You’d better sit down for this. There are times when I fully agree with a decision made by a court of law. There are times when I completely disagree with a courts opinion. And then there are times where I just don't know what to think. Such is the case with a decision just issued…
A Conversation, 1,000 Rounds of Ammo and New Ideas in Workers' Comp
Two weeks ago I had one thousand rounds of small caliber ammunition delivered to my house. It was the most ammo I had ever purchased at one time. Now, some of you might be asking why I would need or desire 1,000 bullets delivered conveniently to my front door. I could tell you that blogging…
Dude, Smoking Extra Bud Makes You a Dud
A study out of California is sure to harsh the mellow of the pro-marijuana crowd this week. The report, issued by researchers with the University of California Davis, showed that the more pot one smoked on a recreational basis, the more likely that person would be a “loser”. To clarify, they did not find that…
Microsoft AI Flunks Out of Twitter University
I must say, this was one of the most poorly thought out programs that I've come across in a long, long time. I haven't seen something so badly thought out since Windows 98. No wait, make that Windows Millennium. Scratch that – Windows 8. At any rate, I really don't know what Microsoft engineers were…
Let's Start Talking: When Labor Sec Labels Opt Out a "Pathway to Poverty", We All May Be Subject to the Cure
Within the last year I participated on several blogger panels at conferences around the nation. For at least two if them, the question of potential intervention in workers' comp by the Federal Government was broached. Almost all involved unequivocally stated that this would never happen; workers' comp has been, is and shall remain a state…
The Continuing Wussification of America
Two news articles caught my eye this week that disturbed me greatly; well, disturbed me even more than my customary level of disturbment (disturbage?). They were stories that, if representative of current trends in America, signal the end of life here as we know it. One was about a class action lawsuit filed against Starbucks…
Comp Laude and Best Blogs: There Has Never Been a Better Time to Celebrate the Best in Workers' Comp
There has never been a better time to recognize top performance in the workers' compensation industry than this next week. One program designed to recognize top informational talent for the industry closes nominations just 9 days from today, on the 31st of March. Another program, designed to recognize and celebrate those people in comp that…
Who Knew Medical Travel Could Drive Costs So High For Workers' Comp?
A study conducted by the Workers' Compensation Research Institute (WCRI), and reviewed in a session entitled “Crossing State Lines for Medical Care” at their annual convention in Boston recently, showed that New York based injured workers who engaged in medical travel to New Jersey experienced orthopedic surgery costs at more than twice the allowable rates…
Schrodinger's Opt Out and the Transparency Variable
I've said it before regarding Opt Out, the alternative plan in Oklahoma that allows employers to escape the workers' compensation system but maintain the benefits of exclusive remedy; just repeatedly using the word “transparency” will not make it so. Yet when it comes to “The Oklahoma Option”, the word transparency is tossed around like cheap…
For Opt Out Mess, the Oklahoma Insurance Department Bears Much Blame
I've been highly critical of the Oklahoma Option, the alternative workers' compensation system that was recently found to be unconstitutional by that states Workers' Compensation Commission. I've been critical of the backers of the system, as well as the employers who willingly set up plans in this closed and tightly controlled scheme. And while I've…