An ideal system serves the two primary stakeholders (the employer and the employee). An ideal system allows and encourages clear, concise, timely and accurate communication (in-person, phone, fax, text, app, semaphore, morse code, smoke signals) between all parties. An ideal system provides a prompt provision of fixed and “fair” benefits to the legitimately injured worker within a no-fault system. An ideal system ensures that all workers are covered by the…
The right medical care at the right time is always in the best interest of the injured worker and almost always will result in the lowest claims costs.The right medical care at the right time will (almost always) result in an earlier return to work with less permanent residual disability.Evidence-based medicine is the right care for the legitimately injured workers. (There is a hierarchy on how to apply evidence-based medicine).One…
An excerpt from “Curing” Work Disability….an “Expert’s View” article published on July 29, 2021 on WorkersCompensation.com “Work Disability”….a new term to you? A term you've just recently heard used? Or a condition that you're a subject matter expert in? If you have a role - any role - in a workers' compensation system, you should be striving for the latter. Understanding work disability, what it is and how to prevent…
For thousands of years deer had two primary methods of survival. The first was to run very fast when they were in an open field. The second was to stand very still when they were in a forest. If they could not outrun the mountain lion, they knew that if they stood still while in the forest that their camouflage would make it harder for them to be seen. For…
We’ve all heard leaders from within workers’ compensation advocate that our industry should be re-labeled to appropriately address the outcome for anyone hurt on the job: recovery, not compensation. And, while words matter, it’s more than that. Workers’ recovery is about recognizing that return to work is part of the recovery process and, therefore, an important goal of an ideal system. It's about eliminating delays and complexities of our systems,…
At the NWCDN Annual Conference in Nashville last week, a presenter shared a personal story about how their emotions once got the best of them when handling a particular claim. The speaker, whom I will not identify here, told the attendees about a claim that landed on their desk early in their career. In the course of the investigation, they learned the injured worker was, in their words, “A really bad man.”…
A School Calendar There are many different life situations facing parents. One of the most rewarding and challenging is the balancing act of raising children while meeting work responsibilities. One fundamental obligation of a parent is to make sure that their children obtain the necessary education to be successful in life. Children who are engaged and supported at school usually become successful adults. Many times, employers ignorantly create work situations…
By Vickie Kennedy For those of you who don’t know me, you’re probably asking yourself how “Missives from the Queen” have anything to do with workers’ compensation? While the catchy title may have gotten your attention (as hoped!), there really is more to it than that. As history, when I was in my early teens, I learned that I share my birthday with Queen Victoria. Interestingly, the family story (perhaps…
Austin, TX (August 9, 2022) – WorkCompCollege.com has released the list of Deans who are leading the development of the school’s Workers' Recovery Professional Certification. Seven Schools of Discipline each have two highly qualified professionals dedicating their time and skill toward creating this comprehensive education program. One, the School of Regulatory/Legislative, has been assigned three Deans due to topic complexity.Mark Pew, who is serving as Provost for this community driven…
Atlanta, GA (May 25, 2022) – A Board of Trustees has been established for the soon to be launched WorkCompCollege.com. The board's function is to act in an advisory capacity to the company's founders and help establish a broad and deep curriculum for the training of professionals within the workers' compensation space. In addition to technical skills, WorkCompCollege.com will emphasize training in critical “soft skills” of whole person recovery management…
