Quote of the day
"The decision today affirms what we have said all along about the value of our plan to prevent frivolous lawsuits while protecting workers and creating jobs and economic growth."
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt, reacting to a judge's ruling against labor unions who had filed a constitutional challenge to the state's 2005 workers' comp reform law
Death Benefits Conundrum
Is it unconstitutional to award death benefits to non-dependent heirs, or will there be litigation on the subject. What is the applicants’ attorneys payoff? Premium subscribers can get the details here or in the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive.
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Publius: Advice to Commissioner Poizner
It’s not so subtle this time. Click here to read what Publius thinks the new California insurance commissioner should hear.
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Self-Insured Regulatory Issues Controversies
Although SIGs and the Office of Self-Insured Plans agree on some items, they remain at loggerheads on others. Find out what controversies have erupted and need resolution before proposed rules can become reality. Premium subscribers can read it here or in the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive.
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Majestic Enters New Territory and Lines
Majestic Insurance Company is opening new territory and writing new coverage. Premium subscribers can find out what it will write, where, for whom, and what its long-term plans are, by clicking here or in the current print edition of Workers’ Comp Executive.
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Missouri’s Reform Law Survives Constitutional Challenge
A judge upholds Missouri’s workers’ compensation law, which passed in 2005 as one of the first priorities of Gov. Matt Blunt and the Republican-led Legislature, in a constitutional challenge that labor unions initiated. The legislation requires work to be the “prevailing,” instead of a “substantial,” factor in determining whether an injury is compensable. By David A. Lieb, AP via Belleville News Democrat
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Oregon Supremes Hear Workers’ Comp Case
The Oregon Supreme Court hears Johnson vs. SAIF Corp., in which an injured worker claims that the reduction of his workers’ compensation benefits from permanent total disability to permanent partial disability without a prior hearing violated his due process rights. By Rob Luke, Legal Newsline (Chicago)
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Attorney: Narrow Facts Preclude Slippery Slope in Misconduct Case
The attorney for a KFC franchisee that fired an injured worker for his wanton violations of job safety rules and then convinced the Ohio Supreme Court to deny temporary total disability benefits contends that the high court ruling will not be a slippery slope for the no-fault workers’ compensation system due to the narrow facts of the case. By Josh Cable, Occupational Hazards
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Kentucky Chamber Puts Comp Reform Near Top of Agenda
Reforming workers’ compensation system to prevent abuse of the system is a top 2007 goal of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. By Amanda van Benschoten, Community Press via Cincinnati.com
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Opinion: Health Courts a Scary Idea, If You Know Workers’ Comp
Philip Howard, the founder of the pro-tort reform group Common Good, has called for the creation of health courts that would resemble the workers’ compensation system. The idea is that by replacing juries from medical malpractice cases with experts and special judges, the health care system would be fairer and safer. But anyone who knows workers comp these days should find that a chilling possibility. By Stephanie Mencimer, Tort Deform
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In Australia, Government Faulted for Jockeys’ Lack of Coverage
The workers’ compensation situation for interstate horse jockeys who race in the Australian state of Tasmania is a disgrace, according to the CEO of the Victorian Jockeys Association, who says the government’s “total lack of resolve” with respect to workers’ comp has forced at least one interstate jockey not to ride and others to find they have no coverage for injuries. Virtual Form Guide (Australia)
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