At the 2017 California Workers’ Compensation and Risk Conference, a panel discussed using social media as a claims investigation tool and also the importance of performance metrics in evaluating your program. The speakers included: Steve Cassell – President & CEO, Command Investigations LLC Andy Olwert – President, Next Level Administrators Beth Savelli – Risk Manager, Swissport USA Social Media Investigations Statistically speaking, 85% of people in the U.S. are engaged in some form of social media – be it Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or something else. Because of this high penetration, there is a good chance your injured workers are using
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Understanding the intersection between employment law, the interactive process and workers’ compensation is complicated. At the 2017 California Workers’ Compensation and Risk Conference, Negar Matian, Managing Partner, Matian Law Group, Dana Peterson, Senior Partner, Seyfarth Labor Law Firm, and Darin Hampton, National Safety Coordinator, International Paper Company, led a conversation to explain the intersection between employment law, the interactive process and workers’ compensation in depth. ADA/FEHA and workers’ compensation apply to virtually all employees in California, depending on the employer’s size. Workers’ compensation requires a medical care provider’s note identifying injury or illness, and ER frequently requires a care provider
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At the 2017’s CWC and Risk conference a panel discussed some of their oddest, weirdest, and most bizarre claims they have seen in their careers.The panel included: · Danny Flores, Global Associate Coordinator Workers Compensation, Whole Foods Market · Kurt Leisure, Vice President of Risk Services, The Cheesecake Factory, Inc. · Laurie Wenyon, Senior Manager, Claims, MasTec, Inc · Rich Lenkov, Partner, Bryce Downey & Lenkov (moderator) Kurt Leisure – December 2012, a woman comes into Cheesecake restaurant in California. Bus boy drops and breaks a wine glass. She claims that a piece of glass hits her left eye and
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Workers’ compensation is constantly evolving with new case law and legislation around the nation every year. Because of this, managing a workers’ compensation program is a huge challenge for risk managers. At the CWC and Risk conference Mark Walls lead a panel discussion around the state of workers’ compensation.  The panel included:  · Janine Kral, Vice President of Risk Management, Nordstrom, Inc. · Jennifer Saddy, Director of Workers’ Comp/Corporate Insurance & Risk Management, American Airlines, Inc. · Miriam Levario, Director of Workers’ Compensation, Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. · Duane Hercules, President, Safety National · Rick Taketa, President and Chief Executive
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Marcos A. Iglesias, MD, MMM, FAAFP, FACOEM, Vice President and National Medical Director, The Hartford, lead a discussion on practical tools and techniques to help minimize employee’s disability and delayed recovery during a session at the WCI’s 2017 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference. Delayed recovery is the deviation from the happy path. Work means identity to most people. There are economic, physical, social and emotional factors that go along with getting back to the workplace. Work actually increasing our resilience and our coping mechanisms with our injury. When the injured worker is not working there are many factors that affect their
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In this session at WCI’s 2017 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, Brittany O’Neil, Senior Policy Coordinator of the Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation, shared how the Division is leveraging electronic claims, medical, and policy data reported to the Division as required by statute (69L-7.730, F.A.C. and section 440.185, F.S.). By accessing and providing this data in different ways, such as new applications, reports, and data-applied methodologies, the Division is providing unique services to carriers, employers, and other claims-handling entities to identify where they can increase their regulatory and business performance. There are three buckets of data utilized – policy data, medical
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Most do not know that the opioid epidemic, the parallel heroin epidemic and the momentum towards marijuana legalization are all interrelated. In this session at WCI’s 2017 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference, Mark Pew, Senior Vice President at PRIUM, discussed the impact of these drugs on the workers’ compensation system and what the future holds. The mantra being used by advocates around the country is that marijuana could be the solution for the opioid epidemic. In the workers’ compensation system, there is growing acceptance that marijuana can be a viable medical treatment, which has led to payers reimbursing for cannabis in
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As injuries continue to occur and claims increase, employers are often left scratching their head as to why. That is because “Telling” is not training. Normagene Dmytriw, Senior Safety & Occupational Health Specialist, Broward County Government, Risk Management lead a discussion at the WCI’s 2017 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference. As technology improves, and becomes more readily available and affordable, employers are looking to technology to provide creative and effective learning options. Gamification advantages Fun Engaging Sense of achievement  Gamification disadvantage  Winning over objectives Difficult to translate learners game progress to objectives Costs equipment costs and software costs OSHA Novelty wears
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From medical bills, to lost productivity, to the emotional toll that an accident takes on injured employees, employers face skyrocketing costs associated with workers’ compensation claims. This panel at WCI’s 2017 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference highlighted how onsite therapy can help properly manage workplace injuries when they occur. The panel included: Jaime Sigurdsson, CEAS, Director of Workers’ Compensation, CORA Health Services, Inc. Suzanne Mayberry, Associate Leave Manager, JM Family Enterprises, Inc. Sandra Santiago, ARNP, Crew Case Manager, Carnival Cruise Lines An onsite medical program is made up of two essential elements: 1.  Prevention Pre-Injury Program Job site analysis.  Safety seminars/body
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One of the things that makes workers’ compensation such a challenge for employers and carriers is the long-tail nature of the claims. This long tail means that premiums collected today must cover losses for years to come. The rising costs of these tail claims has a significant impact on both carriers and employers in terms of cost of insurance today and future reserves. At the WCI’s 2017 Workers’ Compensation Educational Conference a group discusses the financial impact of these growing liabilities on industry and provides strategies for reducing them. The speakers for this session were Matthew Cohen, VP Client Services,
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