Publisher LexisNexis has issued the fifth annual edition of its book, “Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis” covering industry changes and events for the year 2017. This year’s book, as with past versions, is a collection of “expert analysis and commentary.” It reviews current trends and updates for all states across the nation. Once again with this edition, Lexis shows it is up to the task in monitoring and analyzing the constant wave of legislative and judicial activity across the nation.
Workers’ Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis, part of the Larson Series, is an essential tool for the insurance industry, corporate risk managers, policy makers, and lawyers to understand what changes are being contemplated on the national level as well as in every state. Everything you need to know about what happened to workers’ compensation in 2017 is contained in this compendium of legal issues and cases.
I must issue a disclaimer of sorts. I am one of the contributing authors to this book. When Lexis asked me if I would be interested in reviewing it, it had slipped my mind that I had granted permission for one of my articles to be included. Therefore, I was somewhat surprised when I saw that the first article in the book, “Opt Out is Going to Return and Why We Should Pay Attention,” was written by yours truly. I was even more surprised to see the second article, by Larson’s Editor Thomas Robinson, entitled “Bob Wilson May Have a Cluttered Desk; His Prediction of Opt Out Reprise is Spot On!” I joked with friends after first receiving it that I had “only read two chapters, but the review thus far is looking really good.”
The reality is, in all seriousness, is that this fifth edition is a comprehensive report on the issues and concerns that continue to impact and influence our industry. One of the major changes this year was the involvement of the National Workers’ Compensation Defense Network (NWCDN) as both contributors and editors of this book. Regular readers will know of the NWCDN as long-time supporters and partners of this website. The lawyers that comprise that group are among some of the most knowledgeable in the industry, and their contribution easily reflects that. The NWCDN writers help make for a very detailed state by state review in the 2017 Emerging Issues Analysis.
One of the most interesting features for me was the “Larson’s Spotlight on Interesting Cases,” which picks out and discusses unique and thought-provoking cases for every state. They are broad reaching and varied in nature, and confirm to me that the workers’ compensation industry will never cease to amaze.
So, if you are really into workers’ comp and want to know what trends are shaping our future world, I would recommend you pick up a copy of this book. It is available here. In this work, Editor Thomas Robinson, his NWCDN associates and many other competent contributors have done a very good job of outlining and summarizing 2017, a year of many changes.