Quote of the day
"There is a valid system in place that currently works. They're trying to create unnecessary disputes to prolong the care a patient needs. I think there's more here than fixing a system that's not broken."
Attorney Michelle Sorrells, who is concerned about a Louisiana workers' comp reform group's push to eliminate employee choice in selecting a physician
Go the full story in WBRZ-TV (Baton Rouge)
Louisiana Reform Group Attacks System
A group of hospital and corporate employers, Louisianans for Workers’ Compensation Reform, say they want to change how injured workers are treated via a package of bills in the 2008 state legislative session. But they will face opposition from lawyers who cite positive reports on the system from the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation. WBRZ-TV (Baton Rouge)
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Suit May Force Cable Giant to Rewrite Safety Policies
A lawsuit filed by a New Jersey subcontractor who fell while replacing a “trap” on cable wires, inflicting traumatic brain injury, may force cable giant Comcast Corp. and several of its subsidiaries to create all new safety standards. By Randall Clark, Today’s Sunbeam (Salem, N.J.)
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Mountain State Has ‘Reasonable’ Number of Health Care Providers, States Commissioner
West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane Cline, speaking before a state legislative panel, can’t say if health care providers have risen or fallen since West Virginia privatized its workers’ compensation system, only that there is a “reasonable” number available. One state senator tells the panel that the “hassle factor” has convinced him to no longer take workers’ comp cases. By Mannix Porterfield, Beckley Register-Herald
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Face of Asbestos Compensation Battle Has Mesothelioma
When Bernie Banton became the public face of the battle for asbestos compensation from building products manufacturer James Hardie Industries, he was campaigning for people who had been exposed to asbestos decades ago but were not yet ill. He didn’t know then that he would contract deadly mesothelioma. By Elisabeth Sexton, Sydney Morning Herald [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Sanford Wants Tougher Decisions by Commissioners
South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, who signed a workers’ comp reform bill last year, isn’t saying what he will do if workers’ compensation commissioners don’t start applying even tougher standards in some cases. But a former press secretary has written that Sanford is considering forcing them to use a benefit-restricting formula that legislators have rejected. By Jim DuPlessis, the State (Columbia, S.C.)
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Reinjured Canadians Caught in Net
A Newfoundland fisherman who was re-injured while undergoing treatment for the original work-related injury is typical of many under the care of the province’s Workplace Health Safety and Compensation Commission. The have few options to win back potential lost wages, even if they get hurt while following mandatory recovery programs linked to their benefits. By Peter Walsh, the Telegram (St. John’s, Newfoundland)
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