M6.4 in Northern California Leaves Tens of Thousands Without Power

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck northern California on Tuesday, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake struck roughly 200 miles north of San Francisco in the vicinity of the Mendocino triple junction where the Pacific, North America and Juan de Fuca plates meet, according to the USGS.

Very strong shaking was reported, with some reports of shaking up to coastal Oregon.

Member Spot Light Marivic Nazario

Tell me about how you became involved with risk management? When I started at a municipality as a Human Resources Department of One, risk management became inherent to my job. Since the City of Artesia and the City of Commerce were both members of the California Joint Powers Insurance Authority (CJPIA), I worked closely with the Authority’s Risk Managers to assess and manage risks that are unique to our organization and the community as well. Other than administration of workers’ comp and liability program, I learned a lot when I was facilitating contract analysis, assessing insurance
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Report: It Takes 7 Years to Close Most California Workers’ Comp Claims

It takes seven years to close the vast majority of workers’ compensation claims in California, more than double the time in the median state.

The Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau of California released a report detailing duration drivers for California workers’ compensation claims.

The report, Drivers of California Claim Duration, describes duration drivers for California workers’ comp claims, including how claim duration differs regionally across the state.

California Workers’ Comp Benefits to Increase in 2023

California’s State Average Weekly Wage rose by more than 5% in the year ending March 31, 2022, which will result in an increase in California workers’ compensation temporary total disability and permanent total disability rates for 2023 work injury claims and other workers’ compensation benefits that are tied to SAWW increases, the California Workers’ Compensation Institute is reporting.

The latest wage data from the U.S. Department of Labor examined by CWCI show that California’s SAWW increased by 5.159% from $1,570 in the first quarter of 2021 to $1,651 in the first quarter of 2022.

As a result, the TTD/PTD maximum rate, which stands at $1,539.71 per week for 2022 injuries following a record increase of more than 13.5% that took effect last January, will increase by an additional $79.44 to $1,619.15 per week for claims with injury dates on or after Jan. 1, 2023.

California Father And Son Charged for $12M Workers’ Comp Fraud

Edgardo Cabrales Sr., 61, and his son, Edgar Cabrales Jr., 36, both of San Jose, California, were charged with five felony counts each of insurance fraud after a California Department of Insurance investigation found they allegedly underreported $12 million in employee wages and payroll to save on workers’ compensation insurance premiums.

The Cabrales own two commercial cleaning companies in San Jose: Pine Building Maintenance and Network Facility Management.

Report: More than Half of California COVID-19 Workers’ Comp Claims in Healthcare

More than a half of all reported COVID-19 indemnity claims in California continue to arise from workers in the healthcare sector, according to a new report from the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau.

The WCIRB released the information this week in a report, “COVID-19 in California Workers’ Compensation – 2022 Update.”

This report details the characteristics of COVID-19 workers’ comp claims in California and their impact on the state’s workers’ comp system.

School Executives Arrested in California Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme

An investigation by the California Department of Insurance resulted in the arrest last week of Rene Carlos Aguero, 71, and Gustavo Adolfo Lopez, 56, for allegedly submitting fraudulent vocational training vouchers for workers’ compensation claims and failing to provide the training at the for-profit school they run, Computer Institute of Technology.

Many of the injured workers were Spanish speakers who were asked to sign documents in English, which they did not understand, according to investigators.

Aguero and Lopez were charged with 18 felony counts, including conspiracy, insurance fraud, grand theft and forgery. The CDI estimates the fraudulent insurance claims to reach $1.7 million.

US Starts Criminal Probe Into PG&E Role in California Wildfire

Federal officials have initiated a criminal investigation into PG&E Corp.’s potential role in starting California’s largest wildfire of the year.

On Sept. 24, the US Forest Service removed one of the utility’s transmission poles from the site in Placer County where the Mosquito fire started, PG&E said Monday in a filing. USFS didn’t immediately respond to inquiries about the probe.

Member Spot Light Susan Colley-Monk

Since 2018, Susan Colley-Monk has been the Secretary/Treasurer of the Sacramento Chapter of PARMA. She is also an Analyst in Risk Management Services at California State University, Sacramento, and has worked in the department since January 2014. Remaining enthusiastic about her active role at Sacramento State requires balancing home life and work. Not only is Susan a dedicated member of the Risk Management team at Sacramento State, but she is also a happy and supportive wife, mother, and grandmother to seven grandchildren – six girls and one boy. She is excited to welcome another grandson to
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