In the News
One Big Yawn? Safety Stands at the Intersection of Fatigue, Automation
As machines take on more tasks previously handled by humans, safety experts say the automation of manufacturing processes may be contributing to workplace fatigue. Vik Ramaswamy, M.S., CIH, Risk Control Manager, discussed this trend with Business Insurance. View the full article here.
Workers’ Comp Issues to Watch in 2019
Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis, joined forces with Kimberly George, Senior Vice President and Senior Healthcare Adviser at Sedgwick, to identify 20 important workers’ compensation trends that should be on everyone’s radar for 2019. View the full article on Insurance Thought Leadership.
Interview: National Underwriter Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Winners
In this video, published on National Underwriter/PC 360’s website, Mark Walls, VP of Communications & Strategic Analysis, and Kimberly George of Sedgwick interview the three winners of the National Underwriter Excellence in Workers’ Compensation Risk Management Award, presented at WCI’s annual conference. View the full interview here.
Successful Safe Patient Handling Programs for First Responders
From a risk management perspective, patient handling injuries to first responders remain a frequent and severe source of loss and expense to public entities. This reality is indicative of the need for cultural changes that will result in first responders consistently using body mechanics and equipment properly; even in the…
Workplace Violence: Assessment & Response
Over 2 million workers are victims of violence every year. In their latest article on WorkersCompensation.com, Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis, and Kimberly George, Senior Vice President and Senior Healthcare Adviser at Sedgwick, share tangible tips on how to assess, train and respond to violence in the…
Workforce Wellbeing: Bridging Health and Productivity
Programs that focus equally on the personal health of employees and their professional productivity needs are becoming essential to help companies attract and retain talent. In their latest article, Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis, and Kimberly George, Senior Vice President and Senior Healthcare Adviser at Sedgwick, share…
Top OSHA Trends Facing Employers
OSHA is in somewhat of a holding pattern while it awaits a new administrator. Nevertheless, now is not the time for employers to let their guards down. Don Enke, Assistant Vice President Risk Services, discusses what employers learned from the Trump administration’s first year in office and what we could…
Trends Identified in Large Work Comp Losses: A Carrier’s Perspective
High dollar workers’ compensation claims are rare, but they can be extremely costly and have a significant impact on an employer’s workers’ compensation costs. Because self-insured claims data is not reported to agencies like NCCI, Safety National’s data can offer a unique perspective that others cannot provide. Mark Walls, Vice…
Impact of Natural Disasters on Risk Management
The impact of natural disasters goes far beyond property damage. See how disasters can dramatically impact your workforce, supply chain & business operations in this latest article by Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis, and Kimberly George, Senior Vice President and Senior Healthcare Adviser at Sedgwick. View the article…
Alternatives to Opioids for Pain Management
In their latest article, Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis, and Kimberly George, Senior Vice President and Senior Healthcare Adviser at Sedgwick, argue that the workers’ compensation industry’s drugs-first approach to chronic pain needs to be replaced with a hard look at psychological factors. View the full article here.
2018 Workers’ Comp Issues to Watch
Mark Walls, Vice President Communications & Strategic Analysis, joined forces with Kimberly George, Senior Vice President and Senior Healthcare Adviser at Sedgwick, to identify 20 important workers’ compensation trends that should be on everyone’s radar for 2018. View the full article on Insurance Thought Leadership.
Holiday Hurry Leads to Workers’ Comp Flurry
The holiday season’s demands on the retail, packing and shipping sectors elevate workers’ compensation risks. Don Enke, Assistant Vice President – Risk Control, spoke with Business Insurance about the risks related to worker fatigue and insufficient training of seasonal workers. View the full article here.
Lives Reclaimed: Understanding the Hurdles Faced by Injured Workers
In this article, published in National Underwriter/PC 360, Mark Walls, VP of Communications & Strategic Analysis, partners with Kimberly George of Sedgwick to highlight three personal stories of injured workers who, with the right care, were empowered to achieve positive outcomes. View the full article here.
The Myth of Predictive Analytics
In his latest article with WorkCompWire, Mark Walls, Vice President of Communications & Strategic Analysis, addresses the popular topic of predictive analytics in workers’ compensation. He explains that it is not the predictive analytics, themselves, that are going to improve claims outcomes. It is how you use the predictive analytics…
Implementing Medical Marijuana into Workers’ Compensation
The medical marijuana train is coming down the tracks, so to speak. It is time for the workers’ compensation industry to begin fully understanding it, determine guidelines to control it and prepare to implement it into programs. Sherri Hickey, Assistant Vice President of Medical Management, sheds some light as to…
Building a Rock Solid Risk Control Plan
You are now assigned safety and risk management duties for your organization. Now what? Where do you start? Ariel Jenkins, Director – Risk Control, provides an overview in his latest article on PRIMA’s blog. View the full article here.
Demand for Impairment Training High as Employers Prep for Marijuana Law
Employers are requesting marijuana “impairment detection training” as they grapple with balancing anti-discrimination provisions in the recreational marijuana laws with their missions to maintain safe workplaces. Mark Walls, Vice President of Communications & Strategic Analysis, discussed the difficulty this is causing employers in a recent interview with Business Insurance. View the…
Safety National Hosts Medical Marijuana Webinar, Local Carriers Talk Marijuana Policy
Safety National recently hosted a webinar where all panelists agreed that carriers need to get into the habit of anticipating the use of medical marijuana in claims and develop policy around it. The Louisiana Comp Blog featured highlights from the webinar. View the full article here.
Opioids are Just One Pharmaceutical Issue Facing Workers’ Comp Programs
The opioid crisis receives a lot of attention, however, there are other significant pharmaceutical issues in workers’ compensation that have been getting far less attention than opioids. Sherri Hickey, Assistant Vice President – Claims, discusses this issue with WCI in their latest article, “Opioids are Just One Pharmaceutical Issue Facing…
Engagement, Good Goals Aid in Creating Safety Culture
A team environment among all levels of staff that adheres to the same safety procedures and practices must be in place in order to create a safety culture that will prevent workplace accidents and injuries. Claims Journal highlighted principles that Vik Ramaswamy, Risk Control Manager, taught in a webinar on…
Developing a Post-Injury Management Program
Workplace injuries not only cost employers money, but also have the potential to create a lot of uncertainty that negatively affects employee morale. In this PRIMA Blog post, Kevin O’Sadnick, Risk Control Manager, shares how to develop an effective program aimed at improving employee engagement and morale while reducing the…
First Impressions Matter in Comp Claims
Workers’ compensation experts say that trust in the workplace and early positive communication between injured workers and their employers or claims handlers can play a crucial role in reducing the time it takes a claimant to return to work, as well as keeping comp claim costs in check. Stephen Peacock,…
Opportunities for Treatment Guidelines
Mark Walls, Vice President of Communications & Strategic Analysis, co-authored this article on Insurance Thought Leadership from a previous Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark webinar. The article stresses that understanding a jurisdiction’s strengths and shortcomings, taking a strategic approach to developing treatment guidelines, and following some common-sense tips…
2017 Issues to Watch in Workers’ Comp
Mark Walls and Kimberly George discuss their thoughts on 20 issues that the workers’ compensation industry should have on their radar for 2017 with Insurance Thought Leadership. These issues include the impact of the election, OSHA, rates and premiums and long-tail exposures to name a few. Click here to…