This week in comp is Texas Mutual's weekly digest of workers' compensation news from around the country.

1. This Week in Comp
December 22, 2016

2. This Week in Comp is a weekly digest of
workers’ compensation news from around
the country.

3. Safety

4. Let’s put the power of
5,000 workplace fatalities to work
Approximately 5,000 workers die in on-the-job
accidents each year. But their stories can live
beyond today’s blink-and-you-missed it news
cycle. We can all extract the lessons from those
tragedies and use them to prevent similar
accidents…MORE

5. Black ice: A dangerous winter hazard
Driving on ice you can see is difficult enough.
Imagine driving on ice you don’t know is
there. Thin layers of ice that are almost
invisible, commonly called black ice, make
safely navigating roadways even more
difficult…MORE

6. E-cigarrete fires on the rise
If you think e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional
tobacco, you’re never had one explode in your pocket, sear
third-degree burns in your leg, blast through your pants and
lodge itself in your dashboard. That’s what happened to a
New York woman, who hasn’t returned to work since the
April incident. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
identified about 66 e-cigarette explosions in 2015 and early
2016…MORE

7. SafetyFraud

8. A New Jersey trucking company owner reported to
his workers’ compensation carrier that he employed
three drivers and paid a collective $75,000 per year
in salary. An investigation revealed the man actually
employed an additional 81 owner/operators whom
he paid a collective $2.9 million in annual salary.
The scam allowed the man to illegally reduce his
workers’ comp premiums by $389,000…MORE
Trucking company under-reports
payroll, cheats insurance carrier, competitors

9. An investigation into what is being billed as one of
San Diego County’s largest workers’ compensation
fraud schemes has swept up medical professionals
throughout Southern California. The conspirators
admit their scheme resulted in nearly $10 million in
fraudulent claims and $5 million in gross
income…MORE
Investigators uncover $10M fraud scheme

10. Opioid epidemic

11. Opioid-related hospital admissions
rose 64 percent during decade
Hospital admissions related to overdoses from
heroin and other opioids rose 64 percent in the
United States between 2005 and 2014, a
government report shows. Each day, 90
Americans die from opioid overdoses. Opioid
misuse costs the nation more than $20 billion a
year in medical care…MORE

12. Synthetic opioid deaths rise 72 percent
Deaths from synthetic opioids, including
fentanyl, increased 72 percent between 2014
and 2015, according to a CDC report. The report
showed 33,091 people died from opioid
overdoses in 2015. Fentanyl, which is 50 times
more potent than heroin, made headlines as the
drug that killed pop star Prince in April…MORE

13. SafetyClaims

14. Whither work comp in 2017?
The workers’ compensation industry’s opioid spend
will increase in 2017, and telemedicine is coming
fast, according to Joe Paduda of Managed Care
Matters. Paduda prognosticates about macro-
drivers of workers’ comp and predicts how those
drivers will affect the system next year…MORE

15. Fearful claimants generate
higher workers’ comp costs
A new study found that 84 percent of lost-time
litigated claims that cost insurers and employers
more than $100,000 saw “fear words” in adjuster
notes. The research also found a correlation
between uncertainty in the claims process and the
prevalence of attorney representation…MORE