Quote of the day
"I think it's a good deal."
Interim Kensington Police Chief/General Manager Brown Taylor, about the city's $55,000 settlement with Brown's predecessor, who has been on medical leave since walking out of a district board meeting last year because a board member allegedly harassed him
Contra Costa City Settles with Police Chief Who Claimed Harassment
The Kensington Police Protection and Community Services District settles with its police chief/general manager, who has been on medical leave since he walked out of a district board meeting in May, claiming a board member was harassing him. The district’s workers’ compensation insurance carrier will pay the $55,000 settlement. By Justin Hill, Contra Costa Times
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Judge Tosses Suit in Santa Barbara
On evidentiary concerns, a judge throws out of court the first workers’ compensation case to go to a jury trial in Santa Barbara County. Last year, a jury failed to convict a worker who was accused of faking the degree of his back injury, and hung. By Carina Corral, KSBY-TV (Santa Barbara)
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Read the Fine Print, Delaware Senator Admonishes
In light of the rush to get Delaware’s new workers’ compensation reform legislation through the General Assembly, Republican State Sen. Gary Simpson warns against overlooking details—specifically, the fee structure for doctors—of the 38-page legislation. The law is expected to save Delaware employers, who pay some of the highest rates in the nation, 15 to 20 percent on their workers’ comp costs. By Ron MacArthur, Cape Gazette (Lewes, Del.)
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N.Y. Teacher Jailed for ‘Loathsome’ Cancer Scheme
Rejecting pleas for leniency, a judge sentences a former Cohoes, N.Y. special education teacher, who allegedly cut photos of cancerous breasts out of medical books and included them in her forged medical file, to up to three years in state prison for faking cancer to collect health benefits. She had requested permanent disability status, which would have entitled her to lifetime health insurance from the school district. By Michele Morgan Bolton, Times Union (Albany)
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Illinois Worker Sues Downstate Newspaper for Retaliatory Sacking
A former employee of the Belleville, Ill., News-Democrat sues the newspaper’s parent company, alleging he was fired in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim for a shoulder injury. By Ann Knef, Madison – St. Clair Record
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Suit Alleges W.V. Firm Axed Trucker for Filing Comp Claim
A West Virginia truck driver sues his former employer, alleging he was fired in violation of the state’s Workers’ Compensation Act. The driver filed a workers’ comp claim for a hand injury soon after he received a clean bill of health following a blood-pressure spike. By Cara Bailey, West Virginia Record
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Penn. Miner Can Collect Workers’ Comp Related to Sex Harassment
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rules that a coal miner can collect workers’ compensation benefits for aggravation of a preexisting psychological condition he suffered as a result of sexual advances by his male supervisor. The decision reverses a lower court, which denied benefits on grounds the sexual propositions were normal in the “rough and tumble” mining industry. By Peter Hall, Pennsylvania Law Weekly via Law.com
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Mississippi Legislation Would Extend Benefits Recovery Period
Workers’ advocates rally at the Mississippi state capitol to support legislation that would increase workers’ compensation benefits. House Bill 1423 boosts the maximum total workers’ comp recovery period from 450 to 520 weeks; similar legislation exists in the state senate. By Julie Goodman, Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Miss.)
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