九色

After previously signing tort reform legislation into law, Republican Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt yesterday granted another long-held insurance industry wish when he enacted workers’ compensation reforms.

Both sets of reforms were stymied under previous Gov. Bob Holden, a Democrat.

According to the Property Casualty Insurers Association, highlights of the workers’ compensation reform bills (Senate Bills 1 and 130) include:

鈥擟hanging the standard from “substantial factor” to “prevailing factor” in the definition of compensable injury;
鈥擥iving preference to objective medical findings over subjective complaints of pain;
鈥擳he statute will now be “impartially construed” rather than “liberally construed”;
鈥擳ravel to and from work in a company owned or leased car is no longer covered by workers compensation;
鈥擱educing death benefits from 25 percent to 50 percent when the injured employee fails to wear safety equipment provided by employer.
鈥擲ubjecting administrative law judges to performance audits every two years, with removal by a review committee a possibility.

Topics Workers' Compensation