There is a restaurant in Terminal A at Reagan National Airport in Washington, DC that offers a unique lesson in the adaptation of new technologies. The message may be that innovation that is good for one may not be good for all. It is a tutorial that easily translates to technological changes within workers’ compensation.…

I am off to Virginia this morning, to attend the last couple days of the annual conference of the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA). I am hosting a panel there Friday morning called “Things That Make Bob Go, Hmmmm….” It will be the fifth time I’ve been asked to do this. I think…

There has been a lot of activity in the mergers and acquisitions arena of the workers’ compensation industry lately. Numerous big companies have been swallowed up by bigger companies, forming new, even bigger entities. But this last weekend saw a merger of a more personal nature; a wedding that may have formed in heaven, but…

A week ago, I was in California, speaking at the annual conference of the California Coalition on Workers’ Compensation. A very big topic there was the proliferation of “Skin and Contents” cases that are overwhelming the system, particularly in the Los Angeles basin. “Skin and Contents” is another phrase for cumulative trauma injuries. The ailments…

There are a number of constants in the world of workplace injuries and workers’ compensation. One of them is the fact that employers hate the idea of paying for psychiatric care, and they will work to avoid it like the plague. Part of that extends from a (not wholly unearned) belief that psychology is like…

By all accounts I have a pretty great job. I get to work with terrific people and have made many strong friendships around the country. I have the opportunity to be creative in this position, and, if I do things right, get to set my own schedule much of the time (as a young manager…

I am fascinated by the world of risk management. There are so many challenges to the field; so many potential threats to be concerned with. And despite the best laid plans of mice and men, things can go wrong despite a multitude of efforts otherwise. I thought of this a few months ago while visiting…

I shouldn’t be writing about this. I should instead be making a beeline to a US Patent Office to secure these ideas and ensure for myself a vast amount of future riches. But, that sounds like a lot of work, and I hate paperwork so what the hell. Might as well share these here. I’ve…

A man in Germany has been arrested for attempting to murder a co-worker by poisoning his lunch and is now suspected of 21 “suspicious deaths” of co-workers at the company. Police are reported to be examining the deaths after the 56-year-old man was caught on camera trying to poison a colleague’s lunch in the break room of a…

Every year the Workers’ Compensation Institute, as part of their annual educational conference in Orlando, holds a service day supporting the non-profit organization Give Kids the World (GKTW). This year, Kids’ Chance of Florida (KCFL) is assembling a group of volunteers to support that effort. If you are coming to Orlando for WCI this August,…