Quote of the day
"Adding this level of scrutiny can only make a good system better."
New Jersey Sen. Paul Sarlo, Chairman of the Senate Labor Committee, about a proposed pre-nomination review system for workers' comp judges
Go to the full story by Dunstan McNichol, Newark Star-Ledger
N.J. Lawmaker Wants Review Process for Workers’ Comp Judges
New Jersey Sen. Paul A. Sarlo says he wants Gov. Jon Corzine to include workers’ compensation judges in the same pre-nomination review system that state and county bar associations use to assess potential judges and prosecutors. Reportedly, no workers’ compensation judge ever has been denied tenure, and a special panel set up to consider complaints against judges, has not met for at least six years. By Dunstan McNichol, Star-Ledger
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Mile High Employer Must Pay Suspended Workers’ Comp Benefits
The Colorado Supreme Court rules that an employer must pay temporary total disability benefits that it suspended after a workers’ compensation claimant failed to appear for appointments with a physician. The reversal of an appeals court focused on clarifying the word “suspension.” By Roberto Ceniceros, Business Insurance
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Embattled Volunteer State Restaurant Chief Resigns
The head of the Tennessee Restaurant Association steps down following allegations of mismanaging a worker’s compensation fund for restaurants. The Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance sued Ronnie Hart last year alleging that he improperly dipped into the reserves of the workers’ comp fund and that his company was paid twice the contracted rate for managing the fund. By Wendy Lee, Tennessean [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Baton Rouge Station Says ‘Gotcha’ to Cheaters
A Louisiana private investigator who documents fraud cases estimates that 9 out of 10 workers’ comp recipients are active. By Jim Shannon, WAFB-TV (Baton Rouge, La.) [with video] Go to the Full Story…
Ontario Bar Announces Workers’ Comp Award Recipient
The Workers’ Compensation Section of the Ontario Bar Association announces this year’s recipient of the Ron Ellis Award for excellence and outstanding contribution to workers’ compensation. After suffering a serious work injury in 1978, Steve Mantis dedicated himself for more than 20 years to the cause of workers’ comp reform and occupational health and safety. Straight Goods (Canada) [with photo] Go to the Full Story…
Workers’ Comp Drug Cost Factoids
Here are a few factoids from the yet-to-be completed Fifth Annual Survey of Prescription Drug Management in Workers Comp: the prescription drug trend continues to moderate, with inflation in 2007 coming in at 4.3 percent, a major improvement over last year’s 6.5 percent, itself a big improvement over the previous year’s 9.5 percent. eMaxHealth
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