Seems a bit hard to believe, but in Virginia if a worker suffers a brain injury that prevents them from remembering the accident, it is not a compensable injury under workers' compensation. Even after an attempt to correct this elephant sized loophole, the state recently ruled that a man who fell off a roof and…
Don’t Screw Up Your Claim – Give Your Injured Worker the Bird!
It was another Claims Management session at RIMS 2012 last week in Philadelphia, and the three presenters were reviewing their top ten ways you can screw up your claim. The session, aptly titled “The Top Ten Things an Employer Can Do to Mess Up a Workers' Compensation Claim”, featured Attorney Doug Feldman of Lindner &…
Blunder Down Under: Hotel Sex Romp Injury Ruled Compensable
An Australian woman who was injured having sex in her motel room while on a business trip has been awarded benefits for the injury. The unnamed woman was apparently injured when a light fixture fell off the wall and struck her in the face. Talk about thunder down under…… She apparently met a male friend…
RIMS Report Card – Conference: A- Philadelphia: D+
It pains me a bit to write this. There are many things I like about Philadelphia. I cherish its history, as well as its culinary contributions to the realm of the sandwich; namely the Cheese Steak and the classic Hoagie. However, while I was largely impressed with the RIMS conference, the city left me with…
RIMS 2012: All That Gitters is Not Gold, But He Can Settle That Claim With a Bass Boat
I heard a very interesting thing at RIMS 2012 this week. In a session entitled “Claims Triage: Identifying and Settling Big-Ticket Claims”, the panelists were sharing ideas on how to close “old dog” claims, those files that have been around forever and represent tremendous long term liabilities. Gregory Gitter, president of Gitter and Associates, while…
Removing the Boundaries of Risk Management at RIMS 2012
The annual RIMS Conference, which opens in Philadelphia this Sunday, seeks to expand awareness of risk management beyond the accepted realm of the risk professional, to help employers and the industry, in their words, “innovatively minimize risks”. It is, to me, a refreshingly innovative concept, and I look forward to seeing how their extensive agenda…
A Sign of Economic Hard Times? Prostitute Arrested For Trading Sex for Cheeseburgers
First, I must warn you this post links to an article that contains offensive language. Second, I will defend my decision to write about this because, well, it's what I do, and it beats real work. Besides, in addition to workers' compensation stuff, I write about employment related issues, and this was clearly the woman's…
Entering or Leaving the Pool, Walmart Always Makes a Big Wake
Walmart is a force to be reckoned with, no matter what the topic. When Walmart enters a community, or a new market segment, people pay attention. They are the operational and economic equivalent of a 500 pound cannonballer in the kiddy pool. Whether getting in with a splash or hauling themselves out, people are going…
No News is New News – The Upgrade of CompNewsNetwork
It has been over a week since I have had a chance to write anything in my blog. This is largely because we were busy working to install and configure improved systems to host and manage it, along with all the other news items we run on a daily basis. I am pleased to say…
Ohio Supremes Say Disabled Drug Dealing Cop was Fully Employed
The Ohio Supreme Court yesterday found that former Parma Police Officer Donald McNea could be considered to be gainfully employed by his drug dealing activities. It ordered him to repay the state for workers’ compensation payments he received from the date of his first confirmed unlawful sale of OxyContin. The court found that his activities…