NATL. - NCCI: Workers' Compensation Remains Healthy
05/13/2026 | 0
The National Council on Compensation Insurance reported on Tuesday that the workers' compensation system remains healthy, with private carriers notching their 12th consecutive year of underwriting profitability in 2025.
The average combined ratio for workers' compensation carriers increased to 91% in 2025 from 86.1% in 2024, according to NCCI's latest State of the Line report. A combined ratio below 100% means carriers paid less in benefits than they collected in premiums and demonstrates profitability.
Overall, the property and casualty industry combined ratio fell to 93% in 202...
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A New York appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment for a landlord and lessor partially dismissing a worker’s Labor Law claims against them.
Case: Hearns v. Blended Family LLC, No. 801860/22, 04/21/2026, published.
Facts: Gaines Hearns worked as a telecommunications field technician for Verizon. He allegedly suffered injuries while installing Wi-Fi at a mixed-use building.
The premises were owned by Abeken Apartments LLP, which leased the commercial portion of its basement to Blended Family LLC for the operation of a daycare center.
The lease did not include the basement on...
A New York appellate court ruled that the Workers’ Compensation Board did not err in denying a worker’s request to preclude the report of an independent medical examiner.
Case: Matter of Martinez v. Sing Sing Correctional Facility, No. CV-25-0759, 04/23/2026, published.
Facts: Michael Martinez worked for Sing Sing Correctional Facility. He suffered injuries at work in January 2023 while manually cranking a gate.
Martinez established a workers’ compensation claim, and his doctor opined that he was entitled to a schedule loss of use award.
On Dec. 1, 2023, a notice of indep...
An Ohio appellate court upheld a grant of summary judgment dismissing an injured worker’s civil suit against his employer and a co-employee.
Case: Hamilton v. Ameristone LLC, No. 2025CA00127, 04/23/2027, published.
Facts: Shawn Hamilton worked for Ameristone LLC. He suffered injuries at work in April 2023 when he was struck by a forklift operated by Noah Troyer, a co-employee.
Hamilton received benefits from the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation for his injuries.
Procedural history: Hamilton filed a civil suit against Ameristone, Troyer and the BWC. He contended that Troyer acted...
I have gone through a difficult period. Over the last year, I lost a sister-in-law, two brothers-in-law, three of my closest friends, and several close friends. The losses came one after another, each arriving before I had finished grieving the last.
The movie "Coco" resonates with me because it reflects how I choose to handle loss: by holding on to the good, remembering who people were at their best, and keeping those memories alive. It is my way of carrying them forward.
Every loss has also reminded me of something I came to understand slowly, over decades of professiona...
The West Virginia Supreme Court upheld a denial of benefits for a deputy sheriff’s heart attack.
Case: Willis v. Fayette County Commission, No. 25-734, 04/21/2026, published.
Facts: William Willis worked for the Fayette County Commission as a deputy sheriff. He went to the hospital on Oct. 29, 2023, with complaints of chest pain.
A cardiac catheterization was performed, which revealed a 90% thrombotic lesion in the mid-right coronary artery.
Procedural history: Willis filed a workers’ compensation claim, asserting that he had suffered a heart attack while responding to a call o...
Nevada-based workers' compensation carrier Employers launched a workers' compensation chatbot in the ChatGPT App Directory.
The carrier said the app aims at reducing friction for businesses buying workers' compensation coverage by allowing them to begin the process conversationally and without navigating complex forms of terminology.
Users can describe their business, location, payroll, employee count and years in operation and receive a real-time premium estimate. If they choose, the chatbot transfers the collected data to the carrier's secure portal to finalize coverage.
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Scammers are trying to trick employers into paying them to make workplace safety violations disappear, the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division announced Tuesday.
Oregon OSHA warned of two separate scams targeting businesses in the state.
The first involves callers targeting businesses that recently underwent a state OSHA inspection. The callers claim to represent a consulting firm and tell employers they can make sure the inspection results in no violations for a fee.
The other scam involves calling businesses claiming to work for Oregon OSHA and offering to settle an enforcement...
Healthcare workers and teachers in Connecticut would receive 100% of their average weekly earnings with no cap on the benefit amount if they are unable to work as a result of a physical or negligent assault, under recently enacted legislation.
Gov. Ned Lamont on Monday signed H.5003, providing full-pay salary continuation benefits instead of workers' compensation indemnity benefits that are equal to 75% of their average weekly earnings and capped at the state's average weekly wage.
The bill would also provide coverage for certain out-of-pocket expenses and lost wages for court appear...
A California appellate court upheld a trial judge’s entry of a judgment notwithstanding a jury’s verdict, finding that State Compensation Insurance Fund was entitled to an additional $555,327.53 in premium from an employer.
ReadyLink is a staffing agency that supplies temporary nurses to healthcare providers. From September 2001 through February 2007, ReadyLink used State Fund for workers’ compensation coverage.
The SCIF policy required a payment of an annual premium that was to be “determined by [reference to SCIF’s] manuals of rules, rates, rating plans a...
A New York appellate court ruled that the defendants in a Labor Law claim were entitled to summary judgment dismissing part of the worker’s action.
Case: Pina v. City of New York, No. 22985/19, 04/19/2026, published.
Facts: Richard Pina allegedly suffered injuries while working on a construction project at a property owned by the New York City Housing Authority and Mill Brook Housing Development Fund Co. Inc.
Pina claimed he was hurt when a mini-dumpster filled with concrete debris tipped over and fell on him.
Procedural history: Pina filed suit against the city and Mill Brook, asser...
A New York appellate court upheld an award of death benefits to the dependent adult child of a worker who died of COVID-19.
Case: Matter of Villalba v. Rite Aid Pharmacy, No. CV-24-1580, 04/16/2026, published.
Facts: Ramon Galeas worked for Rite Aid Pharmacy. He died in March 2020 after contracting COVID-19 while working.
Galeas was not married at the time of his death, and he had a son who was born in 1991.
Procedural history: A legal guardian filed a claim for workers’ compensation death benefits on behalf of the son and Galeas’ estate.
A workers’ compensation law judg...
West Virginia’s Intermediate Court of Appeals upheld a denial of permanent partial disability benefits for a worker with a knee injury.
Case: Casbarro v. Anthony Correctional Center, No. 25-ICA-324, 04/07/2026, published.
Facts: Arthur Casbarro worked for the Anthony Correctional Center. He filed a workers’ compensation claim in July 2023, indicating that he sustained an injury to his right knee when a co-worker hit him.
A claims administrator for the center’s insurance carrier accepted liability for a contusion to the right knee.
Casbarro underwent a magnetic r...
The California Department of Insurance will hold a virtual hearing June 9 on a proposal to raise the advisory pure premium rate by 10.4%.
In April, the Workers' Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau recommended that the department increase the advisory rate to $1.71 per $100 of payroll from $1.55 for policies incepting on or after Sept. 1.
Drivers of the proposed increase include cumulative trauma claim frequency and average allocated loss adjustment expenses, which have both reached all-time highs, the WCIRB said in the annual rate filing.
Other drivers include higher loss develop...
The California Division of Workers' Compensation proposed adopting the latest versions of ankle and hip treatment guidelines published by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
The division is proposing to incorporate into the Medical Treatment Utilization Schedule the Jan. 29 revision to ACOEM's Ankle and Foot Disorders Guideline. The treatment guidelines currently include the July 2018 version of the ankle guide.
Additionally, the division is proposing to replace the April 2019 version of the Hip and Groin Disorders Guideline with the latest Jan. 29 update...
The Colorado General Assembly unanimously voted to send the governor a bill that would create a process to update experience modification factors when actual payments on a closed claim are lower than the loss reserves reported by the carrier.
At the same time, the state House of Representatives voted to return to the Senate an amended bill that would make proof of workers' compensation coverage a prerequisite to receive a building permit, construction permit or contractor license.
The House on Friday voted 63-0 to pass SB 175, which would allow employers to request a correction to an exp...
