Quote of the day
"It's unconscionable that workers who suffer life-changing incidents through no fault of their own are treated like this."
Wisconsin columnist Dave Zweifel, about the state's failure to make any adjustments to the weekly benefit of a Madison nurse who was permanently disabled in 1985 in a sexual assault
Keene Discusses Business Issues in Oroville
Assemblyman Rick Keene, R-Chico, speaks in Oroville about a variety of issues, including workers’ compensation reform, that California businesses face. By Mary Weston, Oroville Mercury-Register
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Colorado’s Pinnacol Assurance Shows Premium, Customer Growth
Denver-based Pinnacol Assurance, Colorado’s largest worker’s compensation insurer, grew its premiums collected from $515 million in 2004 to $566 million in 2005. It also increased the number of its customers, although its policyholder retention rate dropped slightly last year. Denver Business Journal
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Montana Employees Have New Disability Management Program
Gov. Brian Schweitzer unveils a new safety and disability management program for state employees, which is intended to curb rising worker compensation costs. A state official calls slip and falls and repetitive motion injuries the most common among state workers. By AP via Billings Gazette
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Commentary: Workers’ Comp Needs to Keep Up with Inflation
Certified nurse practitioner Patricia Grillot of Madison, Wisc., experienced a horrific attack 20 years ago while on a business trip and is still dealing with the aftereffects. She’s entitled to lifetime workers’ compensation payments for her permanent disability, capped at the original 1985 amount, and that’s an injustice. By Dave Zweifel, Capital Times (Madison)
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Commentary: Indiana Learns Lesson from Neighbor
The 220,000 workers in the Indiana Public Employees Retirement Fund are starting to buy into venture funds and oil futures with their retirement dollars to diversify their investments. But they won’t be purchasing rare coins in light of the $50 million rare coin scandal involving the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation. By John Ketzenberger, Indianapolis Star
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Connected Ohio Firms Reaped Millions in Profit from BWC Contracts
In the decade since the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation turned over the management of claims of injured workers to private companies, several politically connected firms including CareWorks, the state’s biggest managed-care organization for Workers’ Comp, have collected millions of dollars from the agency while pouring money into the campaign coffers of the state’s political leaders.
Go to the full story by James Drew and Steve Eder, Toledo Blade
Go to the full story by Bob Paynter, Cleveland Plain Dealer
Go to the full story by AP via Akron Beacon Journal
Go to the full story by Catherine Candisky and Alan Johnson, Columbus Dispatch
Elected Officials to Attend South Carolina Seminar
An upcoming seminar in Myrtle Beach, S.C. will focus on possible workers’ compensation increases, the effect of fraud and abuse, the role of courts and other topics. Two state representatives and the director of the National Federation of Independent Business/South Carolina State are slated to attend. Myrtle Beach Sun
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Missouri Candidate Says Comp Overhaul Hasn’t Cut Costs
On the campaign trail in the Show Me State, Democratic state representative hopeful Matt Hill says questions both the effectiveness and the quality of the work done by the legislature during the past two years. That includes a Republican-sponsored workers’ compensation overhaul, which Hill contends was poorly drafted and has had little impact. By Rudi Keller, Southeast Missourian
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Aussie Union Wants Workers’ Comp for Illegal Worker
The story of a Korean man who lost several fingers in a plastic-recycling machine while working illegally in an Australian factory and who now faces deportation is a common story, says an official with the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union, which is helping him pursue a workers’ comp claim. By Nick O’Malley, Sydney Morning Herald [With Photo] Go to the Full Story…
Survey: Hannover Re Best Overall Insurer in North America
In a survey of 366 experts at leading reinsurance brokerage firms conducted by U.S.-based Flaspö Research Group, Hannover Re came out as the best overall reinsurer for the second time in a row. Workers’ Comp Executive
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