Who pays when a grad student is injured?
When work-related accidents happen to graduate students, they can leave students recovering from significant injuries while facing huge medical bills. Interviews with students, professors, university officials, and lawyers across the US reveal that whether graduate students are considered employees, and are thus eligible for workers’ compensation, is not clear. c&en
New Jersey doctor admits role in postal workers’ comp scheme
A 71-year-old Wallington, New Jersey licensed physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist has admitted to creating fake work-related injury reports and steering prescriptions for expensive but medically unnecessary pain creams to two pharmacy owners in order to defraud federal workers’ compensation programs out of millions of dollars in exchange for a rent-free office. Daily Voice
TMI honors two companies for workplace safety
Austin-based Texas Mutual Insurance Company, the state’s leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, recently announced that two Parker County employers have been awarded the company’s top workplace safety honor. Texas Mutual so far this year has distributed 200 workplace safety awards to policyholders throughout the state who have exemplary safety records and exceptional safety programs. Weatherford Democrat
Massachusetts justices deny workers’ comp for medical cannabis
A workers’ compensation insurer could not be required to reimburse an injured employee for medical marijuana expenses he incurred treating chronic pain, the Supreme Judicial Court has decided. Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly [may require registration]
According to a senior vice president of LUBA, which operates with the acronym in seven states across the South, the company has seen a decrease in the number of claims received and a slight increase in claims severity. Mississippi Business Journal
New Jersey doctor admits role in postal workers’ comp scheme
A 71-year-old Wallington, New Jersey licensed physical medicine and rehabilitation specialist has admitted to creating fake work-related injury reports and steering prescriptions for expensive but medically unnecessary pain creams to two pharmacy owners in order to defraud federal workers’ compensation programs out of millions of dollars in exchange for a rent-free office. Daily Voice
Alaska workers compensation rates to decrease in 2021
Alaska businesses can expect lower workers’ compensation insurance rates in 2021, as voluntary loss costs will decrease by an average of 14.9 percent, and assigned risk rates will decrease by an average of 9.6 percent from currently approved levels. This year’s lower rates follow 2020 rates that represented a 13.4 percent reduction from the previous year. KINY (Juneau)
Minnesota: New claims portal goes live, provides quicker online access for all parties
The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s new web-based portal for filing and accessing workers’ compensation claims, has been rolled out. Originally planned for an Aug. 31 go-live, Campus was delayed until Nov. 2 to ensure readiness of the external workers’ compensation stakeholder community. International Falls Journal
Florida school district fires Marine vet over medical cannabis
A 51-year-old Florida high school dean has been unanimously fired by the school board after he tested positive for cannabis, even though it had been prescribed for him by a doctor to treat post-traumatic stress disorder he incurred in the Marines. The board said that while medical cannabis is legal in Florida, it is illegal under federal law, its use violates district policy and he failed to notify his supervisor he was using it. Baltimore Sun