Can a worker whose fingers or toes are amputated because he or she could not read a machine’s instructions get workers’ compensation benefits? In workers’ comp cases, employers or their insurance company can win on the defense of “willful violation of a safety rule” only if they show the employee intended to break a known…
Continue readingThe National Academy of Social Insurance (NASI), which studies workers’ compensation and other benefits systems, last August reported that in 2012: workers’ compensation benefits rose by 1.3 percent to $61.9 billion employer costs rose by 6.9 percent to $83.2 billion. The uptick, NASI said, was due to increased employment. “This growth in workers’ compensation spending…
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The Workers Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) is an insurance company-funded organization which, for years, has been reporting that doctors in the Maryland workers’ comp system were dispensing 40% of all workers’ comp prescriptions, and were capturing 55% of all dollars paid for these prescriptions. This, according to WCRI, was driving up costs in the workers’…
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If an injured worker is released by her doctor to full duty work, with no restrictions, the employer can not only terminate Workers’ Compensation wage-loss benefits, they can also terminate the employee in Virginia — a “right to work” state. On the other hand, if the injured worker has any restrictions by his or her…
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Have you ever thought about drivers of forklifts, a Cushman cart, Zambonis, road smoothers (like the one pictured, left), or other vehicles ? What would happen if these motorized vehicles were involved in an accident ? Would the driver’s own automobile insurance, purchased to protect him/her and his/her household in the event of a motor vehicle…
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