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The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued 10 serious violations with total proposed penalties of $119,507 after three employees of a Michigan general contractor died from exposure to toxic gases in a manhole at a Florida worksite in January. A 34-year-old pipe layer entered the manhole and quickly became unresponsive. A 49-year-old laborer and a 24-year-old equipment operator followed in a rescue attempt. All three men died in the incident, according to the statement issued Tuesday by OSHA. Click here to read more:

The 1st District Court of Appeals has overturned a 2016 ruling issued by a circuit court that invalidated a statewide increase in workers' compensation insurance rates. The ruling immediately reinstates the 14.5 percent rate increase approved in October. In the ruling, the appeals said that circuit court erred when it voided the Office of Insurance Regulation's order instating the rate increase. Click here to read more:

The Florida Senate adjourned Friday without passing either of the workers compensation reform bills addressing 2016 Florida Supreme Court decisions in Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg and Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Co. et al. ​ House Bill 7085 would have extended total combined temporary wage replacement benefits from 104 weeks to 260 weeks, capped attorney fees at $150 an hour and allowed a Judge of Compensation Claims to award an hourly fee different from the statutory percentage-based attorney fee schedule. Senate Bill 1582 would have increased the time limit on temporary partial disability and temporary total disability benefits from 104 weeks to 260 weeks and capped attorney fees at $250 an hour. Click here to read more:

Employer groups are threatening to bolt and trial lawyers are in open revolt as lawmakers spend the final days of the 2017 session haggling over workers’ compensation reforms. The trouble began last year when the Florida Supreme Court struck down business-friendly reforms dating back more than a decade. Gone were strict caps on attorney fees and limits on disability benefits. “I want to also talk about workers’ comp. This is, I think, maybe the most important business issue of the session.” That was Florida Chamber of Commerce vice president David Hart addressing North Florida business leaders on the eve of the current session. "Insurance premiums spiked, hurting bottom lines across the state," Hart said. Click here to read more:

Florida’s workers compensation landscape has garnered attention for its legislative activity in response to major court decisions that have upended the system over the past year. The state is considering various reforms to address elements of its workers comp law that were struck down in separate Florida Supreme Court decisions in 2016: Bradley Westphal v. City of St. Petersburg and Marvin Castellanos v. Next Door Co. et al. The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. initially sought a 19.6% increase in state workers comp rates in response to these court decisions last year, but the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved only a 14.5% rate increase that took effect last December. Click here to read more:

Florida is already one of the hardest states for workers seeking treatment or lost wages when injured on the job. Now lawmakers are trying again to make it more difficult for employees to sue when they have wrongly been denied workers' compensation. Competing House and Senate bills would impose new caps on workers' attorney fees in such disputes, which critics say will discourage lawyers from taking cases. ​Backers don't entirely deny the charge. ​ Click here to read more:

The House defeated a series of Democratic amendments to its version of a workers’ compensation fix Tuesday, with sponsor Danny Burgess promising the bill would “enhance the fairness and the balance of the workers’ compensation system in Florida.” Burgess, whose Insurance & Banking Subcommittee drafted the legislation, also predicted a decline in premiums, ​ following the 14.5 percent rate increase that began taking effect in December. “We are told it could be up to a 5 percent reduction,” he said. ​Still, Democrats complained the bill was written more to please employers and insurance companies than working people. ​ “When are we going to put the workers first?” Tampa Democrat Sean Shaw wondered. Click here to read more:

A circuit court ruling that that said a workers' compensation group violated Florida's open records laws by not ensuring committee hearings and supporting documentation on a proposed rate increase were made available to the public is under appeal. “The primary question in this appeal is whether (National Council on Compensation Insurance) has a committee with a responsibility for workers' compensation rates and whether NCCI had such a committee with regards to the 2016 rates filings at issue," attorney James McKee recently said in his opening statement representing NCCI during an oral argument in the 1st District Court of Appeal. "The records unequivocally demonstrates the answer is no.” ​ Click here to read more:

The House Commerce Committee will take up a workers’ compromise amendment package Thursday that takes a more aggressive approach to attorney fees than did previous versions of the legislation. ​ The amendments to HB 7085 retain language allowing deviations from the statutory attorney fee schedule that link trial lawyer’s compensation to benefits secured through claims litigation. But it shrinks the maximum hourly fee from $250 in the existing language to $150. Such awards would be tied to customary fees charged by defense — not plaintiffs — lawyers, depending on jurisdiction. Click here to read more: ​

A Florida workers compensation reform bill that responds to the outcome of recent major workers comp rulings in the state passed 7-1 Monday in the Florida Senate’s Committee on Banking and Insurance. Click here to read more:

Workers compensation exclusivity has come under an increasing wave of attack in U.S. courts, as plaintiffs seek additional compensation for workplace injuries in an environment of decreasing benefits. “If it’s not a concerted effort, it’s a collective effort by the plaintiffs bar,” said Phillip Russell, a Tampa, Florida-based attorney with law firm Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart P.C. “It has been a trend that became obvious over the past two years that more and more cases are being filed across the board trying to get around the exclusivity bar.” Click here to read more: ​

A Florida court’s review of workers’ compensation rating procedures by the National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI) could have a substantial impact on the State. The case, Fee v. Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, NCCI, is currently being weighed by the Florida First District Court of Appeal. Their decision of whether to overturn an lower court’s ruling that NCCI and OIR violated Florida’s Sunshine Law in establishing a 14.5 percent rate increase will be substantial for Florida residents. Click here to read more: ​