An article that appeared in our blogwire yesterday tells us of a court case in Alabama that resulted in an interesting determination. It appears that if the cause of a fall is unknown, the claim is not valid. The court found that injuries sustained in a fall were not compensable because an employee could not…
Raiding the Larder: New York's Shameful Workers Comp Cash Grab
It is as predictable as time itself. A state fund providing workers’ compensation insurance accumulates a significant cash surplus. Then politicians who see the money as a free resource to solve problems they are incapable of addressing try to take it. It happened recently in Colorado, although Pinnacol Assurance, the state fund there, successfully repelled…
Let's Face It, the Lion Had to Die
A very tragic tale out of California this morning tells us an animal park intern with only a few weeks on the job was killed yesterday by a lion in her care. 24 year old Dianna Hanson had entered the cage of the male African Lion, Cous Cous, by herself when she was badly mauled…
Opioid Paper Training for the IAIABC
A nervous and trepidatious world eagerly awaits the pending release of the comprehensive paper on opioid use from the Executive Committee (EC) of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC). While we wait, I thought I would make a few suggestions to “ease the tension” and make the release the middling success…
My Brain on Drugs and Enemas
My brain has been saturated with drugs the last couple weeks, and not in a fun way. It has been inundated with information and discussions on opioids (and lack of Regulator leadership thereof), prescription abuse, repackaged drugs and physician dispensing. I even attended a Physicians Dispensing Summit, where, despite its promising name, not a single…
Greater Claim Costs. Longer Injury Durations. Dispensing Physician Heal Thyself.
#PDSummit -Well, I am flying back from the Physician Dispensing Summit in Boston, and what a worthwhile trip it was. We already knew that physicians dispensing repackaged drugs drove prescription costs up. We knew that the battle to stop this practice has been long and hard. And we suspected claims that they improved care and…
Florida Physician Dispensing – Will Non-Payment Be The Final Line of Defense?
It is time again to grapple with that pesky problem known as Physician Dispensing, and the battle raging on the topic here in Florida. I won't go into detail about what physician dispensing is, but if you need that background info you can find it here. And here. And here. And here. And here. And…
IAIABC Opioid Decision is Matter of Life and Death
Over 20,000 people die from prescription drug overdoses in this country every year. That is one every 20 minutes or so. Not all of them are workers' comp related, but a significant number are. As an industry we have blood on our hands, and it isn't going away anytime soon. Several weeks ago, the Executive…
Protecting New Mexico's Drunk Garbage Truck Drivers
New Mexico may indeed be the Land of Enchantment, but it is certainly not the land of clear and concise legislative language. An attempt to clarify the law, to give judges more flexibility to deny all or most benefits to intoxicated workers who are injured on the job, was blocked last week by a House…
Physician Dispensing and Arguing with Idiots
I got into one of my more animated debates yesterday with a fellow on LinkedIn over the issue of physician dispensing. This particular person appears to be a PR rep hired by a dispensing physician in an attempt to scrub the indelible stain on the soul that prescribing for fun and profit undoubtedly brings. As…