A Look Back at ’23: Our Top 12 (and a Few More) Stories from the Old Year

Louisville, KY (WorkersCompensation.com) -- Here at the Santa's workshop that is the WorkersCompensation.com news desk, we are raising a toast to the old year and hanging high hopes on the new.

To help us close out 2023 and welcome in 2024, we're taking a look back on our favorite stories from the past year.

January
Story: Case Management Focus: 8 Tips for Return to Work (01/10/23).
What we liked: Anne Llewellyn gave us a handful of easy-to-understand and easy-to-follow steps to bring a worker back on the job successfully from the worker's perspective.

Honorable Mention
Story: Preventing Workplace Shootings Means Planning for Them, Expert Says (01/31/23)
What we liked: While the topic isn't something that thrills us, we hope that more awareness means fewer tragedies. This story presents tips to make the workplace as safe as possible.

February
Story: Eagles' Linebacker Ties Broken Thumb to Getting from Team, Shows Right to Benefits (02/08/23)
What we liked: We love sports here at the WorkersCompensation.com news desk, so when a case involving a team that was just about to play in the Super Bowl came out, we had to be all over it.

Honorable Mention
Story: Early Morning Remains Hot Spot for Worker Stress (02/21/23)
What we liked: Many of us know the grind of getting the kids, spouse, and ourselves ready to go and out the door, so it was validating to hear Chriss Swaney tell us that 7:23 a.m. is the most stressful part of the day for adults. Many times has there been the high stress of missing laundry, oversleeping teens, and forgotten lunch boxes before the WorkersCompensation.com news desk fires up for business in the morning.

March
Story: Survey Reveals Quarter of Physicians Have Suicidal Thoughts (03/09/23)
What we liked: If you're anything like us, you had a lack of awareness on what psychiatric challenges doctors face. According to a survey, 9 percent of males and 11 percent of female physicians admitted to having thoughts about attempting suicide. 

Honorable Mention
Story: What Do You Think: Did Va. Exclusivity Bar Section 504 Lawsuit? (03/23/23)
What we liked: It's not often that Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and workers' compensation law cross paths, but when they do, it makes for an interesting case applying Virginia law.

April
Story: Pa. Dollar General Fined for 'Willful' Safety Violations (04/14/23)
What we liked: If there was a topic that was a motif this year, it was discount stores going cheap on worker safety. We're not the first in line to scream about "profits over people," but based on what several retail chains were charged with, we can see why people might have some less-than-friendly questions for a few retail heavies.

Honorable Mention
Story: Botched 'Orgasm Shot' Ends in $800K Payout to Employee (04/18/23)
What we liked: Honestly, it's just great when a story has a happy ending.

May
Story: Unwitnessed Claims: 10 Strategies for Employers to Prevail (05/29/23)
What we liked: Dr. Claire Muselman gave us practical tips on what to do in case of a real-life problem.

Honorable Mention
Story: Bringing Gear Home Gives No Benefit to Employer, so Conn. Firefighter Loses Claim (05/31/23)
What we liked: This one gave us a good look at the "personal privilege" doctrine in Connecticut.

June
Story: Compliance Analysis: N.Y. Voluntary Withdrawal from Labor Market (06/26/23)
What we liked: This was a clean break down of a point of New York workers' compensation law, illustrated with a case example.

Honorable Mention
Story: New Study Suggests Napping Associated with Greater Brain Volume (06/28/23)
What we liked: We were going to get down to work, but we wanted a bigger brain, so we took a snooze.

July
Story: Unraveling the Impact of Climate Change on Workers' Compensation (07/16/23)
What we liked: Climate change is nothing new, but how much do you know about the connection to worker's compensation?

Honorable Mention
Story: Can You Believe it? Genital Tuberculosis Flare Up didn't Connect to Work (07/24/23)
What we liked: Every now and then it's helpful to look at an oldie but a goodie. This one focused on a 1929 case where the issue was whether a work-related hernia awakened "a quiescent tuberculosis of the genitals."

August
Story: Injection Treatment's Allowing Minn. Worker to Hold Job, Cut Opioids Warrants Application of 'Rare Case Exception' (08/16/23)
What we liked: Exceptions to the rule are always interesting, and this one helped a worker curb her intake of oxies.

Honorable Mention
Story: Recent Study Suggests Football Players at Greater Risk of Parkinson's Disease (08/24/23)
What we liked: We told you we like sports. We also like when they can be made safer.

September
Story: From Stigma to Support: A Call to Action for Workplace Mental Health (09/21/23)
What we liked: Shining a light on psychiatric illness can only help. Defeating stigma can save and enrich lives.

Honorable Mention
Story: New York Grocery Store Owner Accused of Spanking, Abusing Employees (09/26/23)
What we liked: We've heard a bunch of stories about bad bosses over the years, but it's hard to remember a tale of anyone getting a smack on the tush from their supervisor.

October
Story: OSHA's Knocking? Answer the Door with Confidence (10/02/23)
What we liked: Practical tips from well-versed experts for real-life situations. This is news you can use.

Honorable Mention
Story: It Costs Nothing to be Kind, or Maybe it Costs $8 Billion. Either Way, it's Worth 'Giving While Living' (10/13/23)
What we liked: Chuck Feeney was da man! What a legacy and lesson he left for all of us.

November
Story: What Do You Think: Did Laborer's Testicle Swelling, Pain Stem from Fall at Work? (11/08/23)
What we liked: While the headline might veer toward clickbait, the story is a good reminder that digging into the chronology of when things happen can sometimes make or break a claim.

Honorable Mention
Story: Retail Workers More Likely to be Injured in January than During Holidays (11/21/23)
What we liked: While conventional wisdom might have told us that the Black Friday-Christmas Eve span would be risky for workers, it's actually the new year that is more dangerous.

December
(We're a little timid at the news desk about picking a December story already, but we'll call this "December so far." This isn't print media -- we can always make changes)

Story: Justice O'Connor's Legacy Includes Workers' Compensation Rulings (12/01/23)
What we liked: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor shattered the glass ceiling at the U.S. Supreme Court. During her time on the bench, she also penned the majority opinion in a few cases that had a workers' compensation component and, along the way, unintentionally fueled the fire to change the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Honorable Mention
Story: What Do You Think: Was Worker's Strip Club Visit Part of Energy Equipment Company's Mission? (12/03/23)
What we liked: We didn't like much about this story because it involved the death of a worker following a night of drinking capped off by a visit to a "gentlemen's club." But the case did provide important lessons on the "coming and going rule" in Texas.

We want to thank you for reading our articles and newsletters and tuning in to our sporadic video casts this year. We couldn't do this without you, and we look forward to another great year with you in 2024. From all of us at the WorkersCompensation.com news desk, Happy Holidays!

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