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What's been termed a simple break-in has led to the demise of a national medical records firm that took on workers' comp and auto casualty claims. Citing the "prohibitive cost" of the resulting data breach, Impairment Resources LLC filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection.

How well are your employees sleeping? Employers seeking to reduce their workers' comp costs may want to find out.

Fatigue costs U.S. employers an estimated $100 billion in lost productivity alone, according to a 2007 study published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

A federal agency hopes to conduct a study to estimate underreporting of injuries and illnesses among individuals who seek care in emergency departments.

Improvements in education, technical support, and regulatory enforcement could lead to fewer workers suffering hearing loss on the job. That's among the conclusions in a special supplemental issue of the International Journal of Audiology.

In New York, a worker is not entitled to compensation for injuries occurring in an off-duty, voluntary employee athletic activity that was not part of her work-related duties and not sponsored by her employer.

The annual cumulative dose and cost of opioids per workers' comp claim increased substantially from 1999 to 2011, according to a new study. The driving factor was the increased volume of longer-acting opioids to treat chronic pain.

Authorities in Oklahoma, Texas, and Ohio are also taking action to address prescription drug overdoses.

In Utah, an injury occurs during the course of employment when the worker is injured while fulfilling his work duties or engaged in doing something incidental to his employment.

In Florida, a worker's decision to pull his vehicle over to a narrow shoulder during a business-related road trip to urinate falls within the personal comfort doctrine.

Falls from elevations by roofers cost an average of $106,000 per claim while falls by carpenters cost an average of $97,000 each. The numbers are included in a new presentation from OSHA.

More than 4,500 workers die on the job every year while another 4.1 million suffer a serious job-related injury or illness. Many of these incidents are avoidable, according to OSHA.

In Florida, an accident is compensable when an employer creates an increased risk of injury because of a hazard on the route a worker customarily and necessarily uses to exit from work.

Overexertion -- injuries caused by lifting, pushing, pulling, holding, carrying, or throwing -- cost businesses nearly $13 billion in 2009. It was the top ranked injury category in the latest Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index.

Chances of the National Transportation Safety Board's recommended ban on the use of portable electronic devices by drivers are probably slim to none. But the issue should serve as a wake-up call for employers interested in reducing their workers' comp costs, suggests an industry insider.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders may be costing health care employees a bundle in lost productivity, a new study concludes. Interventions to prevent or help workers better manage MSDs may help save money in increased presenteeism.

Nevada will soon implement new procedures to address two issues that are creating angst in the workers' comp system throughout the nation: chronic pain and the use of opioids.

One of the biggest issues emerging in workers' comp discussions of late is the use, misuse, and abuse of narcotics by injured workers, specifically -- opioids.

In Illinois, an employee is not entitled to benefits if his activities did not expose him to an increased risk of injury.

Getting a handle on skyrocketing costs in the workers' comp system could be as simple as setting up a weight loss program for your employees. Excess weight is one of the factors that can turn a seemingly uncomplicated claim into a significant outlier case, according to a workers' comp insurance executive.