With the start of the NFL’s 99th season barely a month away, today we tackle how workers compensation applies to cumulative injuries on the field that later result in disability. In a recently published decision, the California Court of Appeal rejected former defensive tackle Larry Tripplett’s attempt to get California workers compensation for cumulative trauma (CT) he sustained during his…
High-performing workers compensation claims organizations use predictive modeling eight times more frequently than firms with less success in closing claims, according to recent research on a practice that experts say has grown swiftly over the past decade. “I think we are at a tipping point, at least in terms of using predictive analytics to improve claims management and claims practices,”…
A government corruption watchdog group has voiced its support for efforts to move Chicago’s workers’ compensation program out from under the control of a powerful city alderman. “Chicago is the only major city to pay injured workers out of its legislative body,” Rachel Leven, policy manager at the Better Government Association, wrote in Crain’s Chicago Business this week. “The way…
The owner of a trucking company that contracts with the U.S. Postal Service to help distribute mail was charged with pocketing more than $1.9 million by requesting reimbursement for workers’ compensation coverage that he never purchased, Illinois’ top law enforcement official announced. Keith A. Ratcliff, 53, faces three felony counts of theft, one count of mail fraud and one count…
It could be a David versus Goliath legal battle. A longtime political gadfly and a city worker are suing Mayor Rahm Emanuel and powerful Ald. Ed Burke in federal court. Burke, the longtime Finance Committee chairman, controls the city’s controversial and obscure $100 million workers’ compensation program, which has come under scrutiny for years. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit contend…
The Illinois Policy Institute says that the city of Belleville, Illinois, has spent $420,000 settling workers’ compensation claims by employees this year, with much of that money going to workers who returned to their jobs the day after the injury. The Policy Institute, which advocates for more business friendly public policies, reported that Belleville pays for workers’ compensation settlements of…
Who decides what to pay city staffers after on-the-job injuries? It’s the Finance Committee of the City Council. And, as virtually everyone knows, it shouldn’t be. Pop quiz: Who manages the annual expenditure of more than $100 million to approve and compensate city workers for on-the-job injuries? Is it the head of human resources? Nope. Maybe the city’s top lawyer?…
Summer job season is in full swing, with the influx of younger workers creating workplace safety challenges for employers. Broadly speaking, workers between the ages of 14 and 24 are likely to injure themselves on the job because of their inexperience as well as their physical, cognitive and emotional developmental characteristics, according to the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration….
U.S. workplace safety regulators have cited an Illinois-based cardboard box manufacturer for exposing employees to unprotected machinery and amputation hazards and have proposed penalties of $66,612. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Packaging Corp. of America for failing to provide written procedures to control the release of hazardous energy, exposing employees to struck-by, caught-in and amputation hazards, and…
A federal judge refused to dismiss a class-action lawsuit alleging insurance companies unlawfully withheld interest on payments for services provided through workers’ compensation. U.S. District Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengel of the Southern District of Illinois released her ruling on July 2. Dr. Michael Beatty of Edwardsville leads the class action against the various insurance companies, alleging violations of the Illinois…
