Lost Google Worker Wins Claim for Injury After Office Happy Hour

• A Google executive who got lost looking for a bus after a work happy hour event in New York City when two motorized bicycles hit him crossing a street, won their claim appeal before the state’s WCB panel.
• The panel said the happy hour was part of the workday and because it altered the usual geographical scheme of travel, the event altered the employee’s risks. 
• The fact that the executive had left the event and was unfamiliar with his surroundings appeared to be the difference in the panel’s reasoning, according to Theodore Eder, of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby LLP.
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Saskatchewan Expands WC Coverage of Firefighter Cancers

• Canada’s Saskatchewan province has expanded occupational disease coverage to include six additional forms of cancer for firefighters. 
• Effective on Tuesday, the province’s workers’ comp program covers penile, pancreatic, thyroid, soft tissue sarcoma, mesothelioma and laryngeal cancer.
• Other changes include simplifying the medical review panel process and providing compensation to a worker’s dependent children when the worker dies from a non-work-related injury while on compensation, no matter the length of time on compensation.
• The provincial government said in a news release that on Jan. 1, the amended definition of “worker” will come into force, removing executive officers and including secondary and post-secondary students in recognized programs.
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Former DentalWorks USA Acquired by Carisk Partners

• The specialty managed care company previously known as DentalWorks USA has been acquired by Carisk Partners, a leading specialty risk transfer and care coordination company focused on the workers’ compensation space.
• Now operating as HeadsUp Healthcare, the company focuses exclusively on above-the-neck injuries.
• Carisk said HeadsUp programs will now include behavioral health, neurological and more complex concussive conditions, providing integrated care that addresses both physical and behavioral health.
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NY WCB Sets Coverage Essentials Webinar

• The New York Workers’ Compensation Board is continuing its monthly Coverage Essentials for Businesses webinar next week, with a free session on the basics of the WC system.
• The one-hour program at noon on Oct. 8 will cover insurance types, coverage requirements, and employers’ obligations under the law.
• The WCB recommends the program for business owners and their HR staff.
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