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A South Florida appeals court Monday heard arguments in a challenge to the constitutionality of the state’s workers-compensation insurance system — as two other closely watched challenges also await rulings at the Florida Supreme Court. The 3rd District Court of Appeal took up a case in which a Miami-Dade County circuit judge ruled last year that a key underpinning of workers-compensation laws was unconstitutional. That underpinning involves cases being handled through the workers-compensation insurance system instead of through civil lawsuits. Click here to read more:

The severity of workers' compensation claims are increasing at a higher rate in Florida than across the country, according to a report from Aon Risk Solutions. While the severity of claims is rising by 2 percent across the United States, in Florida, it is rising at about 3 percent a year and that rate could rise dramatically in the coming years. The state's workers' compensation system may undergo a big change on March 30, when Florida is set to appeal a 2014 decision that declared the system unconstitutional. Click here to read more:

How the workers comp system balances the rights of injured workers and employers will be a central theme during oral arguments inThe State of Florida vs. Florida Workers' Advocates et al. The state is appealing Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Cueto's decision last August in which he declared the state's workers comp system unconstitutional because changes to it mean it does not provide “an adequate exclusive replacement remedy” in place of common-law torts. Original article no longer available

Construction is popping up in Southwest Florida at a breakneck pace, but some employers aren't making sure their employees are covered for those kinds of injuries. An investigation headed by Division of Workers' Compensation, Division of Insurance Fraud and state and local licensing offices arrested four employers for not providing workers' compensation insurance for their employees. Click here to read more:

Independent government and private-sector research and upcoming oral arguments in a highly anticipated case are raising questions about the equity of the U.S. workers compensation system and the long-term viability of exclusive remedy provisions. On Wednesday, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration released a report examining the toll workplace injuries and illnesses exact on society. The report concludes that accumulated changes in the states' workers comp programs have shifted the costs of treating injured workers away from employers, which now provide about 20% of the financial cost of treating workplace injuries and illnesses through workers comp. Click here to read more:

Drivers for ride-sharing services Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc., who argue they are employees and not independent contractors, could put the tech upstarts on the hook for workers compensation costs if court challenges succeed. Both companies already provide some auto liability insurance for the drivers. Click here to read more:

Workers compensation exclusive remedy provisions, under attack in Florida and Oklahoma, face challenges in more states where workers comp reforms have reduced benefits. Often referred to as the “grand bargain,” exclusive remedy in most states means workers injured on the job can receive benefits only through the workers comp system. A liability lawsuit may be allowed in the case of gross employer negligence. Click here to read more:

Taxpayers were cheated. Workers were swindled out of a fair shake. Law-abiding businesses were forced to cut corners or go belly up. A year-long investigation by Miami Herald and McClatchy Newspapers published in September found all this and more in Florida’s construction industry during the recession. Read More here:

An investigation conducted by a host of agencies produced four arrests on Thursday. According to a release from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office, the BSCO Economics Crime Unit along with the Board of County Commissioners Planning & Development, the Florida Workers' Compensation Fraud Division and the Florida Department of Business, conducted a two-day investigation targeting unlicensed contractors in Brevard County on Wednesday and Thursday. Read more here:

A Florida truck driver who failed to tell his employer and treating physicians about his prior injuries and workers compensation claim in Ohio is barred from receiving benefits, a Florida appeals court ruled Tuesday. Alan R. Clark, a long-distance truck driver for Wilmington, Ohio-based R&L Carriers Inc., was involved in two compensable accidents in 2012 — one in January and another in July — resulting in injuries to his shoulder, neck and low back, according to court records. Click here to read more:

Florida’s workers’ compensation market remains competitive and well-capitalized, with loss ratios that are among the lowest among larger states, according to the latest report from the state’s insurance regulator. At the same time, the report warns that several court cases now pending and an erosion of costs savings from reforms enacted in 2003 that could throw a monkey wrench into the market’s otherwise stable operations. Click here to read more:

Kissimmee man was arrested in Palm Beach County after deputies say he ripped off an insurance company of more than $1 million in an elaborate case of worker's compensation fraud. Arturo Santos Zuniga, who also went by the name David Hernandez, was busted as part of an investigation led by the Broward Sheriff's Office in conjunction with the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office and the Miami-Dade Police Department, according to his arrest report. Click here to read more: