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Injuries caused by lifting heavy loads were once again named the costliest in workers compensation, according to data released Tuesday by Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. The insurer’s Workplace Safety Index estimates the top 10 causes of the most serious workplace injuries — those causing an employee to miss more than five days of work — and ranks them by their…

Aging worker claims often are more susceptible to litigation, as issues of causation and claim expansion come into question. Older worker claims may be slightly more challenging to handle once in litigation because of issues such as Medicare Set-Asides and a potentially higher percentage of disability paid, according to John Geaney, co-chair of the workers compensation practice at Mt. Laurel,…

Workers compensation prices rose more quickly in states that update their fee schedules based on measures of price changes in the general economy rather than price changes in the medical sector, according to a study released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute. The report noted Alabama, Delaware, Illinois and Oregon as states that adjust workers comp medical fee schedules…

Disclosure of third-party litigation funding, which is routinely blamed for skyrocketing litigation defense costs and increased verdicts, could make the judicial system more efficient, advocates of disclosure regulations say. Knowing that a lawsuit is funded could potentially streamline settlement negotiations because both the company’s insurer and the litigation financier will have better assessed the value of the claim, they say.…

Employers, insurers and claimants should start planning for changes to how Medicare’s liabilities are accounted for in workers compensation settlements, experts say. The changes, which will remove the reporting threshold in settlements that include Medicare set-asides and define penalty amounts, could increase the likelihood of significant fines for noncompliance and prolong settlement negotiations, they say. The Centers for Medicare &…