Florida workers filed 368 claims for COVID-19 in May, up from 234 in April and 105 in March, according to the latest report from the Division of Workers’ Compensation.
A total of 72,680 claims for COVID-19 have been filed since the start of the pandemic with total paid costs exceeding $197.7 million. The DWC reports benefit payments were less than $5,000 for 68,823 of those claims.
Self-insured governmental employers paid the largest percentage of benefits despite having fewer claims than private insured employers.
Governmental employers paid $117.1 million in benefits on 32,143 claims. Private insured employers paid $68.5 million in benefits on 34,986 claims. Self-insured private employers paid $12.2 million on 5,551 claims.
The DWC reports 36,142 claims were denied either partially or completely. Private insured employers denied 24,017 claims, while self-insured government employers denied 9,846, and private self-insured employers denied 2,254.
The division’s report also shows a total of 118 compensable COVID-19 death claims have been filed since 2020, with the last one being submitted in January.
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