Quote of the day
"How do you track these people?"
Van Cravens, State of New Mexico Workers' Compensation Administration public information officer, about the mobile population of farm laborers; a proposed amendment to the state's Workers' Compensation Act would cover them
L.A. County Sees Another Drop in Workers’ Comp Costs
For the second consecutive year, workers’ compensation and litigation costs drop in Los Angeles County, where officials have cracked down on abuses and boosted wellness efforts. Chief Administrative Officer David Janssen says the drop is due partly to the state’s workers’ comp reforms. By Troy Anderson, Daily Breeze
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Bakersfield Woman Faces Fraud Charges
Kern County officials charge a 40-year-old Bakersfield woman, whom Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizer says has “quite an appetite for insurance fraud,” with fraudulently billing insurance carriers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The woman’s husband and mother also face charges. Bakersfield Californian
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Workers’ Comp Amendment a ‘Tough Sell’ in Land of Enchantment
A bill in the New Mexico Legislature that would amend the state Workers’ Compensation Act to include injured farm and ranch laborers gets a lukewarm reception due to perceived administrative problems. The bill would cost the state an estimated $150,000 to $275,000 in 2008, and expenses would recur annually, according to the Legislature’s fiscal report. By Marlena Hartz, Clovis News Journal
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Agency Names Arkansas Waste District a Hazardous Employer
The Arkansas Workers’ Compensation Commission puts the Northeast Arkansas Regional Solid Waste Management District on its list of hazardous employers because of its injury record. By Amanda Harris, Jonesboro Sun
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Hardie Makes First Payment to Asbestos Fund
James Hardie Industries makes an initial payment of $184.3 million to a fund that intended to compensate victims of asbestos-related diseases. The Age (Melbourne)
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Will President Hear Self-Proclaimed Voice of Sept. 11 Responders?
Vito Valenti, who worked at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and is now strapped to an oxygen tank, wants to be the voice of ill recovery workers in their quest for compensation. By Brian Zanzonico, Franklin Square/Elmont Herald [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Victim’s Mother Plans to Sue Iron Works
An Ohio woman criticizes the $2,000 fine Fed-OSHA levied against an iron works following the crushing of her son by a forklift last August, and plans to sue the employer. Fed-OSHA determined that the company improperly allowed the use of a shop-made jack that had not been tested or marked with a maximum load capacity. By Bevin Peppard, Marion Star [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Bird Sanctuary Grounded over Late Payment
Suncoast Seabird Sanctuary, a Tampa-area waterfront refuge for injured wild birds, is shut down for failing to make a workers’ compensation insurance payment. Its future, and that of the birds, is bleak. By Cristina Silva, St. Petersburg Times
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