Costs associated with catastrophic workplace injuries represent less that 0.1% of workers compensation claims but account for up to 2% of all costs to insurers, according to a report released Thursday by the National Council on Compensation Insurance. Boca Raton, Florida-based NCCI worked with nine state ratings agencies to study so-called “mega claims,” examining 11,330 of them from accident years…
For the eighth time since 2020, federal workplace safety inspectors have cited a Lake Zurich, Illinois roofing contractor for exposing workers to falls from elevation, the leading cause of fatal and serious injuries among people employed in the construction industry. Inspectors with the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration observed employees of Fino Exterior Inc. working atop…
Federal inspectors have cited 595 Construction LLC – a Crystal Lake, Illinois contractor with a history of exposing employees to fall hazards – for eight safety violations after finding employees framing a residential structure without required protections three times at three residential worksites in the same neighborhood in May 2024. OSHA inspectors first observed 595 Construction employees at work without…
Federal inspectors have cited 595 Construction LLC – a Crystal Lake, Illinois contractor with a history of exposing employees to fall hazards – for eight safety violations after finding employees framing a residential structure without required protections three times at three residential worksites in the same neighborhood in May 2024. Falls from elevation are the leading cause of fatal and…
Falls are among the most common workplace injuries, but they are not always compensable through workers compensation, a sticking point highlighted in recent state court decisions involving unexplained or “idiopathic” falls. Falls can be triggered by work or the condition of premises, but some can be considered idiopathic and often lead to litigation with unpredictable outcomes, legal experts say, adding…
Back injuries are among the most expensive work injuries to treat among those who work in restaurants, according to a report released Tuesday by workers compensation insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc. AmTrust reviewed 130,000 restaurant industry claims submitted between 2018 and 2023 and found that disc, vertebrae and spinal cord injuries average $60,000 to $85,000 in overall costs but amount…
Studies released Thursday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute found that utilization of medical services by injured workers has not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in the majority of the 17 study states studied. The 17 individual studies, addressing the percentage of claims receiving a particular medical service and the number of services provided, show that the industry “continues to see…
Two recent state court decisions have highlighted the complexities of workplace falls and whether unexplained “idiopathic” causes can eliminate a claimant’s rights to workers compensation. Falls, among the most common types of injuries in the workplace, can be triggered by the work itself or the condition of the premises. They can also be considered idiopathic, or caused by some unknown…
Attorney involvement in a workers compensation claims are most prevalent among workers with less than six months tenure, according to a study released Wednesday by the Waltham, Massachusetts-based Workers Compensation Research Institute. WCRI examined more than 950,000 claims of workers injured between Oct. 1, 2012, and Sept. 30, 2019, in the 31 states covered by its database, which it says…
Safety advocates are beginning to understand why minority and marginalized workers are more frequently killed or injured on the job than their white and often more socioeconomically privileged counterparts and what can be done to curb an annual statistic that has stumped some industries. Rethinking onboarding and training protocols and giving greater attention to the wider concerns of undocumented workers…
