Quote of the day
"The best way for me to fight them (the allegations) and protect my family was to resign."
Former New Mexico workers' comp judge Chris Berkheimer, in response to an injured worker's accusation that he made a sexual advance after a mediation hearing.
N.M. Judge Accused of Sexual Proposition Steps Down
Although he calls the accusations against him “not true and ridiculous,” a New Mexico workers’ compensation judge resigns amidst an accusation that he made sexual advances toward an injured worker in a case he was mediating. By AP via Santa Fe New Mexican
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South Carolina Overhaul Provides Prison for Scofflaw Employers
In South Carolina, a bill overhauling the state’s workers’ compensation system is on its way to Gov. Mark Sanford’s desk. Under the law, employers who deliberately misclassify employees to save more than $10,000 on insurance premiums would face up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine. By AP via WIS-TV (Columbia, S.C.)
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NIOSH: Cancer-Stricken Hanford Workers Should Get Automatic $150K Payouts
The National Institute for Occupational Health is recommending that former Hanford nuclear reservation workers automatically receive $150,000 payments if they develop any of a wide range of cancers. By AP via KXLY-TV (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho)
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Arkansas WCC Looked at Wrong File in Denying Claim: Court
The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission’s decision to deny temporary total disability benefits to a bakery worker was based on a review of the wrong patient’s medical record, the state Court of Appeals finds. By John Lyon, Morning News (Springdale, Ark.)
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Fraud Sweep Nets Dozens in Suburban New York City
In what they call the largest sweep of its kind since the 1996 creation of the Office of the Fraud Inspector General, New York State Workers’ Compensation Board officials and state police bust dozens of employers in Westchester County, N.Y. for failing to pay for workers’ compensation insurance for employees. They could face up to four years in prison, in addition to fines.
Go to the full story by Jorge Fitz-Gibbon, Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.)
Go to the full story in WABC-TV (New York)
B.C. Supreme Court Orders Review of Gondola Victim’s Case
A British Columbia Supreme Court judge orders the provincial Workers’ Compensation Board to review the case of a 38-year-old Pacific National Exhibition ride technician who was struck in the back by a gondola in 2000. The board denied his claim twice on grounds that his pain was not attributable to the accident. By Linda Nuyen, Vancouver Sun
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