Quote of the day
"I'm hearing now where people are having shoulder surgery and not getting physical therapy and ending up with a frozen shoulder."
Dr. Anne Searcy, medical director, California Division of Workers' Compensation
Reforms’ ‘Loophole’ Gives Workers’ Comp Patients the Runaround
While new claims have dropped 46 percent and the overall cost of workers’ compensation has fallen around 60 percent since the 2004 reforms, the medical director for the California Division of Workers’ Compensation estimates that 5 percent of treatment requests—potentially affecting 30,000 Californians—are being delayed, often with debilitating results to patients. The process of “utilization review” may be to blame. By Tom Abate, San Francisco Chronicle [With Photos] Go to the Full Story…
Claimant Sues Kentucky Worker’s Comp Fund for Defamation
A Kentucky man who claims he was injured when he fell down a hill while carrying rolls of fence wire sues the Kentucky Workers Compensation Fund and its private investigator on grounds they wrongly accused him of trying to fake the claimed injury. The worker contends he is not the man caught on videotape performing acts inconsistent with his claimed disability. By Mary Music, Appalachian News-Express (Pikeville, Ky.)
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L.A. Judge Slashes Bail in Massive Comp Fraud Case
A Los Angeles Superior Court commissioner reduces bail from $6.5 million to $100,000 for each of three flooring company officers charged in a multi-million dollar workers’ compensation premium fraud case. By AP via KCAL-TV (Los Angeles)
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Chicagoans Foot the Bill for ‘Injured’ Goldbrickers
The Chicago Sun-Times continues its series on the city’s dysfunctional workers’ compensation system that pays city workers deemed “permanently and totally disabled” tax-free, taxpayer-funded benefits for the rest of their lives, even though the workers can and sometimes do hold down other jobs. In addition, the Sun-Times notes the overlap between workers who have filed workers’ comp claims against the city and those convicted in the city’s recent “Hired Truck” scandal. By Tim Novak, Chicago Sun-Times [With Photos] Go to the Full Story…
Florida Judge Discusses System’s Challenges, New Technology
A Florida workers’ compensation judge says a major issue facing workers’ compensation attorneys is the major change made in 2003 to the laws that govern workers’ compensation, specifically attorney’s fees and a cap on damages an injured worker can receive. By Mike Sharkey, Jacksonville’s Financial News and Daily Record [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Workers’ Comp Issue Officially Pulled from Ohio Ballot
Ashtabula County, Ohio election board officials confirm that state Issue 1, which would roll back limitations on some aspects of workers’ compensation including time limits on some benefits, is withdrawn. But because ballots including the issue have already been printed, it will appear before voters. By Mark Todd, Ashtabula Star Beacon
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Arrest of Yonkers Contractor Makes 10 in New York Fraud Bust
A 47-year-old Yonkers, N.Y. general contractor who stands accused of filing forged documents is the tenth suspect nabbed thus far in a yearlong investigation into workers compensation fraud. By Bill Hughes, Journal News (White Plains, N.Y.)
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Detroit Political, Religious Activists Illuminate Plight of Illegal Aliens
Advocating health care, workers’ compensation and fair treatment for illegal alien workers, political and religious activists in Detroit put on a skit showing ways some employers take advantage of and mistreat such workers. By Margarita Bauza, Detroit Free Press [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…