Quote of the day
"To be honest, I've never seen anything quite like that in a bar group."
Texas Supreme Court Justice Paul Green, to Texas Lawyer magazine, after by lawyers who argue that the court increasingly favors defendants after the state's recent tort reform
Plaintiff Lawyers Blast Post-Tort Reform System in Lone Star State
At a Dallas Bar Association event, lawyers pepper two Texas Supreme Court justices with questions about their impartiality in the wake of tort reform that some contend contributes to defendants prevailing in nearly 90 percent of lawsuits. Critics say that in one case, the court seemed to cherry-pick state laws in order to give a property owner the same protections from an injured worker’s lawsuit that a contractor has, compared with an employer. By Eric Torbenson, Dallas Morning News
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Injured in Student Fight, Teacher Claims Pressure to Resign
A Kingman, Ariz., high school teacher who was injured while breaking up a student fight says officials are pressuring him to resign because when he can return to work is unclear. By Terry Organ, Kingman Daily Miner via Arizona Daily Star (Tucson)
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WSI Directors Okay Bringing Consultant Aboard
North Dakota Workforce Safety and Insurance directors endorse hiring a consultant to review claims-handling, amidst an internal auditor’s concerns that the agency has improperly denied some injured workers’ claims. By AP via Grand Forks Herald
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North Dakota AG Says It Cannot Reinstate Whistleblower
The North Dakota attorney general’s office says it cannot reinstate a Workforce Safety and Insurance executive who has requested whistleblower protection for reporting potential wrongdoing at the workers’ comp agency. By AP via KXMB-TV (Bismarck)
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Medical Examiner Criticized over Ruling on Ground Zero Worker
New York City Medical Examiner Dr. Charles Hirsch finds his objectivity and independence questioned because of his review of the autopsy of a 34-year-old police detective. Hirsch’s findings are at odds with those of a New Jersey county medical examiner and other experts that the detective’s death was linked to dust at the World Trade Center site following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. By Anthony DePalma, New York Times [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Fishing Is Riskiest Job in Province
Fishermen are more likely to experience lost-time work injuries than any other workers in Nova Scotia: about five percent of the fishery workforce is seriously injured annually, according to a prevention official with the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board. By Brian Medel, Halifax Chronicle Herald
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Employers Look Beyond Cubicles to Control Costs
As employers realize that employees’ lifestyles can have an impact on the bottom line, especially health care costs, they are becoming more focused on workers’ lives outside of the workplace. In Massachusetts, some companies that say they cannot afford to give holiday bonuses give discounts to health clubs instead. By Phyllis Hanlon, Worcester Business Journal [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…