From Bob's Cluttered Desk

The buzz in healthcare these days is all about technology. Telehealth, artificial intelligence, micro-devices, 3D printing, innovative implants and more all dominate the conversation around healthcare. But no matter how shiny, glitzy or exciting the technology is, the core strength of healthcare today lies in the people who do the many often thankless jobs that…

It was a glorious day. After nine years on the board of directors of my homeowner’s association, five of them as president, I was free. My long neighborhood nightmare was over. I was tempted to call this post, “Free at Last, Free at Last, Thank God Almighty I am Free at Last;” but comparing a…

We have to give her an A for effort. This past week a 19-year-old waitress was working on the rooftop bar of a restaurant located on a Daytona Beach, FL pier when she saw a young boy struggling in the water far below. Her response was to do what any red-blooded American girl would do. Scratch that –…

Several weeks ago we reported on a case where a man was suing his former employer for harassment because he repeatedly passed gas down under. We would should remind you this case was in Australia, and the workplace was “down under,” not the gas passing. Well, now that we think about it – oh, never mind. At…

It is a weak link; a chink in the armor if you will, in the concept of state-owned insurance solutions. The money they collect in reserves can be greedily eyed by less than competent politicians as a solution to their government’s financial ineptitude. Multiple state funds across the nation have faced the challenge on more…

In the “now I’ve heard everything” department, we can bring you this compelling bit of news: A New Jersey Appellate Court has ruled that a firefighter who had his genitals burned by an exploding toilet at the hands of a prankster did so within the course and scope of his employment. We could probably end…

It might be a stretch to say that smiling is a new disability. However, a study just published shows that employees who work with the public and who “force themselves to smile for customers or hide feelings of annoyance may be susceptible to heavy drinking after hours.” And of course, since heavy drinking may result in some form…

Six years ago, in 2013, I started my campaign to rebrand the workers’ compensation industry. As many people know, I believe it should be called “Workers’ Recovery.” The idea isn’t simply to change the name; the belief has been that the simple adjustment of one word would shift the focus of our industry, reduce litigation, save money…

The headline that caught my eye was “Sarasota lawmaker supports bill extending wait times for benefits to injured workers.” It opened with the sentence, “He claims he wants to protect workers who get hurt on the job, but State Sen. Joe Gruters (R-Sarasota) is backing a bill that would make injured workers wait 45 business…

On a conference panel almost 3 years ago, after the Castellanos decision that found Florida’s plaintiff attorney fee caps unconstitutional, I predicted that the state legislature would respond with quiet deportment, waiting several years doing nothing until the pain became unbearable, and then would do something colossally stupid. That prediction wasn’t entirely accurate. The pain,…