The doctor looked at the X-ray his patient, who had been injured in a car accident, had provided. He did what good doctors should do. He explained the X-ray, and the various bones it showed. He showed her the hip joint, and asked several questions about her injury. But the doctor also did a couple…
Oklahoma’s Open Carry Handgun Law – Bad for Turkeys, Challenging for Employers?
Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin recently signed into law SB 1733, a bill designed to allow licensed gun owners to “open carry” their weapons in the state. With that action Oklahoma becomes the 25th state to allow its citizens to carry weapons openly. Personally I am a strong supporter of the 2nd Amendment, and as a…
When Killing Is Ruled In the Course and Scope of Employment
The South Carolina Supreme Court ruled today that a deputy sheriff who killed a man in the line of duty was not entitled to workers' compensation benefits, because he essentially did what he was trained to do, and as such, it was a known risk of the job. Spartanburg County deputy sheriff Brandon Bentley killed…
Using Under Qualified Immigrants To Improve Workplace Safety
A newly announced study in Canada produced some interesting results, determining that people who had recently immigrated to that country, and were over qualified for the jobs they held, were up to five times as likely to be injured on the job. Even after the researchers factored in the physical job demands of specific positions,…
Probably Thought They Said Bear Claws – Memphis Police Recruits File Injury Claims En Masse over Bear Crawl Exercise
Recently all 66 recruits at the Memphis Police Training Academy – 100% of the class – filed claims for on the job injuries after undergoing a “bear crawl” exercise in temperatures approaching 100 degrees. Apparently the claims started with just 10 recruits, but ultimately all of the recruits filed injury claims resulting from the exercise.…
Looking for the Common Sense – Lifeguard Who Saves Life Fired While Teacher Comparing Student to Missing Link on Facebook Isn’t
Sometimes it feels as if the whole world is off its axis, and that logic, decency and common sense fell off the planet on the last turn. I was reading my morning paper today and a couple different stories caught my eye. One was about a lifeguard here in Florida who helped to save a…
Interview Tip: Leave the Child Molestation Out of Your Highway Patrol Job Interview
Honesty, it turns out, may not always be the best policy, particularly if you are a child molester who desires a job in law enforcement. A Missouri man being interviewed for a position with that states Highway Patrol seemingly torpedoed his chances of gainful employment by admitting in the interview to sexually inappropriate behavior…
Crash and Burn: Pilots 60 Year Old Claim Just Won’t Fly
A pilot who was crop dusting and crashed his plane in 1953 has filed a first time claim for the injuries he received. And I thought the wait at TSA Security was interminable. Len Fisher was flying over the town of Neepawa, Manitoba, Canada, on June 23, 1953, when he hit a telephone wire and…
It’s a Service Horse, Of Course, Of Course – But Leave Your Seeing Eye Monkey at Home
Businesses in America are being crushed by regulation. We spend an inordinate amount of money on compliance, modifications, reporting, and of course lawsuits related to allegedly not doing any of that correctly. Businesses today must comply with a myriad of rules and regulations from a variety of government entities I simply refer to as the…
An LA Fitness Lesson in Communication for the Workers’ Comp Industry
We talk a lot about the importance of communication in this industry. We stress how critical it is when managing claims. We don't always, however, talk about what happens when communication is poor or altogether absent. We talk about what we should do, and not necessarily what happens when we don't. I was reminded of…