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I blog twice a week, usually on Mondays and Wednesdays. I have a lot of respect for those who have the energy to produce more often or even daily like Bob Wilson (Bob's Cluttered Desk) and David DePaolo (DePaolo's Workcomp World). But I take to the blogophere this morning because the world of workers' compensation has many questions this morning. Could Aug. 13, 2014, be a "red letter day" in workers' compensation across the country? Click here to read more:

Lee County's growing construction activity may be good for builders and remodelers but for 14 unlicensed contractors from Lee and Collier counties it was a bad time to place an ad for work. The Lee County Sheriff's Office Economic Crimes Unit conducted a three-day sting targeting unlicensed contractors. It began that Tuesday at a home in San Carlos Park. Click here to read more:

The Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice'sOffice of Chief State's Attorney issued the following news: KATHLEEN WILLIAMS, age 66, of 1335 Fleming Avenue 52, Ormond Beach, Florida,was arrested today and charged with one count each of Workers' Compensation Fraud and Larceny in the First Degree. According to the arrest warrant affidavit, in July of 1986, Williams' husband sustained a work-related injury and, as a result of that injury, began to receive permanent total disability workers' compensation benefits. From January of 2008 through August 2009, Liberty Mutual Insurance made several attempts to resolve the remainder of the claim with a lump sum settlement benefit payment to Williams' husband. All Settlement offers made by Liberty Mutual were rejected, according to the warrant. Click here to read more:

A Miami-Dade judge struck a blow Wednesday against Florida’s workers’ comp law, which was already under attack on several fronts. A Miami judge declared Florida’s long-controversial workers’ compensation law unconstitutional saying successive state legislatures had so diminished medical care and wage-loss benefits for injured workers the statute now violates employees’ “fundamental” rights. Click here to read more:

An Orange County restaurant owner is facing felony charges because investigators say she didn't carry workers' compensation insurance. The owner of Greek Flame Taverna, in the Doctor Phillips' area, was arrested as she came back into the country from a trip abroad. Click here to read more:

The issue of medical marijuana in the workers’ comp arena is approaching a crucial “tipping point,” and producers who haven’t taken action on behalf of their clients could be in for some nasty surprises. That’s the message from PRIUM Senior Vice President Mark Pew, a 30-year workers’ comp vet and opinion leader on the medical marijuana front. It was also the message of a roundtable discussion at the 2014 CLM Annual Conference in Florida. Click here to read more:

The vast majority of workers at a Naples, Florida, produce packing plant are accused in a scheme to commit workers compensation fraud, the Florida Department of Financial Services said Tuesday. Some 146 employees, many of them immigrant workers, at Fruit Dynamics L.L.C. have been charged with workers comp fraud as a result of an identity theft investigation that began in mid-2013, Maj. Geoffrey Branch of the state agency told Business Insurance in an email. Click here to read more:

In what could be a first-of-its-kind decision in Florida, an appeals court ruled Tuesday that a man suffering from head injuries was not entitled to treatment from a Spanish-speaking psychologist as part of a workers-compensation insurance claim. The issue stems from a 2012 accident in which roofing-company employee Jesus Trejo-Perez was seriously injured, including suffering head injuries, when he fell 30 to 40 feet while on a job in Hillsborough County, according to documents in the case. Click here to read more:

Liberty Mutual Insurance said it has agreed to sell Summit Holdings Southeast Inc. and its related companies to American Financial Group (AFG) in an all-cash transaction valued at $250 million. Based in Lakeland, Florida, Summit sells workers’ compensation in the Southeast and has approximately $520 million of premium written. Click here to read more:

Teen Challenge of Florida Inc., an international rehabilitation program, has been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration with 25 safety and health violations following an inspection of the company's facilities in Pensacola. OSHA initiated the July 2013 inspection after receiving a complaint alleging safety and health hazards. Proposed penalties total $228,600. Click here to read more:

We need climate change in the State of Florida. Big time! What kind of climate change you may ask? Well, I ask you this: when you think of “workers’ compensation fraud,” what comes to mind? The “injured” worker collecting a disability check and caught on video climbing on a roof, working, right? Well, hold your horses! That knife cuts both ways. Carriers and Employers can commit “fraud” too. It just doesn’t make great headlines when an employer or insurance carrier commits workers’ compensation fraud, because there is usually no spectacular video. The result: no media coverage = no political coverage = injured workers get shut out of Tallahassee. Click here to read more:

Palm Beach firefighter/paramedic Jeremy DeRosa was booked into the Palm Beach County Jail on Dec. 12, charged with one count of workers’ compensation fraud. State officials allege he misrepresented the extent of an injury while out of work and collecting his full pay under workers’ compensation. Click here to read more: