Quote of the day
"I am looking at all of my options. I have four children. I may not be in this job forever. What happens then?"
U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., who filed suit against the government related to injuries he suffered in a 2003 automobile accident on the Capitol grounds
Constitution State Local Officials Warn of ‘Unfunded Mandate’
In Connecticut, a proposal that would allow firefighters and police officers to claim workers’ compensation benefits for illnesses including heart and hypertension disorders, hepatitis, and prostate and testicular cancers without proving that they are work-related, could cost municipalities millions of dollars and result in a greater tax burden for property owners, local officials contend. By Dick Perrefort, News-Times (Danbury, Conn.)
Go to the Full Story…
Judge Tosses Rep’s Suit Against Government for Car Crash Injuries
A judge dismisses a lawsuit by U.S. Rep. John Sullivan, R-Okla., based on injuries he suffered in a 2003 car crash on U.S. Capitol grounds, after the government accepts his workers’ compensation claim. Sullivan, who is now blind in one eye and has been called a “tort reform crusader,” says he decided to sue first on the advice of his attorney and because he faces ongoing medical expenses not covered by insurance. By Jim Myers, Tulsa World [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Rate Spike Prompts South Carolina Gov to Call for Overhaul
Joined by business leaders, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford calls for workers’ compensation reform as the state House of Representatives prepares to take up a recently-passed senate bill. Sanford says workers’ comp premiums rose more than 18 percent in 2006 and that high premiums are adding thousands of dollars to the cost of a home.
Go to the full story in WYFF-TV (Greenville, S.C.) [With Photo] Go to the full story by Nisha Jindal, WHNS-TV (Greenville, S.C.) [With Photo]
Colorado Baker Worker Sues for Unpaid Workers’ Comp
A Durango, Colo.-area bakery worker who suffered cervical spinal injuries two years ago while loading and unloading bread racks and performing other duties sues the bakery for $12,700 in court-ordered benefits she has not received. “This is America. Anybody can say anything about anybody,” says Jean-Pierre Bleger, the bakery owner, who also contends the worker was not his employee at the time of the injury. By Shane Benjamin, Durango Herald
Go to the Full Story…
Worker Sues Illinois Truck Firm for Retaliatory Discharge
A worker files suit under the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Act against a truck company, claiming that it failed to place him into another position of service in a suitable capacity after a June 2006 accident rendered him temporarily totally disabled, and that it fired him for filing a workers’ compensation claim. By Ann Knef, Madison – St. Clair Record (Illinois)
Go to the Full Story…
BWC Figure ‘In the Hole’
Former coin dealer Tom Noe, the political fundraiser convicted of looting millions of dollars from rare coin funds he managed on behalf of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, is being kept in solitary confinement in a South Carolina prison. By James Drew and Steve Eder, Toledo Blade [With Photos] Go to the Full Story…
LWCC Cites Goodwill’s Dramatic Loss Ratio Reduction
According to the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation, Goodwill Industries of Southeastern Louisiana has cut its workers’ comp loss ratio from 232 percent to 14 percent over a seven-year period by implementing and enforcing a few vital workplace safety procedures. Bayou Buzz [First Item] Go to the Full Story…