Quote of the day
"It's not our job to check an employee's documentation, and it certainly is not our place to deny benefits to an injured worker based on immigration status."
Lane Summerhays, president and chief executive of the Utah Workers' Compensation Fund
Arkansas Appeals Court Rules for Wal-Mart
The Arkansas Court of Appeals upholds the state Workers’ Compensation Commission’s decision to deny benefits to a Wal-Mart worker who claimed she injured her back in a fall from a ladder but failed to prove a compensable injury. The appeals court noted that an emergency room doctor found a contusion but no bruising, muscle spasms or swelling. Arkansas News Bureau
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Utah WCF Declines to Open Can of Worms
The Utah Workers Compensation Fund backs off its plan to ask its advisory council for permission to stop paying lost wages to injured, illegal aliens. Rather, it will ask permission to stop paying lost wages to incarcerated individuals. By Julie Rose, KCPW Radio (Park City, Utah)
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Report: Rates Cut by 31 Percent
Workers compensation permanent disability benefit costs in California have been reduced by 31 percent to 55 percent because of changes to the state’s permanent disability rating schedule, the 2006 Legislative Cost Monitoring Report, issued Monday, estimates. By Robert Ceniceros, Business Insurance
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Appeals Court Reverses Denial of Newspaper Carrier’s Benefits
The Mississippi Court of Appeals reverses and remands a circuit court decision denying worker’s compensation to a newspaper carrier who broke her ankle while working. The appellate court ruled that she was an employee of the newspaper, not an independent contractor. By John Mott Coffey, Commercial Dispatch (Columbus, Miss.)
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Hardie’s Extension a ‘Flaming Disappointing’ to Asbestos Victims
The New South Wales Government’s decision to give Australian company James Hardie, which has already gotten four extensions, another month to finalize its asbestos victims’ compensation fund draws sharp criticism. And it’s especially troubling in light of a shareholders’ vote last month to give massive pay raises to company directors. ABC News Online
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State Won’t Cough Up Attorney Fees, Ohio High Court Rules
The Ohio Supreme Court sides with Ohio Gov. Bob Taft, ruling against state Sen. Marc Dann in his request that the state pay his attorneys’ fees in his public-records lawsuit against Taft for disclosure of information about the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation hedge fund and rare-coin investment scandal. Toledo Blade [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Noe Trial Watch: Witness List Chock Full of Former BWC Bigwigs
Ohio prosecutors release a list of more than 65 potential witnesses in the case against former Toledo-area coin dealer Tom Noe, and it’s a virtual “who’s who” of former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation bigwigs. Absent from the list is former chief financial officer Terry Gasper, who is cooperating with prosecutors after pleading guilty to accepting bribes from Noe and other bureau money managers. By Steve Eder and Mike Wilkinson, Toledo Blade [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Ace Hires Senior VP to Oversee Underwriting Strategies
Insurer Ace Ltd. hires industry veteran Henry O. Schramm as senior vice president of workers’ compensation for its U.S. casualty risk division to oversee underwriting strategies for the middle-market workers’ compensation business. BankNet 360
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