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Placerville receives workers' compensation stewardship report showing fewer claims but two high‑cost cancer cases
Summary
City staff and LWP presented a stewardship report through Dec. 31, 2024: claim counts and paid costs trended down, closing ratio rose to about 50%, but two cancer claims are driving high incurred costs.
The Placerville City Council on March 11 received a workers’ compensation stewardship report from LWP, the city’s claims administrator, covering July 1, 2020 through Dec. 31, 2024. The presentation showed year‑over‑year declines in reported claims and paid costs, while outstanding reserves and several high‑cost cases remain.
Stacy Bean, assistant claims manager with LWP, told the council the number of claims reported each year is trending downward and the department’s closing ratio is improving to roughly 50 percent. The report listed 36 total claims in the period reviewed and an ending open inventory of about 20 claims as of Dec. 31, 2024. Bean said incurred cost for the year was “currently $17,000,” but cautioned reserves for open claims can increase as claims develop.
City staff and LWP highlighted two cancer claims as the primary drivers of current cost severity: one with an estimated incurred cost of about $450,000 and another estimated at about $109,000. Bean said those medical severity outliers account for spikes in the city’s expected payout.
Charts in the stewardship packet broke claims down by type (indemnity, medical‑only), body part and cause, and by occupation and department; police, public works and parks were the top departments by claim counts. LWP noted that some claims remain open for potential future medical expenses and that settlements in the prior year had temporarily raised last year’s paid totals.
No formal council action was taken; the council received and filed the report and invited questions from members of the public and staff. City staff said they will continue to monitor claim inventory and work on return‑to‑work outcomes.
