Quote of the day
"The board governance has really served us well, and I think it's been much maligned."
Dave MacIver, president of the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce, about the directors of the troubled state workers' comp agency, Workforce Safety and Insurance
Lawmakers Call for State Fund Overhaul
State Compensation Insurance Fund needs to revamp its board of directors, stop meeting in secret and modernize its corporate governance, some lawmakers say. State Sen. Michael Machado, D-Linden, is sponsoring SB 1145, which would make the first significant changes in almost a century of governance at the State Fund. By Mark Lifsher, Los Angeles Times [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
N.C. Judges Award Injured Woman Only One New Breast Implant
North Carolina appellate court judges rule that a woman who claimed that her breast implants were damaged in a job-related car accident in 2001 should be compensated for the replacement of only one implant. The court never before had considered whether damaged breast implants were covered by workers’ comp. By AP via Asheville Citizen-Times
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Q&A: Are Employer’s Actions Legal?
“I can still perform most of my job duties, but taking a 20-percent pay cut is really tough, and it could be weeks before I’m fully healed. Are my company’s actions legal?” By Harry Wessel, Orlando Sentinel
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Injured Floridians Say Company Doc Wrongly Denies Claims
In Florida, injured workers of at least two firms accuse a company doctor of denying claims to save the employer money, and sending them back to work before they have fully healed. WKMG-TV (Orlando)
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Jurors Deliberate in $6 Million Suit Against Railroad
In Fort Worth, jurors deliberate Thursday in a lawsuit against BNSF Railway Co., alleging chemicals at a Southeast Texas railroad tie plant caused a woman’s stomach cancer. The suit, which seeks at least $6 million, is the first to go to trial among 200 or so lawsuits filed over the century-old Texas plant. By Angela K. Brown, AP via Houston Chronicle
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Advocates, Legislators Suggest Changes to North Dakota’s WSI
Worker advocates and lawmakers suggest changes to North Dakota’s workers compensation benefits as a legislative committee begins a review of how Workforce Safety and Insurance operates. North Dakota’s House minority leader contends that a $10 weekly dependents’ benefit, which has gone unchanged since 1987, must be raised.
Go to the full story by Dale Wetzel, AP via Grand Forks Herald
Go to the full story by Dale Wetzel, AP via Dickinson Press