation claims professionals say disputes are not always about whether a worker suffered a classic heat illness, but whether heat contributed to another medical event or injury. That question is complicating causation reviews in claims involving fainting, falls, cardiac symptoms, dehydration or other events that may not initially be coded…
The Seventh Circuit declined to revive a former Department of Homeland Security employee’s lawsuit challenging his termination and alleging disability discrimination, ruling that he failed to timely follow administrative requirements before filing a complaint in court. Dored Shiba, who worked as an immigration officer for US Citizenship and Immigration Services, didn’t initiate an internal equal employment opportunity complaint within 45…
Heat-related worker injury claims can range from quickly resolved dehydration cases to catastrophic injuries requiring emergency care, organ damage and potential long-term disability, according to workers compensation experts. That makes early recognition and rapid response critical, particularly as employers face increased scrutiny over heat exposure and as claims teams prepare for more questions about how heat illnesses are reported, treated…
Heat-related illness claims are a small slice of the overall claims picture, but rising temperatures, expanding safety regulations and growing awareness of the exposure are prompting insurers and employers to look more closely at heat as a broader workplace injury risk. Research by the Workers Compensation Research Institute found that workplace heat-related illnesses increase at least sevenfold on days when…
Hospital closures in rural areas disrupt access to care for injured workers but do not significantly increase workers compensation claim costs or disability duration, according to a Workers Compensation Research Institute study released Thursday. The study examined the impact of hospital closures on access to care and claim outcomes and found that rural hospital closures led to workers traveling an…
While workplace injury rates are declining, those that do happen are becoming more severe, more expensive and are keeping employees off the job longer, with new hires and older workers posing the greatest risks, according to an “injury impact” report released Monday by Travelers. The annual report, based on more than 1.2 million workers compensation claims filed between 2021 and…
A fatal crash involving a Subway worker who was speeding and had marijuana in her system must be reconsidered because the wrong legal standard was applied in awarding workers compensation benefits, an Illinois appellate court ruled Monday. In Subway v. Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission, the Appellate Court of Illinois, Fifth District reversed a lower court ruling and set aside a…
When a workplace injury results in paralysis or other life-altering conditions, the related workers compensation claim often extends far beyond medical care and indemnity, increasingly encompassing the cost and complexity of modifying, or even rebuilding, the injured worker’s home. What was once a relatively rare component of catastrophic claims is becoming more common as advances in medicine result in more…
Heat exposure, workplace violence and structural changes to coverage systems are key emerging issues shaping the workers compensation landscape in 2026, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. The report indicates that while familiar policy debates — including mental injury claims, presumption laws, cancer initiatives and worker classification — remain active, regulators and lawmakers…
As older workers remain in or reenter the labor force, the workers compensation industry is zeroing in on an area where claims tend to be more severe, medically complex and costly. “Our workers compensation data clearly show that the percentage of the workforce that is older is growing,” said Rich Ives, Hartford, Connecticut-based senior vice president of business insurance claim…
