Should Legislative Reform Be Left Only to Attorneys?

Recent events in Alabama should serve to remind us that workers’ compensation works best when balanced across the multitude of interests that are affected by it. The failure of efforts from a task force that proposed legislative reforms in that state may be due to broader influences than what has been previously discussed. Birmingham attorney…

A Breakdown on the Wind Breaking, Bum Thrusting, Bullying Boss

Some people have jobs that stink, while others have a job that, well, really stinks. And the resulting lawsuit form a truly stinky job is another warning for employers everywhere. A Melbourne, Australia engineer is claiming his supervisor bullied him by repeatedly farting on him as well as “thrusting his bum” at him on numerous occasions. His…

For Ohio BWC, Headline Accuracy Matters

As a publisher of news content, I appreciate the challenges of getting content out in a relative and timely manner. I understand that the author of the article may not be the one who selects its headline or title. But I also think that journalists have the obligation to get the story right, and that…

Boning up For Best Blogs 2019

Our annual Best Blogs Contest is once again just around the corner, and I suppose I better start tidying up around here if I want to be part of it. Launched in 2016, the WorkersCompensation.com Best Blogs Contest is a program recognizing blogs that provide excellent information and entertainment for the industry.  I suppose I…

Tennessee Sausage Strategy is Something to Emulate

The forming of policy, regulations and law in the world of workers’ compensation can be an intricate process. No matter the area of the law, they say that the making of regulatory and legislative content is like the making of sausage. You never want to see how it’s done.  Or do we? My recent experiences…

Attitude is Everything, Even When It's Not

I spent this past weekend in the Four Corners area of Colorado and New Mexico, visiting my 99-year-old father. He unfortunately took a fall in early January, and while his injury, a broken coccyx, would’ve been painful but relatively minor in a younger person, it set off a cascade of events that have affected him…

Fatal News Is a Kick in the Groin for Telehealth

No doubt about it. Telehealth is all the rage and presents tremendous potential for expanding access to quality care for a multitude of patients. The technology, which connects patients and physicians via high speed video connections, promises to expand access to all types of medical care in rural areas, as well as providing enhanced access…

What is Disability, Really?

It is an issue we struggle with, and a difficult one to solve. Much of the activity in workers’ comp is centered around the concept of disability; what it is and how much it is worth for the individual who has been assigned with that designation. We even grade disability, giving it a numerical value…

Will Cash Infusion Make Online Comp Purchases Easy as Pie?

We’ve been saying for years that the traditional business model for the typical insurance agent would be threatened by technology. The last couple years have seen real shifts in that arena. Word this week that the online workers’ comp insurance provider Pie has received $45 million in series B funding is another example that the financial world…