At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference a session discussed efforts in Washington State and Washington DC to promote return to work following a work injury. The speakers were: Moderator: Dr. John W. Ruser, WCRI Speakers: Ms. Jennifer Sheehy, U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) Prof. Tom Wickizer, University of Washington School of Public Health Washington State Much of the work related disability could be significantly reduced with more efficient and effective occupational medicine treatment. Washington has a monopolistic workers’ compensation system which enables them to have a greater degree of control over claims and medical providers
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At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference, a session discussed a variety of research and efforts relating to the opioid epidemic. Moderator: Mr. Tim Hassett-Salley, WCRI Speakers: Dr. Vennela Thumula, WCRI Dr. Letitia Davis, Massachusetts Department of Public Health Ms. Jacqueline Kurth, Industrial Commission of Arizona Mr. Jason Porter, Industrial Commission of Arizona WCRI Research Older workers tended to receive slightly more opioid prescriptions than younger ones. Specifically, 42% of workers age 23-38 received an opioid prescription vs 49% of workers over age 55. From an industry standpoint, mining and construction workers had a higher percentage of opioid prescriptions compared to
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At the 2019 WCRI Annual Conference, Dr. John W. Ruser, WCRI and Prof. Alan Kruegar, Princeton University, kicked off the conference with a keynote focused on the opioid epidemic, participation in the US labor force, and the state of the US economy. Opioid Epidemic The opioid overdose rate in the US has been steadily climbing since 1999 and it has increased over 250% during this time period. In 2017 over 70,000 Americans died from a drug overdose. This crisis is impacting mortality rates in the US as life expectancies have been declining here since 2000 directly linked to drug overdoses. The
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At the 2019 PARMA Annual Conference, Kimberly George from Sedgwick and Mark Walls from Safety National hosted a live “Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark” event focused on disaster planning and response for public entities. The panelists were: Martin Brady – Schools Insurance Authority Tim Karcz – California Joint Powers Insurance Authority Bill Simonson – State of California Office of Risk Managment PRE-EVENT PLANNING Disaster planning starts at the local level. It should include a large cross section of your public entity officials including police, firefighters, emergency services, elected officials, schools, utilities, street/highway departments, risk management, etc. The bigger
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At the 2019 PARMA Annual Conference, Kimberly George from Sedgwick and Mark Walls from Safety National hosted a live “Out Front Ideas with Kimberly and Mark” event that featured a panel of risk managers discussing their biggest challenges. The panelists were: Michael Alio – County of Orange Sergio Cazorla – Baldwin Park USD Steven Robles – County of Los Angeles Jonathan Shull – California Joint Powers Insurance Authority The panel discussed a wide variety of topics including: CYBER Your employees are your front line of defense. This requires constant training for them to identifying suspicious emails that may be an
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At the 2019 PARMA Annual Conference, Jeffrey Bonsall from Momentum Engineering discussed how accident reconstruction can be useful in investigating auto accidents. Steps in Accident Investigation Determine causal factors Collect and retain data Access damages Provide key information to make informed decisions Effectively communicate with experts Access the necessity of working with other experts Useful Data Sources For Accident Investigation Police reports Online video including news video Social media Repair estimates Quality photos (original JPEG file) Deposition testimony and recorded Statements Transportation engineering records A rapid response accident investigation will include: Preserving evidence through early scene documentation and physical evidence
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In this presentation at the PARMA 2019 Annual Risk Management Conference, Anthony Andreoni, PE, MBA, ASE, at Jensen Hughes, provided information about the latest autonomous vehicle technologies and driver-assist systems. According to SAE International, the global leader in technical learning for the mobility industry, there are currently five levels of autonomy for vehicles: Level 0 – No Automation: Zero autonomy. The driver performs all driving tasks. Level 1 – Driver Assistance: Vehicle is controlled by the driver, but includes some driving assistance features. Level 2 – Partial Automation: Has combined automated functions like acceleration and steering, but the driver must
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All too often, public agency loss runs contain a high number of unresolved claims or future medical claims where sworn officers will not consider settlement. It is a phenomenon that every agency grapples with and no one seems to have the solution. This session at the PARMA 2019 Annual Risk Management Conference investigated why this occurs and explored ideas to help settle these claims. Speakers included: Keith Epstein, Hanna Brophy Law Firm Alexander Wong, Jones Clifford Law Firm Frank Grgurina, Ret. Public Safety Director City of Sunnyvale Remembering the Mission: To Protect & Serve Many agencies with sworn officers are
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This session at the PARMA 2019 Annual Risk Management Conference highlighted best practices for prevention, management and handling of cyber-related claims. Speakers included James P. Wagoner at McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth Graham Van Leuven at Clyde & Co. Lejf E. Knutson at McCormick, Barstow, Sheppard, Wayte & Carruth Assessing Cyber Vulnerabilities The following types of risks exist in all organizations: Data breach – Wrongful disclosure, unverified disclosure or computer security failure to prevent outside access. Phishing – A targeted attack to gain user credentials or gain access to a machine or network. Fraudulent Fund Transfers – Fraudulent emails
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At the 2019 PARMA Annual Conference, a panel discussed sexual harassment claims. The speakers were: Brenna Hampton – Hannah Brophy Teresa McGinty – Hannah Brophy Tyrone Spears – City of Los Angeles Under California law, sexual harassment is defined as negative, inappropriate or unwanted conduct directed towards a worker based on their: Sex Gender and gender identity Marital status Sexual orientation Pregnancy or pregnancy related medical condition Childbirth. There are two main types of sexual harassment: Quid pro quo – Employment is conditional upon the employee’s acceptance of a supervisor’s unwelcome sexual advances Hostile work environment – Inappropriate and unwelcome
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