Quote of the day
"Do you really expect a guy who's putting dough in a bakery eight hours a day, five days a week, 52 weeks a year, to never, when he sees a friend, pretend like he is going to kick him?"
John Sbarbaro, lawyer for a successful Colorado workers' comp claimant who was injured while engaging in horseplay at work
Colorado Appeals Court Countenances Horseplay
The Colorado Court of Appeals rules that a bakery worker who experienced wrist and hernia injuries after slipping while pretending to kick a coworker can collect workers’ compensation. The court stated that employees who engage in horseplay may be eligible for workers’ comp even if such behavior is uncommon or forbidden in the workplace. By Howard Pankratz, Denver Post
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W.V. Justice: Miner’s Comp Denial Worst Decision in a Decade
A West Virginia State Supreme Court justice says his colleagues made the worst ruling in his 10 years on the bench when they denied compensation to a man who claimed he suffered emotional distress after spending 90 minutes lost in a smoky coal mine. The worker initially sought workers’ compensation before learning that state law does not cover “nonphysical” injuries. By Jake Stump, Charleston Daily Mail
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Montana Workers’ Comp Judge Keeps Case Alive
A Montana Workers’ Compensation Court judge says he will reconsider his December ruling against four permanently disabled workers who are suing a private insurer, arguing that their workers’ comp benefits should continue into retirement. If successful, the lawsuit could increase payouts to such workers by tens of millions of dollars. By Mike Dennison, Billings Gazette
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Former Claims Director for Oklahoma Insurer Allegedly Pressured Doctor
In Oklahoma City, a former claims director of CompSource Oklahoma, an agency that provides workers compensation insurance for public employees, stands accused of pressuring a doctor to withdraw an unfavorable medical report in a workers’ compensation case. By AP via KTEN-TV (Denison, Texas)
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Caught on Tape: Ohio Workers’ Comp Cheats
“I think they actually start off thinking (that) they’re going to slip under the radar,” says an Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation official, about purportedly injured workers who fraudulently collect benefits but continue to work at other jobs. Surveillance video often catches them in the act and reportedly has saved the state at least $1 billion. NBC4i-TV (Columbus) [With Video] Go to the Full Story…
Feds Want BWC Scandal Figures to Cough Up Assets
Federal prosecutors are seeking forfeiture of more than $2.5 million and a $745,000 Florida Keys condo and boat dock from two brokers charged with bribing former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation chief financial officer Terry Gasper in exchange for state investment business. By T.C. Brown, Cleveland Plain Dealer
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Workers’ Comp PPO for Buffalo Region Formed
A preferred provider organization specifically for workers’ compensation cases, Lifetime Health BusinessWorks, is being formed for the Buffalo, N.Y. region. Officials credit the managed care program with slashing employers’ medical and indemnity costs by almost half. Business First of Buffalo
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N.Y. Group Continues Blitz Against Anti-Business Laws
Business coalition Unshackle Upstate recently succeeded in one of its efforts to rid the region of laws it contends unfairly hobble business: the Workers’ Compensation Improvement Act has been introduced in the Assembly and Senate. The bill, if passed, would reduce costs and liability for employers and increase benefits for injured workers. By Annemarie Kropf, Press & Sun Bulletin (Binghamton, N.Y.)
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Land of Lincoln Pol to Host Seminar on Fraud Protection
Illinois State Rep. Kurt Granberg, a Democrat, will host a seminar tomorrow in the Downstate city of Salem, aimed at educating business leaders on the state’s new Workers’ Compensation Fraud Unit. Salem Times-Commoner
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