Month: March 2015

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, one of the “quick fixes” to identified air security weaknesses was the impenetrable cockpit door.  All commercial airplanes around the world were fitted with bulletproof reinforced flight deck doors, with the theory being that preventing access to that area would be a last…

I posted a video a couple days ago that was produced by SAIF Corporation to promote proper ergonomics. Called “Go Ergo”, the video, performed in rap, is the lead off effort of an ergonomics program of the same name being promoted by the carrier. I really did not make an effort to applaud or criticize…

Tennessee legislators are currently considering SB721, a bill that would allow employers to “opt out” of the traditional workers' compensation system in that state. The ramifications of this bill, however, go far beyond simply opting out for an alternative “better” plan. Instead what these lawmakers are actually considering is the creation of tiered protection plans…

I am walking a very thin line here. I have been very hard this past year on Oregon Insurer SAIF Corporation over the termination of CEO John Plotkin and the resulting aftermath. So, when someone sends me a link to a video that could allow for some potentially humorous commentary, and that video happens to…

Last Thursday the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC) released the IAIABC Spring Journal. It is a peer review publication featuring 185 pages of analysis, opinion and review for the workers’ compensation industry. I have a personal connection to this particular issue, as it contains two articles I authored as part of…

I spent Saturday evening in Naples, Florida, attending a black tie affair with several hundred people, virtually all of them lawyers and their spouses. It was the Ninth Annual Induction Dinner of the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers. The CWCL, established to “honor those attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their practice in the field…

Just a very quick post today to share a highly inspirational story. Corporal Kyle Carpenter was 19 when he was severely injured serving the Marines in Afghanistan in 2010. An enemy grenade attack required nearly 40 surgeries to repair what could be repaired. This Medal of Honor recipient went on to complete the Marine Corps Marathon…

The more things change, the more they stay the same. After all the trouble, turmoil and tumult at SAIF in the wake of John Plotkin's termination, could that possibly be true once again? The agenda for the March 18, 2015 SAIF Board of Directors meeting shows that the Board, in a closed Executive Session scheduled…

Outside our industry, workers’ compensation is something that historically no one liked to write about. Its technical and legislatively controlled nature, in addition to jurisdictional variations, make it difficult to comprehend “at a glance” for many. I’ve often said that people outside our industry do not understand our system or our processes, and that hurts…

Last week the workers' compensation industry was rocked by a double blast of bad news, one in the form of an OSHA report on the failings of our industry, and the other from a combined effort of NPR and Investigative Journalism site ProPublica. The ProPublica article, which took a very dim view of the industry,…