Before 911
2004 to 2006 Work Comp News
2007 Work comp news...
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FLASH REPORT!
Hit by Drunk Driver, Central Valley Woman Faces Workers' Comp 'Nightmare'
Jennifer Smith, a 24-year-old Manteca receptionist says she will have to live the rest of her life with pain, degenerative joint disease and other ailments that are the result of a 2003 job-related collision with a
drunk driver. But she also faces a battle with the state's workers' compensation system. "They are treating her like a criminal, but she's a victim, and that needs to change," says her husband. By Joe Goldeen,
Stockton Record [with photo]
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Commentary: Patronage at Root of Philly Parking Agency's Fraud
Amid revelations that Philadelphia Parking Authority employees file workers' comp claims twice as often as city firefighters and police officers, it's clear that the authority needs to more aggressively target fraud.
But the bigger problem—the authority's patronage-swollen structure, which results in the hiring of politically connected workers who don't really care about their job performance—will be harder to change.
Philadelphia Inquirer
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North Dakota AG: WSI Violated Open Records Law
Workforce Safety and Insurance violated North Dakota's open records law by refusing to disclose certain documents to a critic of the agency. However, the workers' comp agency properly declined to provide copies of
building security videos and a separate list of records to the Bismarck attorney, concludes the state's attorney general. By Dale Wetzel, Fargo Forum [may require registration]
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Oklahoma High Court Remands Workers' Comp Case
The Oklahoma Supreme Court remands a case in which a man failed to file a claim for benefits from the Multiple Injury Trust Fund for more than 12 years after his injury. Though he appeared to have exceeded the
five-year statute of limitations, the state high court found that the workers' comp court failed to include key information. By Janice Francis-Smith, Journal Record (Oklahoma City)
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PEI Opposition Blasts Liberal Appointments to WCB
In Prince Edward Island, Opposition party members want the government to publicly account for its selection process after allegations of patronage regarding several recent political appointments. All six new
appointees to the Workers Compensation Appeals Tribunal have ties to the Liberal party. By Teresa Wright, Guardian (Charlottetown)
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Buckeye State City Not Enforcing Registration Law, Says Contactor
In Mansfield, Ohio, a contractor, who was part of a group that last year lobbied the city council for a registration system to protect legitimate contractors from scofflaws, contends that the city has not enforced an
ordinance requiring contractors to register with the city. By Linda Martz, Mansfield News Journal
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'Well Notes' Eyed for Mental Health Absences
In Britain, many employers regard general practitioners as an obstacle when dealing with workers' long-term sickness absences. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development is arguing that the new "well note"
plan, and a phased return to work, particularly in cases of mental ill-health, could cut the costs of long-term illness to business significantly. By Mary Braid, Times Online (U.K.)
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Study: One-Third of U.K. Nurses Attacked at Work
Nearly one in three British nurses suffers frequent violent attacks at work, according to a new survey of nearly 40,000 nurses. The research suggests that violence has had wide-reaching effects, including problems
with recruitment and nurses leaving the profession, increased amounts of sick leave and "burnout." By David Rose, Times Online
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Patronage-Rich Philly Parking Authority Racks Up Comp Charges
Surprisingly, Philadelphia parking enforcement workers have been injured on the job more than twice as often as city firefighters or police officers over the past four years. One parking enforcement worker filed four
separate workers' comp incident reports for spider bites, recalls the authority's risk management director. By Patrick Kerkstra, Philadelphia Inquirer
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Is There a Kezar Connection to S.F. Parks Workers' Cancers?
The recent deaths of two San Francisco Recreation and Park Department employees and the cancer diagnosis of a third, all of whom worked or spent a significant amount of time in an office building adjacent to Kezar
Pavilion, is causing alarm. But a NIOSH expert consulted by the City finds no relation to workplace exposures, despite the crumbling walls. By Brian Hoffman, San Francisco Chronicle
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OSU Scores with Novel Return-to-Work Approach
With its workers' compensation costs nearing $10 million a year, Ohio State University started moving its injured and ailing workers to less-demanding jobs instead of leaving them at home while they recover. At the
end of its first year, the program saved the school $4 million, more than double what the college had expected. Columbus Dispatch
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Connecticut Public Safety Workers Want Expanded Coverage
In Connecticut, police, firefighters and emergency rescue workers are again seeking workers' compensation coverage for certain cancers and diseases.
The union-backed legislation returns after having stalled in the state House of Representatives in the final days of the 2007 session. By Paul Hughes, Waterbury Republican-American
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Minneapolis Cop's Case May Trigger Law Change
A Minneapolis police officer who was injured during a training exercise is only collecting partial workers' compensation after an injury left him permanently disabled. But state and federal lawmakers are trying to
change the law that affects him and other disabled government workers. KMSP-TV (Eden Prairie, Minn.)
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Aussie State Weighs Benefit Payout Options
The WorkCover Tasmania Board commissions researchers at the University of Tasmania to investigate whether lump sums or regular payments of workers' compensation benefits make more sense. ABC Tasmania
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Florida Restaurant Reopens After Sweep for Illegal Workers
Patrons once again graze the buffet at a northwest Florida eatery that was shut down for nearly a week in connection with an investigation into the employment of illegal workers. The state Bureau of Compliance in the
Division of Workers' Compensation issued a stop-work order while it investigated allegations that employees were not properly covered. By Brian Hughes, Northwest Florida Daily News
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Commentary: Restore Executive Branch Control of WSI
Partisan games in the state legislature and within WSI are the reason new leadership is needed in the insurance commissioner's office. The first thing that must be done is to restore executive branch control of WSI.
By Jasper Schneider via Jamestown Sun
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How Federal Employees Face Disability
The senior benefits director for the National Institute of Transition Planning Inc., which conducts federal retirement planning workshops and seminars, provides a handful of examples of when employees need to use
federal benefits to cover situations where their ability to work is impaired by illness or injury. By Tammy Flanagan, GovExec.com
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Manitoba WCB Wants Comments on Addition of Industries
The Board of Directors of the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba is seeking public comments on the addition of industries to the workers' compensation program. EcoLog.com
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Meadowbrook to Acquire Ohio-Based ProCentury
Westerville, Ohio-based special property and casualty insurer ProCentury Corp. agrees to be acquired by a Michigan specialty insurance firm for $272.6 million in cash and stock. Business First of Columbus
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Report Finds Possible Bias of Florida Workers' Comp Judge
A recent report by the chief of Florida's Division of Administrative Hearings finds that the actions of a Duval County workers' comp judge create the appearance of prejudice against workers. The report includes
information from four Jacksonville workers' comp lawyers who took the unusual step of filing formal complaints against the judge, citing a phenomenon in which court mediators tell workers that settlement is the only
viable option for them because they have no chance in the judge's court. By Paul Pinkham, Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville) [with photo]
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Connecticut Worker Nabbed for Suspected Fraud
A 39-year-old Naugatuck, Conn., man may face as many as 20 years in prison after being charged with felony workers' compensation fraud. He reportedly was observed conducting daily activities that were inconsistent
with his claimed disability. WTNH-TV (New Haven)
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WSI Board Suggests Raise for Interim Director
The performance evaluation committee of the Workforce Safety and Insurance board suggests that the interim director of North Dakota's workers compensation agency should get a 3.4 percent pay raise when he returns to
his former job.
Go to the full story by AP via KXNet.com (Minot) [with photo]
Go to the full story by AP via Dickinson Press
Iowan Pleads Guilty to Insurance Fraud
A 24-year-old Iowa woman accused of racking up at least $22,000 in charges on another person's credit card and using false doctors' documents tells a judge that she created doctors' notes to file a workers'
compensation claim and made purchases and deposits into her bank account with another woman's credit card and credit card checks. By AP via Des Moines Register
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A Look at Workers' Comp Insurance and the Construction Industry
In the construction industry, being the low bidder is commonly the difference between working or going home. To win bids, money has to be saved anywhere it can be, including one of the biggest costs for many
businesses, especially small ones: workers' compensation insurance. Sentinel Source (New Hampshire)
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'Well Note' Plan Garners Mixed Reaction
The U.K. health secretary's plan to replace sick notes with so-called "well notes," which lists tasks that sick or injured employees may be able to perform, meets a hostile reaction from occupational health
professionals, general practitioners and at least one prominent
physician. Personnel Today (U.K.)
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State Fund on Hot Seat Again This Week
The California Senate Banking & Finance Committee will begin its second round of discussions tomorrow regarding State Fund. If all goes as planned, a reform bill will follow in the California Assembly. By D. Ashley
Verrill, North Bay Business Journal
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Business Owners Advised to 'Get Their House in Order'
California small business owners have enjoyed a steady decline in workers' compensation insurance rates that are now the lowest in nine years. But that may be about to change, meaning it's a good time for businesses
to renew their focus on safety. By Jan Norman, Orange County Register [with photo] [may require registration]
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Palmetto Dispute Goes to Court This Month
A restraining order blocking the South Carolina Workers' Compensation Commission from following a 2007 executive order issued by Gov. Mark Sanford expires late next week. Sanford told commissioners to begin
using uniform medical standards in determining payouts for long-term disabilities, and that has led to a federal lawsuit challenging the order on constitutional grounds.
Go to the full story by AP via GoUpstate.com (Spartanburg, S.C.) [with photo]
Go to the full story by Sammy Fretwell, Myrtle Beach Sun
Story Illuminates Minimal Care for Retirees
Some workers find, after retirement, that workers' comp benefits can be reduced while their need continues. Here is the story of one New York man whose personal physician is being overruled by workers comp officials,
despite calling their decision on chiropractic adjustments "insane." WSYR-TV (Syracuse)
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Feds Indict New York Insurer and Developer
A New York insurance company owner and a developer face federal charges of insurance and mail fraud for allegedly marketing unlawful and invalid workers' compensation insurance policies to professional employer
organizations. By Rocco LaDuca Utica Observer-Dispatch
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Former WSI Boss May Seek Repayment of Legal Fees
Sandy Blunt, former director of North Dakota's Workforce Safety and Insurance agency, says he may go to court to force the state to pay legal fees he spent defending himself against three felony charges that
ultimately were dropped. Blunt, who was forced out late last year, has filed a claim with the state's risk management division. By Dale Wetzel, AP via Dickinson Press
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