I am traveling to San Francisco next week to attend the annual conference of the Disability Management Employer Coalition. It will be the first time I have attended this particular event. The conference runs August 2 – 5, 2015 at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel. Founded in 1992, the Disability Management Employer Coalition (DMEC)…
For This We Shall Not Stand: Living Is Major Contributor to Death
We live in difficult times. Economic stagnation, changing societal standards, nuclear proliferation, increasing obesity and disease, political upheaval, Justin Bieber, racial strife, and the unexplainable popularity of the Kardashians, just to name a few. But these things are minor compared to the really big issue of the day; trying to keep abreast of the latest…
Ignorant Confessions of Sleep Apnea Man
I must admit, there are elements of medical care in the United States that just plumb confound me. One of those elements is the requirement of a prescription for the most mundane of items, particularly when you think about where we could be focusing our efforts. Please indulge me a moment while I ‘splain the…
Florida Gulf Coast, We’re Roasting Les McCurdy
If you live on the west coast of Florida, there is a better than average chance you've heard of Les McCurdy. For over twenty-five years, his operation, McCurdy's Comedy Club, has brought top name talent to Sarasota. Les has great connections in the industry. Larry the Cable Guy gives Les credit for helping start his…
Online and Hacked in the Haughty Naughty
Oh, my, there must be no joy in Muddville this evening. At the very least some sleepless nights must be occurring somewhere out there in the hinterlands. It is only natural, after all, when the extra marital affair website you’ve subscribed to gets hacked, and everything about your perverted sexual life is about to be…
New Mexico Exemption Ruling Highlights Dichotomy of Comp
I find the world of workers’ compensation quite fascinating at times. It is a world that seemingly never changes, yet is always in flux. It is a legalistic, actuarily driven universe awash in human drama, where there is seemingly no end to conflict or the suspense of competition. A great example of this occurred last…
Getting Testy Over Unauthorized Painting
An employment lawsuit reported today in the CompNewsNetwork caught my eye for reasons you will soon appreciate. The lawsuit was filed by a Mingo County, West Virginia mine worker who claims that his foreman painted his genitals white after he complained of exposure to excessive amounts of coal dust while working. And the lawsuit claims…
Florida Exclusive Remedy: And The Beat(down) Goes On
Business Insurance reported yesterday that the association Florida Workers’ Advocates has petitioned the Florida Supreme Court to review “Padgett”; a case that challenged the constitutionality of Florida’s workers compensation system. Last year Miami Dade Circuit Court Judge Jorge Cueto’s ruled that the state’s workers comp system was unconstitutional citing continual erosion of benefits for injured…
What a Difference a Word Makes
Last Friday the Nebraska Supreme Court overturned a workers’ compensation court decision awarding benefits to a man injured during a company cookout. The employee fell off the back of a pickup truck unloading a grill for the event, held by his employer, Aurora Cooperative, which owns grain elevators in southeast and south-central Nebraska. The cookout…
Can Workers' Comp Develop a Culture of Innovation?
There were a couple speakers at last weeks AASCIF 2015 conference that touched heavily on the concept of innovation and change; a big focus of the overall event. Terry Jones, founder of the original online travel agency Travelocity and founding Chairman of kayak.com, made it an outright part of his presentation. Dom Sagolla, one of…