Rates, premiums and treatment guidelines are among the 10 workers' comp issues to watch in 2017.

Workers compensation has been around for more than a century. It was developed as a grand bargain between labor and employers to ensure that injured workers received appropriate medical care and wage-loss benefits while employers received protections against tort lawsuits arising from workplace injuries.

One of the foremost experts in this line offers his perspective on what changes need to occur in order to keep pace with changing demographics and injury exposures, from bureaucracy and waiting periods to state variations.

Do all these rules improve the delivery of health care to injured workers?

Science and data will drive the merger of parallel health care systems in order to treat and injured employer as whole person.

From the election to changing claims models, there is a lot that is bound to affect the Workers' Compensation industry this year.

From the election to changing claims models, there is a lot that is bound to affect the Workers' Compensation industry this year.

The courts have continued to allow exceptions to exclusive remedy and expanded causation standards. Statutory reforms have also resulted in classifications of employees and work conditions that are excluded from workers compensation.