County's workers comp costs rise
Following an 8 percent drop in legal and workers' compensation costs in Los Angeles County government the past two years, costs rose 6 percent to $437 million in 2006-07, officials said Tuesday.
The increase was largely driven by a 30 percent increase in administrative costs, an 18 percent increase in legal costs, a 55 percent increase in medical malpractice payouts and a 74 percent increase in payouts for vehicle accidents involving county employees, according to the annual risk management report. Troy Anderson in the Daily News.
"Right now, the figures are not very satisfying," Supervisor Gloria Molina said. "It shows an escalation in costs, particularly in litigation costs. I'm very concerned about that area. We are going to explore it and investigate it."
Risk Manager Rocky Armfield said the increased costs were primarily due to a spate of large lawsuit payouts, increased medical costs driving up workers' compensation costs and increased fees paid to the state to administer the workers' compensation system.