Quote of the day
"What are we getting for $7 million a year? What we're getting is uneven service. Claims are not being handled in a timely way. We are not pursuing all of the ways to keep cost down. There is money to be saved."
Los Angeles City Controller Laura Chick, regarding the firm hired to expedite public safety officers' workers' comp claims
L.A. Audit Faults Firm Hired to Speed Public Safety Comp Claims
A Los Angeles City Controller audit discloses that the firm hired to expedite the city’s workers’ compensation claims for police and firefighters has demonstrated lax oversight and slow service. Moreover, some injured public safety workers have had to postpone surgery because of bureaucratic delays, slowing return-to-work, according to the report. By Kerry Cavanaugh, Daily Breeze (Torrance)
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Workers’ Comp Reform on Menu at New York Legislative Day
Members of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York Inc. were scheduled to meet with state leaders during its Legislative Day in Albany, where they planned to discuss reform of the Empire State’s high-cost, low-payout workers’ compensation system. Business First of Buffalo
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Agent Charged with Bribing Top Ohio BWC Official
A Florida man is expected to plead guilty to giving the former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s chief financial officer sports and theater tickets and more than $20,000 in cash gifts in exchange for hundreds of millions of dollars in bureau investment business and more than $2.5 million in fees and commissions. By Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch
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WorkSafe BC Reports 66 Percent Jump in Penalties
WorkSafeBC, formerly known as the British Columbia Workers’ Compensation Board, says tougher enforcement is responsible for a significant hike in the number of fines recommended against firms for safety violations last year. By Gordon Clark, the Province
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Georgia Sheriff-Elect’s Kin Face Another Setback
The family of a slain DeKalb County, Ga., sheriff-elect loses another round in its fight to collect death benefits, as a state advisory board declines to recommend that the Georgia Legislature pay them $3.6 million. The family’s attorney says a payment would be similar to one from the Sept. 11 victims’ compensation fund. By AP via AccessNorthGeorgia
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How Does Syracuse Scofflaw Get Away with It?
A Syracuse, N.Y. company apparently has gone three and a half years without workers’ compensation coverage for its employees, without penalty. WSYR-TV (Syracuse)
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Staten Island Contractor Cops to Negligent Homicide in Trench Death
After cooperating in a Fed-OSHA investigation, a Staten Island construction contractor pleads guilty to criminally negligent homicide stemming from the December 2003 death of a 39-year-old worker who was killed in a trench collapse. The builder will spend 16 weekends in jail. By Frank Donnelly, Staten Island Advance
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Manitoba WCB: Building Boom Spurs Construction Mishaps
A building boom in Manitoba pushed the number of construction worker injuries up by 23 per cent between 2001 and 2005, according to a report by the province’s Workers Compensation Board. Half of the deaths between 2000 and 2005 were attributed to occupational illnesses—namely, asbestos exposure. CBC News
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