In a classic scene in the movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a cart carrying corpses is being wheeled through the muddy streets of a peasant village. A crier managing the cart exhorts the locals to “bring out your dead!” so they may ostensibly be carried away. A local carries out an obviously alive old…
SAWCA and a Bold Step to Normalcy
Yesterday the Southern Association of Workers’ Compensation Administrators (SAWCA) announced that their Annual Conference scheduled for this summer would be an in-person event. It will be held July 12 – 16 at the Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, VA. Hot damn. A live event with people and everything! I can barely contain my excitement. Our long…
OK, Raise Your Hand if You Did Not Embrace Telemedicine This Year
Mitchell International, Inc., as reported in PropertyCasualty360.com, recently released the results of a survey regarding the adoption of technology in the workers’ compensation sector. As is often the case with such surveys, there were results we found surprising, while others aligned with our own observations. The most surprising result was the finding that: “Telemedicine was the…
What if Workers' Comp Surveyed Like McDonald’s?
Many companies employ consumer surveys these days. They are everywhere. They come in the form of a voice query after a service phone call, or in your email following a particular sale. The most ubiquitous, it seems, now come on the receipt from a purchase of some sort, all of them beckoning you to “Tell…
Who, Me? Disabled?
I’ve made it very clear that I have come to detest the term “disabled.” It is, as a term, a vehicle of economic and societal construct; a label that is applied to individuals announcing to the rest of society that a person is no longer capable of normal living. It is negative by its very…
California's Cavalcade of Presumptions Bill for Healthcare Workers
Last week we had the opportunity to opine on the “Silly Season of Legislative Activity” by discussing California’s thoroughly misguided AB 1465, which would require the administrative director of the state’s workers’ compensation system to establish a statewide medical provider network called the California Medical Provider Network. It is a horrible idea that will provide no…
Employers Deserve Cannabis Clarification from the Feds
The New Jersey Supreme Court just issued a decision that requires insurers and employers to reimburse injured workers for the use of medical marijuana. In the case, lawyers for an employer argued that reimbursing for medical marijuana would in effect be “aiding and abetting and conspiracy liability under federal law.” As Nancy Grover reported on this site yesterday, “the…
In the Legislative Silly Season, California Leads the Way
It is Spring across the nation. The season’s many familiar rituals, like flowers in the field, are in full bloom. Foliage is turning green, birds are singing, bees are humming, and State Legislatures are getting down to the task once again of “fixing” their workers’ comp system. It is an annual event that strikes hope…
Forget Oil, Prune Juice is the New Black Gold
Perhaps, given the benefit of hindsight, I was a tad over-optimistic in regard to my recovery timeline. I realize now that people who undergo a total knee replacement are unlikely to be performing somersaults on the pool deck just a few days after the fact. Now, I really did not expect to be performing somersaults,…
A Post Written on Opioids
Editors Note: Bob is in the hospital following a planned surgical procedure. Being the trooper that he is, he insisted on posting despite the fog of painkillers. Frankly, we believe it is the most salient article he has provided in some time. _________________________________________________________ The fire raced down along the pickle juice. The cat may be brown,…