An American Bar Association's Winter Conference has been scheduled for March 8 – 10, 2012, in San Antonio, Texas. It is being sponsored by the Section of Labor and Employment Law (LEL) and the Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Section's Workers' Compensation Law Committee (TIPS). This program, entitled “National Trends and Emerging Issues Affecting Workers'…
When the Bakery Crashes and Burns During Your First Day on Doughnuts
Several years ago my wife and I went through a breakfast phase – a phase where she sometimes wanted a fresh doughnut with her morning coffee. It did not happen every day, but when it did, the job of order fulfillment went to me. She, it turns out, is an "idea person". On the particular…
Go West NFL Man; Stake Your (Workers’ Comp) Claim in California
There are three National Football League teams in the state of California, and at a glance they seem to have a terrible safety record – worst in the league. Over 3,700 NFL players have filed workers' compensation claims in that state. I'm amazed the 49'ers made the playoffs this year. Their injured list must fill…
Kudos to Arkansas – WCC Decidedly Deals with Dead Doctor Dilemma
3 weeks ago I wrote about a woman in Arkansas named Lauren Eason, who had been denied a change of physician, even though her dear doctor was now dearly departed – as in dead as a doornail. It seems the woman had already changed physicians once, and in accordance with Arkansas law, she was not…
Letting the Fox Manage the Henhouse: Florida’s Physician Dispensing Bill is a Bridge Not Far Enough
There is much discussion around the nation surrounding the topic of prescriptions and their related costs within the workers' compensation industry. Of all the issues, none has as simple and clear a solution as those surrounding the process of physician dispensing. That solution? Don't allow physicians to fulfill their own prescriptions. Problem solved – but…
An Open Letter To The Press, Business Community And People Of North Dakota Regarding Sandy Blunt
Editors Note: This letter was distributed this morning to hundreds of workers’ compensation professionals, business people and government representatives in North Dakota, as well as major media outlets across the nation. An open letter to the press, business community and people of North Dakota: The authors of this letter are journalists, columnists, bloggers and content…
CompNewsNetwork Passes 10,000,000 Article Views and Counting…..
I was very pleased this week to see that our CompNewsNetwork system passed the 10 million article view count. To be more specific, since I am a stickler for accuracy – as of this writing – the system has served 10,084,966 articles up for our visitors. To be fair, I am not such a big…
Positive Review For Workers' Comp Cost Containment Book Well Earned
It was good to see a LexisNexis review published a couple weeks back that gave rave reviews for Rebecca Shafer's book “Workers Compensation Management Program: Reduce Costs 20% to 50%”. Shafer is an industry stalwart and one of the best known cost containment experts around. Additionally, she is a prolific writer (a veritable content machine),…
Opposing SOPA and PIPA Without "Going Dark"
Wednesday there was a fairly impressive display of solidarity and influence by a collection of web based entities opposing the proposed SOPA and PIPA legislation that is moving through Congress at this time. Many websites, including Wikipedia, went “dark” for the day, signaling their opposition to this particular legislation. Google's response was, in my view,…
The Square Wheels of Justice in the Peoples Republic of North Dakota
It's a cold, bitter winter in this barren land. Resources are scarce, “man camps” spring up to shelter the workers who can find no homes. The government, considered one of the most corrupt in the region, seems incapable of addressing the challenges. North Korea? Nope. Welcome to the Peoples Republic of North Dakota, the PRND.…