contractor News

Georgia Man Charged with Depriving Liberty Mutual of $9M in Workers’ Comp Premiums

Georgia authorities last week announced the arrest of a contractor charged with underreporting payroll and defrauding Liberty Mutual Insurance Co. of more than $9 million in premiums. Jose Martinez, 56, of Grayson, was charged with insurance fraud after an investigation …

N.Y. Contractor Sentenced to 6 Mos. for Work Comp Premium Fraud Scheme

A drywall contractor has been sentenced to six months in jail for defrauding the New York State Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fund out of almost $3 million in premiums over an eight-year period. The Manhattan District Attorney announced the sentence this …

Texas Supreme Ct.: Exxon Covered by Contractor’s Excess Insurers

Two excess insurers may be liable for the more than $20 million that ExxonMobil Corp. paid to settle lawsuits filed by a contractor’s employees who were badly burned while working at an Exxon refinery, the Texas Supreme Court ruled. The …

FAA Says ‘Unintentionally Deleted Files’ Prompted Computer Outage

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Thursday a preliminary review found that contract personnel “unintentionally deleted files” disrupting a key computer system and prompting a nationwide groundstop on Jan. 11 that disrupted more than 11,000 flights. The FAA said the …

11th Circuit Affirms Bad Faith Verdict in Suit Filed by One Insurer Against Another

After a job-site injury left independent contractor Ernest Guthrie paralyzed below the waist, two insurers for the contractor that hired him agreed to pay the full policy limits — $1 million each — only one month after receiving a payment …

US Storm Survivors: We Need Money Faster, Less Red Tape

MIDDLETOWN, N.J. (AP) — Survivors of storms that pounded several U.S. states say the nation’s disaster aid system is broken and that they want reforms to get money into victims’ hands faster, with less red tape. On the 10th anniversary …

OSHA Proposes Heavy Fines in Boston Demolition Worker Death

BOSTON (AP) — Federal workplace safety regulators have proposed fining a subcontractor nearly $1.2 million in connection with the death of a worker during the demolition of a downtown Boston parking garage. The worker was operating an 11,000-pound excavator in …

Exxon Halts Activity at Texas Oilfield Site Following Worker Fatality

DENVER/HOUSTON —Exxon Mobil temporarily halted maintenance at an East Texas oil drilling facility after a fatality this week, which was at least the second death this year of a contractor at one of its Texas production sites. The incident occurred …

Mine Fatality Adds to Pressure for Suncor Energy Changes

A worker was killed at Suncor Energy Inc.’s Base Plant mine in northern Alberta, the latest in a series of accidents that have shaken confidence in Canada’s biggest oil-sands producer and led to calls for changes in management. A contractor’s …

Fla. Appeals Court Narrows Going and Coming Rule in Work Comp

A Florida appeals court has put a fine point on the still-evolving “going and coming rule” in workers’ compensation law. The 1st District Court of Appeal found that a man injured on his way to a jobsite was not due …