Quote of the day
"You can litigate whether the accident occurred. You can litigate whether the medical evidence is sufficient to sustain the benefit award. You can litigate the period and extent of disability. You can litigate whether they [workers] have left the job market voluntarily. You can litigate whether proper notice was given of the injury."
Albany, N.Y. lawyer Peter J. Walsh, about the New York workers' comp system
Reform Unlikely This Year in New York
Law firms that sustain a practice just by handling workers’ compensation cases are one symptom of New York’s expensive, complex and, critics contend, poorly designed workers’ compensation system. A significant overhaul of the troubled system appears unlikely this year, with the state legislature’s regular session set to end next week. The Business Review (Albany)
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A.M. Best Upgrades AIG
A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to A++ (Superior) from A+ (Superior) and the issuer credit ratings to “aa+” from “aa-” for the domestic life and retirement services subsidiaries of American International Group Inc.. Workers Comp Executive
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West Virginia High Court Sides with Workers’ Widows
The West Virginia Supreme Court rules that spouses of workers killed on the job, or workers who die from workplace diseases, will get workers’ compensation benefits for their lifetimes or until they remarry. In doing so the court rejects an internal policy of the former state-run workers’ compensation commission and now, BrickStreet Mutual. By Paul J. Nyden, Charleston Gazette
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West Virginia School District Grapples with Comp Costs
Kanawha County, W.V. school board members are troubled by the number of workers’ compensation claims, especially those of cooks and custodians. Several years of decreasing claims have not translated into lower rates. By Jessica M. Karmasek, Charleston Daily Mail
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‘Gray Wave’ Will Force Employers to Reevaluate Policies
In just eight years, there will be 34 million people age 55 and older still working—120 percent more than in 1994—creating a workplace in which employers must make accommodations to protect employees and the bottom line. A key area is injury prevention. By Annemarie Franczyk, Business First of Buffalo
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Convicted BWC ‘Go-To Guy’ Called a Charmer
Associates describe Terrence Gasper, the former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation chief financial officer and the first BWC official convicted in the political scandal, as a powerful, politically-connected public charmer who was sometimes tough in private. Gasper pleaded guilty in state and federal court last week to accepting stays at a luxury condo in Florida, money for his son’s tuition and other gifts in exchange for investment business with the bureau. In other scandal news, a court orders Ohio Gov. Bob Taft to turn over bureau-related weekly reports that his aides gave him. By AP via Akron Beacon Journal
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Lawyers Oppose Delaware Reform Bill
“It’s a mess,” says Delaware state Rep. William A. Oberle, about circumstances surrounding a recently-introduced bill that’s supposed to provide businesses long-awaited relief from the state’s expensive workers’ comp system. The bill faces intense opposition from trial lawyers who argue that it is unfair to severely injured workers. By Joe Rogalsky, Delaware State News via Newszap.com
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Blast Kills B.C. Olympic Project Worker
A 45-year-old worker dies in a blasting accident south of Whistler, British Columbia, near the site of the Nordic Centre for the 2010 Winter Olympics. The roadwork is shut down until the province’s Workers’ Compensation Board deems the area safe. CBC British Columbia [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
B.C. Court Differentiates Injury ‘Recurrence’ and ‘Deterioriation’
A retired mill worker who has asbestos-related lung disease wins an increase in his disability pension when the British Columbia Supreme Court quashes a policy decision by the Workers’ Compensation Board. The court ruled that there is a difference between the “recurrence” and “deterioration” of an illness. Canadian Occupational Health and Safety News
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Worker Gets Compensation for Colleagues’ Swearing
An Australian court rules that a worker who reportedly was not accustomed to hearing foul language suffered a work-related injury and can collect workers’ compensation for anxiety and depression that he suffered after his bosses told him to get his ‘arse’ and ‘bum’ into a chair. By Karen Collier, News.com.au
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