Last month the Workers’ Compensation Research Institute (WCRI) released a study looking at how and if claim expense is affected depending on which party gets to select the doctor. The study, in excess of 100 pages, was entitled “The Effects of Provider Choice Policies on Workers’ Compensation Costs”. The authors were WCRI Public Policy Researcher…
The Aerial Observers of Workers' Comp
A couple years back, while I was attending a conference where I was scheduled to speak, I received a generous invitation to briefly address a group of claims people who were attending CEU training in a concurrent program. The organizer had asked me to stop in and briefly discuss my company, and specifically our legislative…
Has the ABA Abandoned the First Amendment?
It is a concept that can eventually wend its way into the workers’ compensation industry, and that thought should chill you to the bone. Lawyers, whether you love ‘em or hate ‘em, are in many ways the final vanguard of protection for our rights as US citizens. They are the soldiers trained to represent and…
When it Comes to Social Security Numbers, WI, WV and DC are the Bad Boys of Workers' Comp
Editor’s Note: An error in our forms survey regarding the State of Wisconsin has been brought to our attention. For the vast majority of their forms, inclusion of the Social Security number is optional. You may read about the correction here. Three weeks ago, I wrote about learning that my personal identity had been stolen, and…
A Non-Subscriber Mess? Texas Mortuary Worker Sues Over Job Induced Stress
A former employee of a Fort Worth, TX mortuary is suing his former employer for both physical and mental injuries he claims to have incurred on the job. In the lawsuit, he claims in one incident he got sick from a body he was performing services on. In another he claims he was traumatized by…
Kids' Chance and Major Karma, Baby
I am, to a great degree, a believer in Karma, and that things often happen for a reason. That is certainly the way I felt on Wednesday afternoon, when manna from heaven unexpectedly appeared for Kids’ Chance of Florida. I spoke Wednesday at a lunch of my local Sertoma Club, and my topic was Kids’…
Thank You for Another Best Blogs Under the Belt
We announced the winners of our 2017 Best Blogs contest yesterday afternoon. It is the second time we have run the contest, and as last year it produced some interesting results. This blog made the list once again, and while it might be suspicious that a guy who runs the company that holds the contest…
Abandoning Social Security (Numbers)
One of the great things about attending an event held by the IAIABC (International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions) is the fact that you have direct access to many of the nation’s workers’ compensation regulators. This certainly was the case this past week during the annual IAIABC Spring Forum in Kansas City. As…
For What Price Walking?
What is the value of walking? More specifically, what is the value of walking for a paraplegic? That may have been the question on the mind of some attendees of the IAIABC Spring Forum in Kansas City, MO this week. The organization’s Medical Issues Committee gave a presentation that puts that question at the forefront…
Would the Person Who Stole My Identity Kindly Return It?
On the surface this discussion may not seem to be about workers’ compensation. But I assure you, it is. While the topic is identity theft; specifically, the recent theft of my identity, it is an opportunity to look at how our industry may be helping this booming criminal trend. While at work last Thursday I…