Quote of the day
“Unless pension funds around the nation continue to earn 7% or more per year on their investments, it’s likely that taxpayers will be on the hook for trillions of dollars of promises to government unions.”
Chuck DeVore, Vice President of National Initiatives, Texas Public Policy Foundation
Texas: Workers’ comp claim denied for fireman who died of pancreatic cancer
The city of Fort Worth, Texas has rejected a workers’ compensation claim made on behalf a 46-year-old fireman who died from pancreatic cancer May 24. Officials with the local firefighters association say the death should be considered to be in the line of duty. Fort Worth Star-Telegram
OFF TOPIC
$5.2 trillion government pension debt threatens state budgets
Most pension funds assume unrealistically high returns and expose taxpayers to significant risk if their investment decisions don’t return projected earnings. Pension Tracker has released its updated assessment of the nation’s unfunded state and local government pension fund liabilities, and it’s not a pretty picture, especially if you live in Alaska, California, Connecticut or Illinois. Forbes
Lawsuit over burn incident against refinery dismissed
A federal judge has dismissed a negligence lawsuit against a refinery related to a workers’ claim that he sustained a work-related chemical burn while rinsing and draining an inactive vessel. The judge concluded the worker failed to establish the refinery violated the Louisiana Worker’s Compensation Act. Louisiana Record
Washington woman ordered to repay wrongfully collected workers’ comp
A 52-year-old Federal Way, Washington woman, who originally injured her back changing a bed in 2015 while working as a housekeeper at a Seattle hotel, has been ordered to pay back more than $11,000 she wrongfully obtained from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries after she was caught working at a nursing home and hotel while collecting workers’ comp. According to court documents, during the same period, she turned down employment help and repeatedly told medical staff she was unable to work. Federal Way Mirror
Minnesota court rules for heirs of injured worker
The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that family members of a Minnesota worker who was declared permanently disabled nine years after a job-related injury in 1980 are entitled to interest payments, from the county’s former insurance company, on funds improperly withheld from the injured worker. Echo Journal