Vol. 6, Issue 47

Find Solutions & Strategies November 23, 2015

Tragedy in Paris Reminds Us That Workplace Violence Is a Serious Risk

In This Issue

- WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

- LARSON'S: Activity of Everyday Living, Withdrawal From Labor Market, Brain Hemorrhage

- NATIONAL & STATE NEWS

- eNEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Workers' Compensation Emerging Issues Analysis
2015 Edition ... Order Today!

tragedy in paris reminds us that workplace violence is a serious risk

By Jennifer C. Jordan, Esq., General Counsel, MEDVAL, LLC

As the 2015 National Workers' Compensation and Disability Conference concluded in Las Vegas last week, there were workers in restaurants and the concert venue in Paris experiencing real time workplace violence scenarios just like those discussed at the conference. Joining tragedies such as Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and Columbine, the world will focus on the lives lost and the evil that is ISIS, all the while never realizing how much these events have impacted our day to day lives during the last decade. So it was rather fortuitous that the conference included a discussion of the issue of workplace violence. In a session titled "Extreme Violence in the Workplace," Albert B. Randall, Jr., a principal at Franklin & Prokopik in Maryland, and Lori Severson, a vice president at Lockton, led attendees in a thoughtful discussion encompassing everything from the definition of workplace violence all the way through implementation of prevention tips...read more.

Happy Thanksgiving!

LARSON'S SPOTLIGHT ON RECENT CASES

Thomas A. Robinson, J.D., our Feature National Columnist, is the co-author of Larson's Workers' Compensation Law (LexisNexis).

Missouri: Injuries Sustained When Lunchroom Chair Collapsed Are Compensable. A Missouri appellate court affirmed an award of permanent total disability benefits against the state's Second Injury Fund where claimant's lunchroom chair collapsed as he sat eating lunch...read more.

Virginia: Claimant Who Refused Job Interviews and Vocational Rehabilitation Appointments Denied Further Benefits. A Virginia appellate court held in relevant part that the state's Workers' Compensation Commission appropriately denied benefits to a claimant where evidence indicated he unjustifiably refused vocational rehabilitation...read more.

South Dakota: Waitress Recovers Benefits for Brain Hemorrhage Resulting From Bar Fight. A restaurant waitress, who suffered an onset of severe headaches and vomiting one week after she sustained what appeared to be minor injuries at work when a fight broke out in the restaurant bar on New Year's Eve 2009...read more.

national & state news

WCRI: Medical Prices Lower, Grew Slower in States With Medical Fee Schedules.

OSHA Seeks Public Comment on Safety & Health Program Management Guidelines.

US Dept. of Labor Proposes Rule to Update Implementation of EEOICPA.

Documentary Film Made of Temp Worker Killed in Tragic Accident.

Cornell Univ. Releases Data on Reported Injuries by Grad Students.

AZ: ICA Proposes New Rules on Evidence Based Medical Treatment Guidelines.

CA: WCIRB Releases Updated SB 863 Cost Monitoring Report.

CA: DIR Posts Fiscal Year 2015/2016 Assessments for Employers.

CA: Audit Finds Inability to Track L.A. Police on Extended Injury Leave.

CO: Pinnacol Decreases Workers Comp Rates for 2016.

CO: Colorado Medical Board Guidelines Would Rein in Medical Marijuana Physicians.

DE: Commissioner Approves 7.2% Increase in WC Voluntary Market Loss Costs.

FL: FL Insurance Guaranty Assoc. Explains SB 836 Impact on Assessment Process.

GA: 11th Circuit Affirms $2.4M Judgment for Georgia Fund in TPA's Claims Mishandling.

GA: NCCI Explains 2.8 Percent Increase in Loss Cost Filing.

IL: State Agency Sues to Remove Attorney General From Some Workers Comp Cases.

LA: LWC Focus on Misclassification of Workers Yielding Record Results.

LA: Louisiana Ranked No. 2 Nationally for Worker Safety in 2014.

ME: Lawmakers Plan to Push Firefighter Workers Comp Coverage Bill.

ME: MEMIC Issues $18M Dividend Affecting Nearly 17,000 Maine Employers.

MI: WCA Amends Rules for Investments for Group Self-Insurer Funds.

MI: Governor Signs HB 4362 Regulation of Self-Insurer Excess Assets.

MN: State Officials Seek to Reduce High Rate of Farm Worker Deaths.

MO: Commission Finds Conversion Disorder Flows From Carpal Tunnel.

MT: LMAC to Review Proposed Bill to Allow Recovery of Medical Benefits.

NJ: Commissioner Approves Filing for No Change in Workers Comp Rates.

NJ: Medical Payments per WC Claim Stable After Rapid Growth in Earlier Years.

NY: Governor Vetoes A7753 Exclusion of Newspaper Deliverers From Wage, Benefit Laws.

NC: NCRB Posts Fourth Annual Medical Data Report for North Carolina.

OH: BWC Addresses Coverage Gap for Employers Doing Business in Other States.

OK: State Audit Says WCC Not Tracking Some Mandatory Assessments.

OR: WCD Revises Request for Reconsideration Forms.

OR: WCD Posts Information on Assessment of Penalties for Claims Reserve Inaccuracies.

PA: House to Vote Soon on SB 3 Medical Marijuana Program.

TX: 28 People Charged in $9.5M Workers Comp Bogus Billing Investigation.

TX: DWC Reorganizes Regional Docketing Workgroups.

TX: DWC Posts Annual Change to Medical Fee Guideline Conversion Factors.

TX: Texas Rate of Days Off for Work Injuries, Illnesses Dropped in 2014.

UT: Lawmakers to Consider Two Separate Medical Marijuana Bills in 2016.

UT: Labor Commission Warns Employers of Solicitation of Required Workplace Posters.

WA: L&I Reports Opioid Epidemic Continues in Washington.

WI: DWD Secretary Appoints New Chief Legal Counsel and Legislative Liaison.

ENEWSLETTER ARCHIVES

Take a deep dive into our past eNewsletters for 2015 and prior...warning - some links to articles may not work...report any linking problems to Robin.E.Kobayashi@lexisnexis.com.

November 16, 2015: Will 2016 Be the Year That Opt Out Legislation Catches Fire?
November 9, 2015: A New Mediation Track to Combat Opioid Use by Injured Workers.
November 2, 2015: Low Back Pain Study: Costs & Benefits of State WC Policy Variations.
October 26, 2015: Substantial Evidence Must Have Some Substance.
October 19, 2015: Corporate America's Campaign for Opt Out Laws.

ACCESS ARCHIVES AND ARTICLES LIST HERE.

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