Quote of the day
"My business is my business, and I recognize that I cannot impact or advantage my business based on my position as a state senator, as a mayor or a city councilman — and I have never done that in any case whatsoever."
Jeffry Armbruster, Ohio state senator, in response to whether he sought workers' comp premium rate adjustments for his firms
Marsh Deal with N.C. Workers’ Comp Fund Taps Derivatives Market
A unit of insurance broker Marsh & McLennan announces a $510 million deal with a North Carolina workers’ compensation insurance fund, Carolina Self-Insurance Security Association, which taps derivative markets to absorb credit risks in the program. By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
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Arkansas Appeals Court: WCC Wrongly Ignored Doctor’s Opinion
The Arkansas Court of Appeals reverses a Workers’ Compensation Commission decision denying disability benefits to a police officer who was shot in the line of duty and still has bullet fragments in his ankle, for failing to prove physical impairment. The Court of Appeals found that the WCC erroneously rejected the opinion of a doctor who said the injuries resulted in 8 percent physical impairment. By John Lyon, Morning News (Springdale, Ark.)
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No Citations for Leveled Milwaukee Plant in at Least Three Decades
The Falk Corp., the Milwaukee manufacturing plant that blew up this week killing at least three workers and injuring dozens more, has received no citations from the state Department of Workforce Development’s workers’ compensation division since 1976, according to an agency spokesperson. By AP via WFRV-TV (Green Bay)
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Unshackle Upstate Decries Lack of Business Support
Brian Hickey, a Rochester, N.Y. bank executive and organizer of the Unshackle Upstate initiative, says Albany business leaders remain reluctant to support the coalition, which supports reforming the state’s costly workers’ compensation system. Hickey says the Albany region is “insulated” from the economic slump that hobbles development in other areas of the Upstate region. Buffalo Business First
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Ohio Pols Pushed for Lower Workers’ Comp Rates
At least five state legislators tried to get lower workers’ comp premiums for businesses they either owned or resided in their districts, Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation show. The Ohio Attorney General is determining if political influence played a part in manual overrides to the Bureau’s computer system to lower the premium rates for companies owned by Republican state senator Jeffry Armbruster among others. By Mark Niquette, The Columbus Dispatch.
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No Lawyer Required for Workers’ Comp Cases in Ohio
The Ohio Supreme Court rules 6 to 1 that injured workers are not required to retain applicants’ attorneys for workers’ comp hearings. Businesses and injured workers, usually in opposite camps during litigation, applauded the ruling as allowing the continued use of less costly third party administrators to draft settlements and provide advice on cases. The Cleveland Bar Association, which filed the complaint, says it was just trying to reserve the practice of law for licensed professionals. By Reginald Fields, The Plain Dealer
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Zenith Declares Quarterly Dividend
Zenith National Insurance Corporation (NYSE: ZNT) announces that it’s paying a quarterly cash dividend of $0.35 per share on outstanding shares. Workers’ Comp Executive.
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Company Wins Grant to Continue Workers’ Comp Research
White Pine Occupational Health Research LLC, an Ann Arbor based software development company, receives a small business innovation research grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue research on back injuries and workers’ comp claims. The company is developing software to help safety managers calculate the workers’ comp savings that result from new equipment used to reduce lifting requirements. By Jenny Rode, The Ann Arbor News
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