Quote of the day
"In my heart, I truly believe they want us to die so they can say, 'We just got rid of another one.'"
New York City paramedic and Sept. 11 responder Marvin Bethea, who finally prevailed in drawn-out battle for workers' compensation
Ireland Named Associate Research Director of CWCI
John Ireland has been named Associate Research Director of the California Workers’ Compensation Institute, the Oakland-based nonprofit organization that serves as the research arm of the California workers’ compensation industry. Workers’ Comp Executive
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Lost Computer Threatens Security of Injured Workers’ Personal Data
A State of New York-owned personal computer that had been provided to a workers’ compensation claims administrator “cannot be located,” according to a letter the company sent to injured workers whose names, addresses and Social Security numbers, were on the computer. As the state and Chicago-based contractor CS Stars begin efforts to protect those 540,000 individuals from identity theft, the FBI also gets involved. By Michael Gormley, AP via Buffalo News
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WTC Responder Wins Comp Battle
A paramedic who became disabled and now takes 15 medications as a result of responding to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center wins a drawn-out fight to get workers’ compensation. By Michael McAuliff, New York Daily News
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Noe’s Attorneys Summon BWC Auditor to Reduce Counts
Lawyers for indicted Ohio coin dealer and political fundraiser Tom Noe summon internal auditor Keith Elliott and five other current or former Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation employees in their motion to suppress evidence and get 16 criminal counts against their client dropped. By Mike Wilkinson, Toledo Blade
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Memo: Ohio BWC’s Poor Recordkeeping Cost Workers Money
Hundreds of permanently disabled workers temporarily received less in benefits than they deserved as a result of poor recordkeeping at the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, according to a four-year-old memo released Monday by Gov. Bob Taft at the request of the Associated Press. By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, AP via Cincinnati Post
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Ohio Hospitals Agree to Bill BWC Less for Treating Injured Workers
The Ohio Hospitals Association is agreeing to cut what the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation pays hospitals to treat injured workers, but at a public hearing asks for actual cost plus 25 percent. Injured workers’ cases tend to be more expensive because more of them come through emergency rooms and bureau billing requires more staff time and paperwork, according to the association’s health policy director. By Catherine Candisky, Columbus Dispatch
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West Virginia Employers to Pony Up Increased Administrative Tab
The West Virginia Insurance Commission’s share of the estimated annual cost for administering workers’ compensation insurance in West Virginia jumps 25 percent, from $20 million to $25 million this year, and the state’s 38,000 employers are on the hook for the whole surcharge. By George Hohmann, Charleston Daily Mail
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Delaware Lawmakers Struggle with Governor’s Overhaul Proposal
Employers in Delaware pay some of the nation’s highest workers’ compensation premiums, a situation business groups say puts them at a competitive disadvantage with neighboring states. But lawmakers refused to consider Gov. Ruth Ann Minner’s overhaul bill before they ended the legislative session. By Randall Chase, AP via Newszap
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