Montana Moves to Limit TTD Benefits

Montana state legislators last week passed a bill to enable state officials to cut off temporary total disability benefits under specific conditions when the claimant is released to full duty.
At the heart of House Bill 197 is a provision that allows insurers to terminate temporary total disability benefits on the exact date a worker is cleared to return to full duty.
This change is designed to clarify the criteria under which benefits can be adjusted, potentially reducing confusion for both claimants and insurers.
The bill amends existing legislation to ensure that benefits can be cut off immediately when a worker resumes their job, provided they have been deemed medically stable by a physician.
Supporters of the bill believe that this could lead to quicker reintegration of workers into the workforce, which is beneficial for both the economy and the individuals involved.
However, critics said that the expedited termination of benefits could pressure injured workers to return to work before they are fully ready, potentially jeopardizing their health and well-being.
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The West Virginia Supreme Court last week upheld a previous determination that a mine worker wasn’t entitled to additional permanent partial disability benefits for occupational pneumoconiosis.
In 1993, Richard Higginbotham was granted a 5% PPD award for OP based on the report of the state’s Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board finding x-ray evidence of OP with no pulmonary impairment.
In May 2024, a West Virginia Intermediate Court of Appeals affirmed the Board of Review’s decision, which found that the Occupational Pneumoconiosis Board was not clearly wrong in attributing any pulmonary impairment above 15% to non-occupational factors such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease related to the claimant’s cigar smoking.
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Workers’ comp carrier Summit said Tuesday that Greg Thomas has been named vice president of the company’s newly established Mid-Atlantic Region.
A 12-year veteran of the American Financial Group company, Thomas began his insurance career as a claims adjuster and moved to loss prevention when he joined Summit in 2013.
The move comes as the Lakeland, Florida company expands into Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C.
Last month American Financial said fourth-quarter average renewal rates across its P&C Group, including workers’ compensation, were up approximately 7% overall.
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