Operation Expenses Now Largest Percentage of Costs

By Greg Jones, Western Bureau ChiefFor the first time in 13 years, medical expenses weren’t the single largest cost for carriers and self-insured employers in California, according to the Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation 2012 Annual Report.Instead, loss-adjustment expenses have risen to become the top expense in California's workers' compensation system. Paid dollars for calendar year 2011 show employers paid $6.745 billion for loss adjustment and other expenses, compared to $6.672 billion for medical care and $4.506 billion for indemnity benefits, ...