I think we can almost all agree that technology has marvelous potential regarding overall improvement of our lives. However, from time to time we are presented with a cautionary tale that reminds us there are risks involved with advanced tech; and sometimes its deployment for certain functions can be downright stupid. My wife and I…
Time Blindness: A Timely Excuse for a Workers’ Comp Claim?
Folks, we have reached peak 2025. Just when I thought we’d run out of ways to complicate workers’ compensation, along comes “time blindness” – a condition that apparently makes chronic lateness a medical condition rather than what my father would have called “a lack of respect for other people’s time.” According to the latest from the…
The Mind-Body Connection in Workers’ Comp: WCRI Puts Numbers to What We’ve Known All Along
For years, those of us in the workers’ compensation trenches have watched claims spiral out of control not because of the severity of the physical injury, but because of what’s happening between the injured worker’s ears. Now WCRI has done us all a favor by quantifying what every seasoned claims professional has suspected: psychosocial factors…
When the Porcelain Throne Becomes a Workers’ Comp Claim: The Bathroom Scrolling Crisis
Well, it finally happened. Scientists have managed to study what every HR manager has suspected since smartphones became ubiquitous: those 20-minute “bio breaks” are literally becoming a pain in the ass. And I mean that in the most medically accurate way possible. Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center—who apparently had nothing better to do…
A Simple Reminder of Our Humanity
I spoke at a conference last week in Montana. The Governor’s Conference on Workers’ Comp, held this year in Billings, MT, is an annual event that I have had the honor of speaking at several times. It is a great group, where their western hospitality makes one instantly feel at home. But this missive isn’t…
What Will “AI Psychosis” Mean for Workers’ Comp? (Or, The World According to Claude)
A Note from Bob: While writing this article I decided to get AI’s take on the topic. The response was prescient, on point, and damn frightening. Turns out I wasn’t needed for this article at all. It is enough to scare the crap out of anyone… ________________________________________ While it has not yet been defined as…
A Retraction: Even Though I Was Right for a New York Minute
I hate being wrong, even though I have had ample experience in that arena. It’s just that, while I am not always right, I am generally never in doubt, and it turns out that is a bad combination when your self-confidence betrays your actual accuracy and ability. I just hate it when that happens. Yesterday I…
Regarding Presumptions and New York, I Hate to Say I Told You So…
Note from Bob: Whoops! When I am wrong others will be the first to admit it. Apparently the New York legislature recognized the sheer stupidity of the new law discussed below, and passed legislation earlier this year to reverse it. I will have more on this in a day or so. Thanks to Adam Fowler…
Shocking News: Healthy People Live Longer
There are times I just don’t know what we would do without the news media. Think about it. If they didn’t exist, we would likely never know about the dire state of the world in which we live. But, of course, in addition to feeding the narrative of constant peril and crisis, they occasionally serve…
As Technology Advances, Don’t Let Your Customers Become Invisible
The same technologies that will improve our ability to communicate with others may also eliminate our ability to actually relate with those same people.
