NWCDN Members regularly post articles and summary judgements in workers’ compensations law in your state.
Select a state from the dropdown menu below to scroll through the state specific archives for updates and opinions on various workers’ compensation laws in your state.
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The Texas Legislature last month provided a new source of funding for a prosecutorial unit dedicated to rooting out workers’ compensation insurance fraud, and that new funding will radically change the unit’s operation. The prosecutorial unit is part of the Travis County district attorney’s office in Austin.
In the past, the prosecutorial unit had been funded through a controversial arrangement between the DA and Texas Mutual Insurance Company. Under that agreement, Texas Mutual made the fraud referrals, provided the investigators, and paid bills incurred by the DA for the prosecution of Texas Mutual’s cases. That arrangement came under sharp criticism last year and, in response, the Legislature appropriated money to fund the unit.
The money will come from a maintenance tax collected from workers’ compensation insurers. As a result of the new funding source, the DA will prosecute cases from any insurer. And Texas Mutual will no longer make fraud referrals or furnish investigators. Instead, the TDI-DWC will conduct the initial investigation and, if it believes a case warrants prosecution, it will refer the case to the DA.--David L. Swanson, Stone Loughlin & Swanson, LLP