Florida court rules that illegal immigrants are eligible for worker’s compensation benefits

The Florida First District Court of Appeals has released its ruling on the case of HDV Construction Systems v. Luis Aragon. The case stems from a worker’s compensation dispute levied against HDV construction by Luis Aragon. According to the suit, Aragon fell from a roof while working, suffering from serious injuries that prevented him from working during the extent of his recovery. Normally, such a dispute would have been settled without bringing the issue to court, but one issue makes this case court-worthy: Aragon is an undocumented immigrant. Aragon was…

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Workers’ compensation exposure on the rise with more mobile workers

A clear growth of workers’ compensation exposure is now causing alarm among employers and risk managers with the remarkable rise in the number of mobile workers. This was discussed in this year’s meeting of Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS) held recently in Vancouver. In the said forum experts advised both employers and risk managers to formulate stable and concrete rules pertinent with workers’ use of any types of mobile devices at work. According to Maureen McCarthy, Liberty Mutual, manager of Workers’ Compensation and Managed Care it is a must…

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Business claims on the rise due to discrimination

 A recent survey by the Chubb Group of Insurance Companies, show that lawsuits against businesses for discrimination have risen dramatically; and are still rising. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) reported a record breaking number of discrimination charges in 2010. The Chubb Group’s report revealed that one third of employees they surveyed felt their company is less likely to protect them from various forms of discrimination. More than 30 percent also stated that they felt companies were less likely to protect consumers from id theft or data leaks. According to…

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Commercial insurance rates may be on the rise due to 2010 losses

Premiums for commercial lines of insurance are still low, mainly due to an increased amount of insurers offering coverage, and the low amount of consumers looking for providers, and not making claims. Most small and midsized business rates remained the same, while some large companies saw minor decreases. The last two years have been relatively calm for most states, as far as natural disasters go; compared to losses that have occurred in previous years. This has created an increase in capital that insurance companies have had to work with when…

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Debate over illegal workers covered for “while at work” injuries

Illegal immigrants have once again moved to the forefront of public debate. Now, the various law makers, and state governing boards, are trying to come to a “middle of the road” agreement. What prompted all of this? It seems that a few states have taken a stand against compensating illegal immigrants who are injured at their job. Which prompts another question; how did these illegal immigrants get jobs? The best-guess numbers say that five percent of the U.S. workforce is (illegal) immigrants.  The estimate is there are around eight million…

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