Quote of the day
"With more and more people telecommuting, I think the numbers are bound to go up."
Terry Hill, executive director of Tennessee Self-Insurers Association, about expected claim volume after the state high court rules that telecommuters can collect workers' comp
More Victims Added to Monterey County Fraud Case
A workers’ compensation fraud case against three Monterey-area men expands at the same time a Monterey County judge delays a preliminary hearing. Prosecutors allege that injured workers at a Salinas box factory were pressured against filing workers’ comp claims and threatened with suspensions or terminations for trying to do so. By Larry Parsons, Monterey Herald [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Tennessee High Court: Telecommuters Can Collect Workers’ Comp
Telecommuters or employees who work at home are entitled to workers’ compensation benefits, the Tennessee Supreme Court rules, while denying a payout to the individual who brought the case because her injuries were not work-related.
Go to the full story by Sheila Burke, the Tennessean
Go to the full story by AP via Jackson Sun
Magazine Plant Workers Sue Verizon for Monitoring Costs
Five employees of a magazine distribution company once located at a former nuclear-fuel plant in Hicksville, N.Y., file a lawsuit seeking to force Verizon Communications Inc. to pay medical-monitoring expenses for illnesses they fear they may develop from exposure to toxins at the site. By Mark Harrington, Newsday
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Physicians Wait to See How Coventry Flexes New Muscles
As fewer companies establish more dominance in the commercial health insurance market, the number of plans handling workers’ compensation physician networks also is shrinking. Coventry Health Care is emerging as the most powerful managed care firm in workers’ comp. By Emily Berry, AMNews
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Ergonomics Injuries Now Afflict Kids
Statistics are scarce, but one Canadian ergonomics expert and project scientist believes technology-related injuries are now more common than the common cold. And therapists are seeing more repetitive strain injuries in kids due to video game-playing and text-messaging. By Jenny Lee, Vancouver Sun
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Face of Asbestos Compensation Fund Seeks Enhanced Damages
The $1.32 billion USD asbestos compensation trust set up this year by James Hardie faces its first major public test as it deals with a claim for exemplary and aggravated damages by the gravely-ill man who fought to establish it. By Elisabeth Sexton, Sydney Morning Herald [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…