Quote of the day
"Something's going on. Maybe we need more people going out checking these job sites."
Bob Shiprack, executive secretary of Oregon State Building & Construction Trades Council, who says that a three-year construction boom may have outpaced the state's resources to monitor safety
Golden State’s Illness, Injury Numbers Improve
The number of recordable workplace injuries and illnesses reported dropped again in 2006 even though the number of workers grew, according to findings from the California Division of Labor Statistics and Research. By Kelly Johnson, Sacramento Business Journal
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Oregon’s Workers’ Comp Program Records Most Construction Deaths in 12 Years
Oregon’s state workers’ compensation program recorded 12 construction fatality claims in 2007, the most in 12 years and the second most in 25 years, according to OR-OSHA stats. Construction became Oregon’s deadliest industry for the first time since 1997, even as overall workplace fatalities dropped to 35. By Brad Schmidt, Oregonian
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CRM Holdings Unit Gets Notice of Administrative Action by New York WCB
CRM reports that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Compensation Risk Managers, LLC, has received notice from the New York Workers’ Compensation Board that it will pursue an administrative action to revoke Compensation Risk Managers’ third-party administrator’s license to provide third-party claims administrative services to self-insured workers comp groups in New York. RTT News
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Texas High Court to Rehear Controversial Case
Texas Supreme Court justices, who immunized Entergy Gulf States against a personal injury suit by defining Entergy as a general contractor responsible for providing workers’ compensation coverage to its subcontractor, agree to rehear the case of an injured power plant worker. By Steve Korris, Southeast Texas Record [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Lone Star County Reverses Trend, Saves Money
This year, Nueces County, Texas expects to save about $100,000 from its annual workers’ compensation insurance premium, which is administered through the nonprofit Texas Association of Counties, as compared with last year. The county once was the riskiest member in the Texas Association of Counties. By Jaime Powell, Corpus Christi Caller-Times
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Loss Cost Rates to Dip in Mountain State
In West Virginia, a key element in the formula used to determine workers’ compensation insurance premiums, loss cost rates, will decrease an average of 3.3 percent on July 1, according to the state insurance commissioner. By George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
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Alcoa Claims Workers’ Comp Shields It from Miners’ Suits
Alcoa should be held responsible for exposing miners and others to toxic waste it disposed of at an Indiana coal mine more than 20 years ago, according to an attorney for former Squaw Creek miners. The company contends that workers’ compensation laws shield it from liability. By Mark Wilson, Evansville Courier Press
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Binghamton Restaurant Closes After Citations
The operator of a Binghamton, N.Y., restaurant closes up shop after the state Workers’ Compensation Board issues a stop-work order, due to alleged workers’ compensation violations. The building owner says the restaurateur took his personal belongings out of the space. By My-Ly Nguyen, Press & Sun Bulletin
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Mississippi Group Pushes to Eliminate Benefits Cap
The Mississippi Workers Center for Human Rights is lobbying state legislators to remove the state’s cap on workers’ compensation limits. The group says the state requires employers to provide eight and a half years of workers’ comp for permanently injured workers, but that leads to many running out of benefits before they reach eligibility for Social Security. WAPT-TV (Jackson, Miss.)
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Former Fargo Mayor Targets Morale at Troubled WSI
Former Fargo mayor Bruce Furness says that one of his biggest challenges as interim chief executive officer of North Dakota’s Workforce Safety and Insurance Agency has been to boost employee morale as he tries to restore public confidence in the embattled agency. By AP via KXMC-TV (Minot)
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