Quote of the day
"It's appropriate to review that structure. We want to be sure we are adequate with providing benefits."
Gary Child, outgoing Wyoming workers' comp administrator
Cowboy State Legislators to Review Workers’ Comp
Under pressure from advocates who contend the system in the Cowboy State is biased in favor of employers and discourages injured workers from filing claims at all, Wyoming lawmakers agree to undertake a comprehensive study of the state’s workers’ comp program. By Dustin Bleizeffer, Jackson Hole Star-Tribune
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Vermont High Court: Benefits Don’t Bar Negligence Claim
The Vermont Supreme Court reinstates the negligence claim of a worker whose hand was crushed when an acetylene tank fell on it, ruling that his acceptance of workers’ compensation benefits did not bar him from filing suit for damages. The court said the worker could sue because the employer did not have workers’ comp insurance, but failed to require him to waive his right to sue before paying him benefits. By AP via Brattleboro Reformer
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New York Bar Owner Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud
The owner of a Collegetown, N.Y., tavern faces charges for allegedly filing county health permit applications with false information, including four alleged felony violations of state workers’ compensation law. Ithaca Journal
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Arkansas WCC Honors Property Owners for Safety Turnaround
Two years after being declared a “hazardous employer by the state workers’ compensation commission, an Arkansas property owners’ association is honored by the agency for eliminating lost-time accidents. Benton County Daily Record
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Commentary: Burden Shift a New Twist on an Old Boondoggle
In Connecticut, the heart and hypertension proposal again threatens to put an unjustifiable burden on taxpayers. The law, which created a presumption that heart disease or hypertension contracted by a police officer or firefighter was job-related, often rewarded officers who smoked, were overweight or otherwise did not take care of themselves. Hartford Connecticut
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Timber Buyer Describes Battles with Lyme Disease, Workers’ Comp
A former timber buyer describes his struggle to collect workers’ compensation for Lyme disease and says that, in the industry, workers often pull four to six ticks out of their skin every day. His case could set a precedent in terms of workers’ comp and Lyme disease in South Carolina. By Chris Trainor, Index-Journal (Greenwood, S.C.) [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Alaska House Approves Bill Covering Search and Rescue Volunteers
Volunteers who assist Alaska State Troopers in search and rescue operations would be considered state employees and covered by workers’ compensation insurance if they are injured or killed, under a bill approved by the Alaska House of Representatives. By Hal Spence, Peninsula Clarion
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