THE WCI WEEKLY

Week of December 14 - 20, 2014

In This Issue

Cross Examining Shrinks

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Welcome to your weekly WCI Newsletter. We have selected the top stories that appeared on our website this week to help you stay up to date on what is happening in the world of workers' compensation and insurance. Enjoy.

The Pilots of Instagram

Pilots for airlines large and small, flying planes of all sizes, are taking amazing photos and posting them on Instagram. But while the picture-taking pilots may be garnering lots of fans, they also may be violating safety rules. Read More

Home Depot, a Missing Employee, and Work Comp Benefits

Maine resident Fay Johnson went missing in 2012. No one knows what happened to her or where she is. When she vanished, Home Depot was paying her workers' compensation benefits. How do you pay a missing person? More importantly, do you have to? Read More

Blog: No TRIA Under the Tree

It's easier to believe in Santa Claus coming down your chimney with presents than in the U.S. Congress doing its job. The reauthorization of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act is dead -- at least until after our elected officials get back from their holiday vacations. Read More

SPREAD THE NEWS

We're glad you enjoy this newsletter. If you want to post it on your website, just send us an email. Then each Friday, we will send you the URL and you can share all the news with your own website visitors.

Primary Care Doctors Report Prescribing Fewer Opioids for Pain

Nine in 10 primary care physicians say that prescription drug abuse is a moderate or big problem, and nearly half say they're less likely to prescribe opioids to treat pain compared to a year ago. Read More

Cross Examining Shrinks

Dr. Bruce Leckart has four rules for cross examining psychologists and psychiatrists. The fourth one: the attorney should always determine if the doctor has demonstrated that the patient's history he reported is credible. Read More

See You in August!

The 70th annual Workers' Compensation Educational Conference is set for August 23 - 26, 2015, at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Hotel rooms go fast, so reserve yours today. Information on Sponsorships and Exhibit Booths is available here. Conference registration will be open soon.

Oregon Releases 2013 Claim Data

Of the total 18,634 accepted disabling claims in 2013, workers in their first year with an employer filed 5,010 of them. That and more in Oregon's 2013 claim data report. Read More

WCI Briefs

To save you time, here's a sampling of insurance and workers' compensation news from around the country, each in 450 words or less. Read More

Drug Costs Still a Worry: CompPharma

Drug costs remain a big worry for work comp payers, even though for the second consecutive year respondents to a CompPharma survey say those costs declined in real terms. Read More

Happy Holidays! See You in 2015!

This is our last WCI Weekly for 2014.

We'll publish again on Friday, Jan. 9, 2015.

WORKERS' COMPENSATION INSTITUTE
P.O. Box 200, Tallahassee, FL 32302

Newsletter Editor joancollier@comcast.net