Workplace deaths within restaurants are rare, but do occasionally occur. Most often food service fatalities are the result of robbery or a non-job related medical emergency. A death that occurred last week at Buddy’s Seafood Market in Panama City, Florida, however, was the rarest kind of all. One worker killed a co-worker as the result…
It's Not Easy Being Me
© LRP Publications – Republished with permission The picture above was published last week in Risk and Insurance Magazine’s Workers' Comp Forum. It was included in an article about the release of the agenda for the 2015 National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference in Las Vegas next November. It is always a great conference that…
An Expensive Employer Lesson From a Devious Defecator
It is a lesson that should be loud and clear for employers across the nation. Genetics, DNA and employee privacy are not things to be taken lightly, or at all for that matter. In this case, the unfortunate experience of Atlas Logistics Group Retail Services can literally be summed up as the poop heard round…
Naked Drunk Ohio Couple Offer Lessons for Us All
Thank God for Ohio. I mean, if it wasn't for the Buckeye state, the people here in Florida would truly dominate the wacky quadrant of the news. With the weirdo's and idiots living amongst us in the Sunshine State we would expect to look truly superior in the nutzoid department. But thanks to Ohio, a…
Walking the Walk: MedRisk Restore is Getting Results
Recognizing that significant delays in recovery drive tremendous increases in spend for workers' compensation claims, the company MedRisk has responded with an innovative program that tackles psychosocial factors behind many of the issues associated with the trend. The program, called MedRisk Restore, is addressing the issue of injured workers who are “disengaged” from life activities,…
Why Can't We Be Tough On Workers' Comp Fraud?
Fraud, when discussed in the context of workers' compensation, is an interesting thing that many can't seem to agree on. Some injured workers will tell you that there is virtually no such thing as workers' comp fraud (except for all the fraud committed against them by the entire world – insurers, employers, regulators, Starbucks Baristas…
In a Year of Tough Stories, IAIABC Ignite is Looking for a Few Good Successes
This past year has been a tough one for the workers' compensation industry, particularly in the realm of the press and public opinion. The ProPublica/NPR stories, released simultaneously with a highly critical OSHA report solely focused on displaying all that is bad in workers' comp, were a big psychological hit on the industry. No one…
The Incredibly Awesome Victims of Charleston
Sometimes you can be judged by the people you leave behind. The nation was rocked last week by the most heinous of hate crimes. 21 year old Dylann Roof entered the Emanuel African American Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC, and slaughtered 9 innocent churchgoers in a purely racist, hateful assault. The agony of this event…
Can We Get a Waze App for Workers' Comp?
Two interesting things happened to me yesterday. First, I spoke at the Minnesota Department of Labor’s Workers’ Compensation Summit at Cragun’s Resort near Brainerd, MN. Second, I got a wild ride back to the airport thanks to my GPS navigation app, Waze. The conference was held at a beautiful resort location, and the hospitality…
I'd Rather Have the Ticket
A police officer from Newton, New Jersey pled guilty this week to charges that he repeatedly exposed his genitals during traffic stops. He was accused of exposing his genitals to young men he had pulled over for traffic violations, and then letting them leave without issuing tickets or summonses. He was a 14 year veteran…