From Bob's Cluttered Desk

I did a CompTalk Radio interview several years back with a gentleman who at the time was the chief workers' compensation fraud investigator for the State of Florida. In that discussion he told me that fraud in the state ran about “50/50” between employers and employees, but “without a doubt, the really big money in…

Leave it to our government. Not only are they compiling records of all our phone calls, political leanings, internet searches,  personal sanitation practices, frequent flyer miles and recycling habits, but now we know that when a claim is filed for loss of consortium, they want to know that too. At least that is the case…

I am a believer in Karma, that ancient Indian arbiter of cause and effect. It is a well established protocol that tells us our actions and activity often determine our future and our fate. Nowhere was its influence more evident than my recent trip to Denver.  Joe Paduda published a post Wednesday in his blog…

The Workers' Compensation Executive Forum conducted in St. Louis last week by the Self Insurance Institute of America (SIIA), was a vast improvement from the prior year's San Antonio event. Medical treatment and cost was a priority topic, and information related to managing this growing area of concern seemed to dominate the agenda.  One of the…

I am supposed to be writing today about the Workers' Compensation Executive Forum conducted in St. Louis last week by the Self Insurance Institute of America (SIIA). It provided very insightful information along a number of tracks, most notably the area concerned with managing medical within claims. I should be writing about that. Unfortunately, while…

I was flying to St. Louis to attend the SIIA Workers’ Compensation Executive Forum, and as so often seems to be the case, struck up a pre-flight conversation with several seat mates on the plane.  It started with questions regarding the flight attendant safety speech, when I openly wondered whether there was anybody left on…

I am not sure if Botswana has a workers’ compensation system. I’m actually not sure if Botswana has a hospital. I didn’t really know Botswana had a government, let alone a President. One thing is certain: I don’t know jack about Botswana. Nevertheless, the President of the Central African nation, Ian Khama, was slightly injured…

Recently while visiting my father in New Mexico, we had a conversation that was most likely typical, yet revealing all the same. My father has been a private business owner since 1971, and has owned several businesses in New Mexico since 1977. As we were talking, the discussion turned to workers' compensation, and an incident…

A recent discussion on LinkedIn proved to be a rather enlightening event for me. The discussion, now closed to further comments after it decayed into the intellectual equivalent of Pee Wee Herman's repeated rebuke of “I know you are, but what am I?”, was centered on the current state of workers' compensation, particularly in comparison…

The two most important women in my life do not get along. As I have recently written, the conflicts between my wife and my virtual assistant Siri started early, and have not abated. I can trace the trouble to the very first night Siri was in our home. I kissed my wife goodnight, then rolled…