Archive for: Claims Management & Return to Work

Transportation and warehousing At the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s (NCCI) annual symposium, it was reported that “Most industries show consistent and steady declines in claim frequency. However, claim frequency increased in the transportation and warehousing sector from 2019- 2022. The couriers and messengers subsector (local delivery drivers) is driving this increase, caused mostly by […]

Injury & Illness Reporting and Recordkeeping rule More employers will be required to submit workplace injury and illness information under a final rule released by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) on July 17. The new rule updates the list of employers in “high-hazard” industries and creates more onerous obligations for certain employers. It will take effect […]

The November 2021 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released data on workplace injuries and illnesses, and the results are concerning. According to the report, although fatal injuries decreased, the rate of nonfatal injuries and illnesses in private industry increased from 2.8 cases per 100 full-time workers in 2019 to 2.9 cases per 100 full-time […]

For decades a 500,000-square-mile zone in the Atlantic Ocean triangulated between Puerto Rico, Florida, and Bermuda has been dubbed the Bermuda Triangle. This area has been linked to the mysterious disappearance of ships and aircraft dating back to 1945 when five U.S. Navy aircraft vanished without a trace. What happened is a matter of speculation […]

As the unemployment rate continues to head south, more and more employers have a difficult time finding qualified employees to meet their needs. This means that it’s more important than ever for employers to have an effective strategy to return employees to work as quickly as possible when they suffer an on-the-job injury. Employers must […]

Form 300A posting deadline February 1, 2019 Electronic rule making update Form 300A electronic submission deadline: March 2, 2019 How the data is being used: Site-Specific Targeting Initiative This month, all employers required to keep Form 300, the Injury and Illness Log, should be reviewing the Log to verify that entries are complete and accurate […]

While more and more insurers are offering telehealth as part of their health plans, the highly regulated workers’ comp industry is just getting it’s feet wet. Telemedicine is the use of electronic communication technologies to provide medical services to injured workers without an in-person visit. This fast-paced, instant ability to connect with a medical professional […]

The Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) examined the impact of opioid prescriptions on the duration of temporary disability benefits for workers with lower back injuries. The conclusion: long-term opioid prescriptions lead to temporary disability durations more than three times longer than claims without opioid prescriptions. Long-term is defined as having prescriptions within the first three […]

Fraud or abuse that might not reach the legal requirements for criminal sanctions happens in all aspects of the Workers’ Comp system. There’s employee fraud, employer fraud, health provider fraud, attorney fraud, and even insurer and claims adjuster fraud. The good news is that technology is making it easier to detect and many states have […]

Produced annually, the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index identifies the leading causes of the most disabling workplace injuries (resulting in six or more days of lost time) and ranks them by total Workers’ Compensation costs. The top five causes that accounted for 65.4% of the total injuries occurring in 2012 (most recent data available) were: […]