It might be called the cannabis conundrum. As more states have legalized or are moving toward legalizing both medical and recreational cannabis, companies across the country are weighing how to accurately determine whether employees are impaired by cannabis in the workplace.

Several gas company contract workers in Santa Fe were injured when a gas line exploded and sent a column of fire into the air. Two of the workers were airlifted with severe burns and both were listed as in critical condition, according to Santa Fe PD Lt. Greg Boody.

Several firefighters were injured on Wednesday, two seriously, in an explosion at a building in Roswell, New Mexico, where fireworks were being stored for the city’s annual July Fourth celebrations, police and city officials said.

With marijuana becoming more widely accepted, both socially and legally, those involved in workers’ compensation are seeing the drug creep into their purview with higher frequency.

WIth back injuries affecting 1 million workers a year and accounting for 20% of all workplace injuries, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, AIG was looking for a solution.

Soft tissue injuries — generalized sprains, strains and pains — have long been a source of anxiety for workers’ compensation risk managers, as these claims are more susceptible to subjective findings and can quickly become inundated with narcotics and surgery requests.

Telemedicine makes it possible for injured employees to reach a qualified clinician from home or the worksite, providing a promising alternative that ensures early treatment.

A performance report on the first five years of California’s independent bill review program reveals that claims adjusters’ billing decisions rarely align with how the state workers’ comp system sees things.

The landscape for the use of medical marijuana and cannabinoids is changing in workers compensation, and it’s likely that more insurers will be required to pay for this in the near future, experts say.

The healthcare industry accounts for a high proportion of all national workplace injuries, as employees from this sector report some of the highest rates of injury and illness from all private industries, according to a report from Zurich on healthcare-related workers’ compensation claims.

Phoenix, AZ – Despite a new Arizona law, firefighters say their workers’ compensation claims are being denied for the cancers they develop as a result of their jobs.

Cities and towns in Arizona, however, say that’s not the case.

The NCCI Annual Issues Symposium just wrapped up in Orlando, Florida yesterday. This event is somewhat akin to drinking from a firehose, as the information flies in a fast and furious fashion.

It was a record year for workers’ compensation fraud in Massachusetts last year, where more cases of alleged fraud were referred to prosecutors than ever before.

We live in the age of technology. Robotics and automation are all the rage, and industries everywhere, including workers’ compensation, are looking to increase efficiencies and “improve process.”

The National Safety Council (NSC) recently reported that 75% of US employers have been directly affected by the opioid epidemic. According to the NSC, the construction industry is one of the worst-affected sectors, with twice the national average number of employees with substance use disorders.