Quote of the day
"All because a kid hit me and I did my job."
Former Virginia high school teacher Diana Applewhite, about the seven surgeries and estimated $400,000 in medical costs to repair a broken wrist she suffered when a student attacked her and which led to her retiring on disability
Massachusetts Jail Slashes Comp Costs Almost in Half, but How?
The sheriff of Worcester County, Mass. attributes the county jail’s 45 percent cut in workers’ compensation cuts in fiscal 2006 to reducing employee downtime caused by injury and illness, including assigning an in-house lawyer and case manager to workers’ comp claims, referring more cases of suspected fraud to private investigators and an employee incentive program. But one union rep says savings have been achieved by the use of threats against employees. By Shaun Sutner, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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School Employees Increasingly Victimized by Students
Here is the story of a 42-year-old Virginia mother and former high school teacher who was assaulted by a student in 2001 as she tried to break up a fight, and now lives with chronic pain after seven surgeries to repair a broken wrist. She retired on disability and will probably never work again in her field, while her attacker was suspended for five days. By Holly Prestidge, Richmond Times-Dispatch
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Commentary: West Virginia Slowly Rights the Ship
BrickStreet Mutual’s stewardship of West Virginia’s once-broken workers’ compensation system is righting a system once plagued by a multi-billion dollar unfunded liability, poor recordkeeping and frustrating bureaucracy, and it may be a bouncy ride for employers. Charleston Daily Mail
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BWC Discouraged Probe of Rare Coin Investment: Auditor
A Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation internal auditor wanted to get out of one of indicted GOP fundraiser Tom Noe’s rare coin funds six years ago, but a bureau official told him his job “was not to set investment policy,” according to court testimony. Keith Elliot testified that he had concerns about the potential for fraud with the coin investment as early as 1999, about a year after Noe received his first $25 million from the bureau. By Mark Niquette, Columbus Dispatch [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Commentary: N.Y. Legislators Must Take a Stand on Comp Reform
Comprehensive workers’ compensation reform and tort reform are important proposals that need an open airing in the New York Legislature, which too often passes bills without debate or even amendments. By Dan Richardson via Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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$10 Million Windfall Will Ease Steel City’s Workers’ Comp Burden
Pennsylvania’s budget secretary says the city of Pittsburgh will get a $10 million infusion this year to help pay for condemned building demolitions, its workers’ compensation burden and public safety vehicles. By Jeremy Boren, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
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Reinsurance Liquidation Impacts Gevity Earnings
Florida-based human resources firm Gevity HR Inc. showed revenue growth of 9 percent, but lower earnings during the second quarter. The results were impacted by a one-time reserve resulting from the liquidation proceeding of the reinsurance company that provided Gevity workers’ compensation coverage from $500,000 to $2 million per occurrence, for which the company is actively pursuing recovery, it said. Tampa Bay Business Journal
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W.R. Berkley Acquires Garnet Captive Services
W. R. Berkley Corporation yesterday announced the acquisition of San Francisco-based Garnet Captive Services, LLC. Workers’ Comp Executive
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More Info on Theft of Data from Sentry
Sentry Insurance says the person who stole personal information on more than 112,000 workers’ compensation claimants and sold data on 72 of them online was “a lead programmer/consultant from a nationally recognized computer contractor” who had access to Sentry claimant data. Insurance Networking News
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Tasmania Supports Challenge to Workers Comp Changes
Australia’s Tasmanian government says it strongly supports four other Australian Labor States: Victoria, New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, in a legal challenge to workers’ compensation changes that would allow major corporations to bail on state-based schemes to join a federal scheme. ABC News Online (Australia)
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