Cavalcade of Risk – Emily Holbrook hosts this week’s Cavalcade of Risk at Risk Management Monitor – go check it out. If you are interested in risk and insurance – and presumably so if you are reading this blog — then RMM should be on your must-read blog list. If you aren’t familiar with it yet, take a few minutes to poke around the archives Emily and Jared consistently do a terrific job on an array of risk related matters. It covers everything from bedbugs to earthquake hotspots.
Substance abuse & WC – Roberto Ceniceros posts about a controversy over stats citing the prevalence of drug and alcohol use in workers comp accidents and claims. Merchants Information Solutions says they are a factor in 65% of all accidents and 50% of all claims. Peter Rousmaniere disputes this and puts his money where his mouth is. “And here is why Rousmaniere thinks potentially exaggerated claims about the prevalence of alcohol and drugs in workers comp claims is dangerous: he says it “perpetuates an unhealthy tendency to shift attention away from safe worksite policies and towards blaming the worker.”
Prescription drugs – Joe Paduda talks about the recent WCRI benchmark report on prescription drugs in Washington and explains why what works in Washington likely won’t work elsewhere.
Spinal Cord Injuries – Kelly Scott posts about spinal cord injuries, noting that September is spinal cord injury awareness month.
Changing workforce – Lots of good reading in The Atlantic recently. Well, more than recently, but a few caught our eye over Labor Day. Sara Horowitz makes the case that the freelance surge is the industrial revolution of our time, with a follow-on article about a jobs plan for the post-cubicle economy. And, also of note, a slide show on 7 Jobs that are making thousands of workers sick
Illinois – Ameet Sachdev of The Chicago Tribune charts changes to the workers compensation law.
Cool Tool – We just discovered OSHA’s $afety Pays Cost Estimator, an interactive expert system to assist employers in estimating the costs of occupational injuries and illnesses and the impact on a company’s profitability. Hat tip to the post at Safety Daily Advisor, which talks more about the tool.
Reminder: September 22 – If you haven’t signed up yet, head on over to Business Insurance and register for Virtual Advantage 2011 – Workers Comp Trends & Cost Control Strategies. We’re very pleased that our own Tom Lynch will be participating on a blogger panel with three other blog luminaries: Roberto Ceniceros, Joe Paduda, and Mark Walls. There will also be a keynote by NCCI’s Harry Shuford, an expert panel on pharmaceutical cost controls for worker’s comp – and more. It’s a one-day virtual conference – and best of all – there is no charge to attend.
Tags: alcohol, drugs, Illinois, spinal cord
