Comparing Workers' Compensation and General Healthcare Costs: Compensable Care Incurs Higher Fees, by John Stahl, Esq. Countless studies and the experience of participants in workers' compensation systems have shown that the prices for medical care within those systems far exceed the costs of comparable treatments in the general healthcare system. This statistical and anecdotal data has demonstrated as well that establishing fee schedules, creating medical provider networks, and other reforms have had limited success closing that gap. The Workers' Compensation Research Institute recently studied the specific issue of the differences in the costs of certain types of hospital care regarding workers' compensation systems and the general healthcare system. Read more.

By Thomas A. Robinson, JD

New York: Employee Sustained Psychic Injury When Told She Owed Tax on $100,000 of Travel Reimbursements. New York has a special statute, N.Y. Work. Comp. Law § 2 (7), that disallows workers' compensation benefits for psychic injury stemming from work-related stress if ... read it.

Vermont: AMA Guides Required for Rating Degree of Impairment, Not For Making Diagnosis Itself. The Supreme Court of Vermont, in a divided decision, recently held that while the AMA Guides (5th Ed.) are determinative with respect to "any determination of the existence...read it.

Illinois: Bank Employee Deemed a Traveling Employee for Injuries Sustained in Public Parking Lot. An Illinois appellate court recently reversed a finding by the state's Industrial Commission and held that injuries sustained by a bank employee who, as he attempted to...read it.

Michigan: Truck Driver's Injuries Not Covered by Michigan No-Fault Act, Comp Carrier Entitled to Lien for Compensation Outlay. A federal district court recently held that injuries sustained by a long haul truck driver when he fell while existing the passenger door of a...read it.