Quote of the day
"The body armor saves lives but still leaves the brain at risk.''
Dr. Barbara Sigford, the VA's national director of physical medicine and rehabilitation, regarding traumatic brain injury, the "signature wound" of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan
Calaveras Bus Driver Sentenced for Fraud
A 48-year-old Valley Springs school bus driver faces 90 days in jail and must pay nearly $27,000 in restitution after pleading guilty to making false statements in order to collect workers’ compensation for a purported back injury. Video surveillance caught the woman performing physical activities that were inconsistent with her claims. Calaveras Enterprise (San Andreas)
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Inland Empire Cop Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud
A 31-year-old Riverside police officer is arrested on suspicion that she fraudulently obtained workers’ compensation benefits for purported injuries related to a 2003 arrest. By Sarah Burge, Press-Enterprise (Riverside)
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Vermont Officials Delay Rules Change
The Vermont Labor Department puts off plans to change the way the state assesses worker injuries for purposes of workers’ compensation. The rules the department is considering also would set physician reimbursement rates. By Wilson Ring, AP via the Barre Montpelier Times Argus
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A.M. Best: Hannover Re FSR Unchanged After Announcement
A.M. Best Co. leaves the financial strength rating of A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating of “a” of Hannover Rueckversicherung AG unchanged following the company’s announcement that it has agreed to sell Praetorian Insurance Group to QBE Insurance Group. Workers’ Comp Executive
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VA Struggles to Treat ‘Signature Wound’ of War on Terror
Military and Veterans Administration doctors describe a perfect storm of contradictory factors that contribute to a spike in the number of traumatic brain injuries suffered by Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans, as compared to other recent conflicts: modern combat medicine and body armor protects soldiers from improvised bombs, but many return home permanently disabled. By Mark Emmons, San Jose Mercury News [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Fourth Circuit Rules for Steeler Great Who Suffered Permanent Disability
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirms a trial court’s 2005 ruling that the NFL’s pension plan wrongly withheld a disability pension from Hall of Fame center Mike Webster, who died of a heart attack in 2002 after football-related brain injuries rendered him permanently disabled. Webster had been awarded a lesser pension upon his retirement, but his family moved to have his pension reclassified with his disability occurring at retirement
Go to the full story by AP via WABC-TV (New York)
Go to the full story by Cary O’Reilly, Bloomberg
Washington L&I Holding Hearings on Rate Holiday
Washington Department of Labor and Industries hearings continue through Monday on Gov. Christine Gregoire’s proposed rate holiday, which would eliminate for six months the premiums employers and workers pay into the Medical Aid Fund, one of the funds that supports the state’s workers’ compensation system. Tacoma Daily Index
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Brother of Shredder Victim Re-files Lawsuit
The brother of an Ohio man who lost both legs in an industrial paper shredder in 2005 files a lawsuit alleging that he suffered permanent emotional and psychological damage by witnessing the accident. By Connie Bloom, Akron Beacon Journal
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Records Show Intimidation of Ohio BWC Workers in Rate-Setting
Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation employees dealt with pushy lawmakers and threats by businesses to involve the governor as they decided premium rates for certain Ohio businesses, according to newly-released documents. A recent draft audit revealed inexplicable premium reductions for 27 Ohio businesses. By Julie Carr Smyth, AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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