I was working on a blog post this morning that turns out to have been based on an entirely fictional story. Researching it a bit further, we discovered that it was what has become commonly called “fake news,” and therefore not worthy of further dissemination. It is a shame, because its ribald nature was a…
Defending Award Recognition for Injured Workers
A post appeared last week in Jon Gelman’s blog that was written by guest blogger, attorney Jon Rehm. It was subsequently republished on our site earlier this week. It questioned the reasoning and practicality of presenting awards to injured workers; specifically, he addressed the Comp Laude event held in California last month. His criticism centered on…
At 6,000,000 Readers, The iPad Pro Winner Is…..
We had projected that this blog, From Bob’s Cluttered Desk, would see it’s 6,000,000th reader sometime around November 4, 2019. That milestone came a few days earlier than originally anticipated. As part of the 20th anniversary of this website, we decided to run a contest to mark the approaching achievement for this 8-year-old blog. We built a…
Reality Hits Australian TV With Workers' Comp for PTSD After "Mean Girls" Casting
There is pretty much one thing you can count on when it comes to reality television, and that is the fact that much of it is not real. While that view is fairly prevalent here in the United States, a workers’ compensation case in Australia will no doubt reinforce the concept there as well. Last week Australian…
The Great First Responder Compensability Race
There are those in the field of Philosophy that will tell you that the “slippery slope” argument is not an acceptable one. In fact, in the arena of Formal Logic it is referred to as the “Slippery Slope Fallacy” and any reasoning that attempts to use it is declared to be invalid. I suspect those…
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished; If Awarded Benefits, You Best Take Them
This morning finds me in Pittsburgh to attend the 105th annual convention for the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC). The last few days of travel have left little time for writing – which is odd considering we are in a push to reach the 6,000,000-reader mark in the next week or so.…
The Southwest Culture Connection
I’m headed to Dallas this morning for another conference; but one that is entirely different than the others I attend during the year. This one is called the “Southwest Culture Connection,” being held in the corporate headquarters of Southwest Airlines at Dallas’ Love Field. The program promises “a rare opportunity to experience one of the…
On Missing Mental Health Day Every Day
October 10th was Mental Health Day and I completely missed it. I am so bummed. I didn’t even get the decorations out in time this year. It’s ok, though. We’re in workers’ comp, and mental health is something we routinely overlook. Nancy Grover wrote a great article last week regarding Mental Health Day and the impact…
Death by Exploding Porta Potty
First came the explosion that rocked a quiet neighborhood. Firefighters were called, who arrived to find a structure fully engulfed in flames. It was only after the fire was extinguished that they discovered an inhabitant in the structure who had perished in the fire. They didn’t have to look far; the structure, after all, was…
Be the 6 Millionth Reader on the Cluttered Desk and Win an iPad Pro
You may have seen the graphics that have been adorning the end of just about every news or blog article on this site for the past couple months. From Bobs’ Cluttered Desk is approaching another milestone, and since it will be happening during our 20-year anniversary celebration, we thought we’d have a little fun with…