News Digest 5-20-2022

 

Former officer convicted of workers’ comp fraud, ordered to pay back nearly $95K

A 45-year-old former Crystal Lake, Illinois police officer pleaded guilty last week to fraudulently receiving almost $95,000 in salary and insurance benefits through a false line-of-duty injury claim, according to county records. In exchange for his guilty plea, 14 other charges were dismissed, including nine additional counts of Illinois Workers Compensation Act fraud, theft by deception, state benefits fraud and forgery. Shaw Local

 

Workers’ compensation rate reductions well outpace hikes in Q1

Insurance companies continued to decrease workers’ compensation rates in the first quarter of 2022. Regulators in South Carolina approved the largest number of rate cuts during the quarter at 286, followed by Georgia at 206. S&P Global

 

Honolulu maintenance employee who may have been exposed to radiation hired attorney days before his death

A 55-year-old Honolulu city maintenance employee who may have been exposed to radiation while fixing a tire on a garbage truck hired a high-profile attorney just 10 days before his death. “Something dramatic killed him. It wasn’t like he’s got cancer,” according to the attorney. Hawaii News Now

 

Tampa utility TECO admits it didn’t hold safety briefing with workers before deadly explosion

Tampa Electric Company admitted to failing to hold a pre-job briefing with employees tasked to remove debris from one of the company’s slag tanks at the Big Bend Power Station electrical plant before it exploded in June 2017, resulting in the deaths of five people. Had that safety meeting occurred, they would have learned of procedures for water-blasting work, according to the Department of Justice. Court documents indicate the utility negotiated with each of the employees’ families and privately settled with them in civil court. WTSP