Quote of the day
"It's a massive difference. It can't just be random."
U.S. Rep. Rep. Stephen Lynch, D-Mass., citing the Army's 4-percent approval rate for temporary and permanent disability, compared to about 35 percent for the Marines and 24 percent for the Air Force
House Subcommittee Hears Testimony on Walter Reed
Key witnesses call for a thorough overhaul of the Army’s disability retirement system during a House Oversight and Government Reform national security subcommittee hearing on the treatment of military veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Members heard personal tales of soldiers who had appeared before them last year with the same list of ills. By Kelly Kennedy, Navy Times [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Injured Colorado Workers Tell of Misdiagnoses, Denial of Care
“The main concern was ‘How can we get you back to traveling? What can we do to get you back to work?’ It didn’t matter if I was healed or not,” relates 44-year-old Colorado sales manager Cynthia Cleveland about her experience in the state’s workers’ compensation system after slipping on the steps of an airport shuttle bus. Colorado is one of nine states that give employers sole choice of treating physicians in workers’ comp cases, according to the Colorado Legislative Council. By Al Lewis, Denver Post
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BrickStreet Pulls Down $70.7 Million in Its First Year
BrickStreet Mutual, which runs the West Virginia’s workers’ compensation program, reportedly earned $70.7 million during its first year in business. Brickstreet took over the state’s workers’ compensation system in January 2006 and has around 38,000 policyholders. “Clearly, it’s a lucrative business,” says the director of the Affiliated Construction Trades Foundation.
Go to the full story by George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
Go to the full story in the Huntington Herald-Dispatch
Aussie Official Blasts New Workers’ Comp Changes
Changes to workers’ compensation regs to allow more companies to self-insure under the federal Comcare scheme will create a “complex, unwieldy system that ties employers up in red tape and threatens worker safety,” according to the Queensland Employment and Industrial Relations minister. Queensland Business Review
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Empire State Senate Scheduled to Vote on Reform
The New York State Senate was scheduled to vote yesterday on legislation to reform the state’s workers’ compensation system. Elmira Star-Gazette
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New York Lt. Gov. Praises Workers’ Comp Deal
New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson thinks that the accord reached on workers’ compensation is more monumental than Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s recent skirmish with the state Legislature over their choice for state comptroller. By Jill Terreri, Tonawanda News
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British Columbia Comp Board Seeking Private Eyes
WorkSafe BC, which receives about 150,000 injury claims a year, says it needs nearly three dozen private investigators to carry out undercover surveillance of workers suspected of making fraudulent injury claims. CBC News
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Hardie Reports Third-Quarter Loss
Building products firm James Hardie reports a third quarter loss of $8 million, which is partially tied to its asbestos compensation fund costs. Sky News Australia
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