Quote of the day
"Welcome to workers' comp."
John P. Brooks, Orlando attorney for injured Florida drywall hanger Alfonso Escobar, who is sinking deeper in debt and has not received an insurance payout
Pataki Vetoes ‘Well-Intentioned’ Workers’ Comp Reporting Bill
In vetoing a bill that would have tasked the New York Civil Service Commission with preparing annual reports on the number of state workers filing workers’ compensation claims and the agencies they work for, Gov. George Pataki calls the bill “well-intentioned” but “overly burdensome” in what it would have required. The Business Review (Albany)
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Arizona Families Decry ‘No Fault’ Rules
Bob Drake, who lost his son in a work-related furnace accident, and his family are part of a grass-roots movement to reform the workers’ compensation system in Arizona, where employers pay the third lowest average premiums in the nation. They say the “no fault” rules are failing workers and their families by allowing employers to escape accountability, and that injured workers should have the choice to sue. By Becky Pallack, Arizona Daily Star
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Florida Worker in Limbo While Possible Charges Against Contractor Loom
The contractor who employed 49-year-old drywall hanger Alfonso Escobar, who fell down an unguarded elevator shaft at a Tarpon Springs, Fla., construction site last February, faces possible criminal charges for insurance fraud. But that’s little consolation to Escobar, who has yet to receive an insurance payout for his numerous surgeries. By Robin Stein, St. Petersburg Times
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Alberta Feedlot Worker’s Death Prompts Calls for Law Change
The June death of a feedlot worker in Alberta, one of two Canadian provinces where workplace safety standards do not apply to farms, is sparking calls for the provincial government to modernize laws applying to farmworkers. The worker’s family is reportedly in dire financial straits because the exemption means they don’t qualify for workers’ compensation.
Go to the full story in CBC News
Go to the full story by Nadia Moharib, Calgary Sun
UAW, Lawyers Strongly Back November Ballot Issue
The United Auto Workers and various trial lawyers paid nearly $303,000 to gather signatures to put a question on the November ballot in Ohio to repeal portions of a new state law reducing benefits for some injured workers. The changes were expected to save employers who pay into the system about $100 million annually. Toledo Blade
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Coingate: Indicted Coin Dealer Allegedly Inflated Inventory
Indicted coin dealer Tom Noe and his associates would “borrow” rare coins from customers to bolster the inventory of the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation’s $50 million rare-coin fund to trick accountants into believing the inventory was bigger than it really was, according to a state trooper’s affidavit. Toledo Blade
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Utah Workers’ Compensation Fund Awards Scholarships
Fifty-five spouses and children of workers killed on the job receive this year’s Workers Compensation Fund Legacy of Learning Scholarships in Salt Lake City. RedOrbit
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New England Contractor Indicted for Workers’ Comp Fraud
A 46-year-old Maine paving and masonry contractor who did renovation work at Massachusetts’ Worcester State College is indicted on charges of workers’ compensation fraud and falsifying employee records. Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.)
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