Quote of the day
"I keep asking myself, 'What have I done to deserve this?' We don't dispute the $1,000 fine. We did wrong. We didn't know it was wrong. That's our ignorance.
But it's hard to deal with people who don't have hearts. They don't care."
Clay Rexford, Florida flooring installer, about the Florida Division of Workers' Compensation, which has classified his wife as his employee
Columnist: Florida DWC a ‘Bureaucracy Gone Haywire’
Flooring installer Clay Rexford of Sarasota, Fla., hurt his back so he brought his wife to help him on his construction job. Now he faces a $21,690 state fine, and he has been banned from working. “They’re ruining us,” says his wife, Tabatha. By Eric Ernst, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Go to the Full Story…
Blogworld: Comp Networks and Hospital Costs
A few weeks ago I wrote about the big profits hospitals get from workers’ comp, and closed with the observation that comp payers are overpaying hospitals. The question is why? By Joe Paduda, Managed Care Matters
Go to the Full Story…
Guilty Plea in Workers’ Comp Theft Case
A Sacramento man pleads guilty to stealing government property and making a false statement to obtain worker’s compensation benefits by forging his father’s signature in order to keep receiving his father’s worker’s comp pay after he died, and then forged his mother’s information to keep receiving the benefits after she died. By Niesha Lofing, Sacramento Bee [may require registration] Go to the Full Story…
One Year After Crandall Canyon Disaster, Failures Are Clear
The collapse of Utah’s Crandall Canyon mine one year ago was so extensive, federal officials found no other mining disaster in the last 50 years to compare to it. The Mine Safety and Health Administration said the mine was “destined to fail” because the mining company made critical miscalculations and didn’t report early warning signs, but MSHA itself also was faulted in the disaster. WHDH-TV (Boston)
Go to the Full Story…
North Dakota Ballot Initiative Would Put Gov in Charge of WSI
Supporters of putting the governor in charge of North Dakota’s workers’ compensation agency, Workforce Safety and Insurance, have turned in petitions to put the idea to a vote in November. KXMB-TV (Bismarck)
Go to the Full Story…
Window Washer Deaths in NYC Underscore Job Hazards
New York’s latest accident involving window washers happened after midnight Tuesday, when two workers in a cherry picker fell to their deaths when the machine tipped over and fell 40 feet to the ground. Industry experts say about 95% of the nation’s window washers are non-union and make an average of about $7 per hour. By Verena Dobnik, Lebanon Daily News
Go to the Full Story…