Quote of the day
“A National Survey on Drug Use and Health found that nearly one-third of people ages 12 and older first used a prescription drug for non-medical reasons.”
Toledo Blade editorial: Bagging a solution for leftover opioids
The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation started this month paying for disposal bags for opioid prescription pills not consumed by the patient. The bags, to be given free to the injured Ohio patient by the same pharmacy at which the prescribed drugs are picked up, will dissolve the leftover pills within 30 seconds with some added water. Believed to be the first state workers’ compensation agency to start such a program, the effort is to try to stop substance abuse before it starts. Toledo Blade
New York: Two arrested in separate workers’ comp cases
New York authorities have arrested two Hudson Valley residents have in separate cases alleging they defrauded the workers’ compensation system of a total of over $20,500. Both individuals allegedly received workers’ comp benefits to which they were not entitled, due to working while claiming they were not able to do so. Mid-Hudson News
Tree services firm charged with insurance fraud following injury accident
The owners of a Minnesota tree trimming company face charges of workers’ compensation insurance fraud after one of their employees nearly drowned when the lift he was on slid downhill, overturning in a partially frozen pond. The complaint said the employee suffered a number of injuries, as well as anxiety and post-traumatic stress. KSTP (St. Paul) [with video]
Contractor convicted in fatal trench collapse
The owner of a drain pipe company has been convicted of manslaughter in connection with the drowning of two workers just over three years ago in Boston when the walls of a trench collapsed and a nearby hydrant ruptured, overwhelming them with a rush of water. The defense tried to blame the city for failing to maintain the hydrant, but prosecutors argued the contractor did not shore up the trench. He’s scheduled to be sentenced in early December. WBZ (Boston)