Quote of the day
"I've never seen such a lack of claims management. It's not that they did things wrong. They just didn't do anything."
William Ross, Ohio attorney, about Cleveland schools costly failure to police its workers' comp claims management
Cleveland Schools’ Poor Claims Management Blasted
Sloppy management of workers’ compensation claims will cost Cleveland school district taxpayers more than $9 million this year, according to a consultant. The district reportedly is failing to prevent employees with minor injuries from dragging out paid medical leaves, and the verification process is faulty. By Joseph L. Wagner, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Go to the Full Story…
Settlement Announced in Deadly Casino Garage Collapse
Lawyers for construction workers caught in the October 2003 Atlantic City’s Tropicana Casino Resort garage collapse, which killed four construction workers and injured 36 others, reach a $101 million settlement with the casino and the project’s contractors, in what the plaintiff’s lawyers say is the largest construction-accident settlement in U.S. history. By Madelaine Vitale, Press of Atlantic City [With Slideshow] Go to the Full Story…
Garden State Workers Fight Default Judgment
A law firm agrees to represent, pro bono, dozens of former factory workers facing a $2.26 million default judgment filed by their former employer. The manufacturing company claims it was protecting itself when it sued the largely non-English speaking former workforce, alleging a conspiracy to defraud by filing bogus injury claims. By Greg Saitz, Newark Star-Ledger
Go to the Full Story…
North Dakota Agency’s Party Fund ‘Wiped Out’
North Dakota House and Senate negotiators remove a controversial $50,000 fund for employee incentives, gifts, parties and training, from the state Workforce Safety and Insurance agency’s two-year spending bill. By Dale Wetzel, AP via Fargo Forum
Go to the Full Story…
Tulsa Firefighter Convicted Comp Fraud
Prosecutors say a former Tulsa firefighter who reportedly claimed he could not dress himself or even lift a gallon of milk was caught on surveillance tape climbing ladders and doing yard work. The fraud and the fraud and perjury case is the result of a chance encounter between the claims adjuster and the firefighter in a mall. KOTV (Tulsa) [With Video] Go to the Full Story…
Ohio County Wins Awards, Expects Rate Cut
Efforts by Columbiana County, Ohio, officials to increase workplace safety pay off with two annual safety performance awards and likely lower workers’ compensation costs. One award notes that county employees worked a total of nearly 754,000 hours without a lost-time injury. By Mary Ann Greier, Salem News
Go to the Full Story…
Woman Claims Home Depot Illegally Fired Her
A West Virginia woman sues her former employer, Home Depot, claiming she was neither advised of her right to file for workers’ compensation nor allowed to seek medical attention for an injury, and that the company wrongly fired her after she failed to return to work. By Cara Bailey, West Virginia Record
Go to the Full Story…