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Presumption laws for essential workers who acquire COVID-19 may have less of an impact than anticipated on the workers compensation system, but whether it will lead to an increase in claims workers compensation payouts is up for debate, said a group of panelists Thursday at Business Insurance’s webinar, Workers Compensation: Presumption & COVID-19. Workers compensation presumption laws, which presume that…

A Chicago-area candy company has been fined nearly $500,000 for workplace injuries, including a fingertip amputation, federal regulators said. The incidents occurred at Ferrara Candy in Bellwood, Ill. An employee lost a fingertip in January. Another worker was caught in a machine in March. “Proper safety procedures, including machine guarding and the effective lockout of all sources of energy, could…

The family of a construction worker in Chicago has filed a negligence lawsuit against a contractor after the worker fell two stories to his death last fall. The company, Destiny Builders, did not carry workers' compensation insurance on its employees and did not provide safety harnesses and railings at a church construction project, according to the lawsuit by the family…

The workers compensation system could see a 20% decrease in new injury claims this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey released Monday by Skaneateles, New York-based Health Strategy Associates LLC. In late May, the consultancy asked 35 workers compensation professionals representing large state funds and insurers, third-party administrators, and large self-insured and self-administered employers about their…

In a ruling that follows more than 10 years of litigation between a wood recycling plant and its neighbors, a federal appeals court affirmed a lower court and held an insurer is not obligated to provide coverage to the plant’s owner because of policy exclusions. Neighbors in Elkhart, Indiana, had charged that VIM Recycling Inc.’s waste disposal practices exposed them…