Quote of the day
"We don't mind paying what we need to pay, but some of these claims, people do stuff at home and try to put it on the city. I tell the guys I don't mind paying the claims, because I want to help people, but I'm also partly responsible for the financial end. We've made a real effort to look at these things."
Ki Miles, safety director for the City of Vicksburg, Miss.
Mississippi City Sees Payouts Drop Dramatically
In Vicksburg, Miss., workers’ compensation and liability payments based on City of Vicksburg claims dropped drastically in 2007, and the city’s safety director says credit is due to a greater emphasis on job safety and closer investigation of claims. The city has 485 full-time employees and a payroll of more than $15 million. By Tom Hartwell, Vicksburg Post
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Editorial: Just What the Mountain State Doesn’t Need
Two West Virginia delegates reportedly want to change the method by which the state insurance commissioner is chosen: the commissioner, now appointed by the governor, should be elected, they say. But that’s just what the Mountain State does not need—more politics involving insurance, including workers’ compensation. Wheeling Intelligencer
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Look to Three Factors to Classify Workers
Salem, Ore.-area Small Business Development Center advisors say they hear many concerns about issues of “independent contractor versus employee.” Employers must understand federal and state laws, and look beyond hours worked or earnings when determining how to classify workers. Three tests are used in making such determinations. By Jimmie Wilkins, Salem Statesman Journal
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Oklahoma: Employer Voids Workers’ Comp Statute of Limitations
The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals finds that a payment of some medical expenses, by the insurer of an injured worker’s employer, was enough to toll the statute of limitations and allow the workers’ compensation claim to proceed. The worker had reported her job-related eye injury more than two years after the incident. By Janice Francis-Smith, Journal Record
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Illinois Malpractice Claim Targets Workers’ Comp Payout
A legal malpractice claim filed by an injured worker against an East St. Louis, Ill.-area attorney alleges that the injured worker did not receive an adequate award in her workers’ compensation claim. By Ann Knef, Madison County Record
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