There has been a clear push in recent years to change the culture of workers’ comp across the nation with better communication, clearer language and an emphasis on ultimate recovery. This is a difficult task, as the legislative complexities of comp and entrenched interests within the system make this industry a very difficult ship to…
At WCI, It is the End of a Long Week
I realize it is only Wednesday, but it certainly feels like the end to a long yet productive week. I arrived in Orlando last Friday evening for the 73rdAnnual Workers Compensation Institute Conference, and will finally be returning home today. The conference did not officially kick off until Monday, but WCI ensures that there is…
Practicing Safety is More Effective Than Legislating It
At a recent gathering of employers, I heard a representative of a large company tell the assembled that, after a particularly expensive year of workers’ compensation costs, he decided to “get involved” and work to get better legislation for “controlling costs.” While I understood his end objective I could not help but think that the…
Evidence Based Medicine, Meet Evidence Based Causation
The concept of Evidence Based Medicine has certainly been gaining ground in the workers’ compensation universe in recent years. The adaptation has not been easy, and certainly the concept still has its opponents. Yet, the question was recently posed to me; If we now use Evidence Based Medicine, why can we not adopt Evidence Based…
New Hot Seat Webinar on Legal Challenges to AMA 6th Edition to be Announced
We’ve scheduled our fifth Hot Seat Webinar, and I’m really pleased with the way it is shaping up. Entitled “Impairing the Guides: The Legal Assault on the 6th Edition,” it will take an in depth look at what is behind the legal challenges we are seeing around the nation to the 6thedition of the AMA…
Tears for Joy
This morning finds me in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I am here for the funeral of my aunt, Joy Wilson. She passed away last week after a long fight with Alzheimer’s. I was here at the same funeral home just a few years ago, when her husband, my father’s brother Dave, passed away. While I am…
Words Matter – Everywhere
We were on final approach into Reagan National Airport. With the exception of a few notable jolts, the final minutes of the flight had been relatively smooth, despite rainy conditions. As we neared the airport, I could see the runway slightly off to the right, as the Pentagon swept by to the right beneath us.…
Now Regarding IAIABC, a Clarification
It seems I inadvertently ruffled some feathers last week when I posted what was intended as a humorous article regarding the growth of SAWCA, the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators. In that article I made some comparisons to that organization with another group, the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, the IAIABC. I heard…
Flying the Frenzy Skies
It is generally known that there has been an uptick in workplace violence this past year. This trend is certainly visible in the world of law enforcement, where 33 officers have died by gunfire this year. Last year there were 46 killed in the entire year. This phenomenon is also most visible in the airline…
At SAWCA, The North Gets More Southern Every Day
When asked several years ago why Maine, one of the northernmost states in the continental US would join SAWCA, the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators, Executive Director Gary Davis simply smiled. He replied with a typical Dixie drawl and a knowing nod of the head, saying, “Because Southern is a state of mind.” And so…