COVID-19-related workers compensation claims fell last year compared with 2020, when the pandemic first hit the United States, but indemnity-only claims continued to represent the biggest share, a group of rating agencies said in a report released Tuesday. The average claim cost over the two-year period was $9,600, according to the report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance and…
While claim frequency in workers compensation has been flat for a decade, claim severity is increasing, and no industry is seeing it more than construction, according to panelists at the 42nd International Risk Management Institute Inc. Construction Risk Conference. “This is driven by medical advances,” said Mark Walls, vice president, communications & strategic analysis, for Safety National Casualty Corp. “They’re…
An annual study conducted by the National Academy of Social Insurance revealed workers compensation cost and benefits took a sharp downturn during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, while reporting at the state level uncovered a stark contrast in results. Data compiled by the academy ran over a five-year period from 2016 to 2020 and highlighted trends and outcomes…
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Wednesday that it has launched a local emphasis program aiming to reduce the higher rates of injuries among the more than 90,000 food production workers in Illinois and Ohio. The program, which began Oct. 3, started with an initial outreach focused on more than 1,400 manufacturing facilities in Illinois and Ohio where year-round…
Mental health-related workers compensation claims continue to rise, many fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, relatively new presumption laws countrywide that broaden workers compensation eligibility for post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental injuries, and greater awareness of mental health issues, experts say. Yet traditional mental injury claims can and are being defended, as legal experts report a rise in such claim…
A federal judge has dismissed FedEx from a lawsuit filed by relatives of five of the eight people who were fatally shot last year at an Indianapolis warehouse by a former employee of the shipping giant. U.S. District Judge James Sweeney on Monday granted a FedEx Corp. motion to dismiss it and three of its divisions from the wrongful death…
Twenty-four percent of COVID-19 workers compensation claimants have or had long COVID, according to a report released Monday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Overall, 20% of non-hospitalized and 47% of hospitalized workers with admitted COVID-19 claims developed long COVID, according to the Boca Raton, Florida-based ratings agency. NCCI relied on claims data extending through the first quarter of…
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…
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…
