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September 18, 2013
5-day Forecast Tulsa World  
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13 killed in Washington shooting rampage

A defense contractor employee went on a shooting rampage Monday inside a building at the heavily secured Washington Navy Yard, spraying bullets in the hallways and firing from a balcony onto office workers in an atrium below, authorities and witnesses said. Thirteen people were killed, including the gunman.

 
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OSU will investigate claims made in Sports Illustrated series

Citing a strong appetite for its "Dirty Game" series on Oklahoma State football, Sports Illustrated released the fifth and final chapter a day earlier than originally announced.

 
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BNSF to invest $125 million in state projects

BNSF Railway Co. announced Monday it is spending $125 million to expand and improve its system in Oklahoma. Projects will include a new bypass connection at the Cherokee rail yard in west Tulsa and extending a siding area on the carrier's tracks near Mannford.

 
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Shooting At Navy Yard

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Albums of autumn: 22 new and upcoming music releases to get excited about

As summer fades, so do the songs and sounds of summer. But that gives way to a fall music bonanza.

 
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Workers compensation

Overview: Less than a year after passing sweeping reforms to the state's workers compensation court system, state lawmakers are poised once again to make the issue their top priority. For more than 20 years, state lawmakers have debated and approved laws to fix the state's compensation system. Oklahoma has consistently been ranked among the top nationally in surveys of workers comp insurance rates.

Neighboring states such as Texas and Arkansas were once ranked in the top states in terms of workers comp rates with Oklahoma but have passed radical reforms and rankings of insurance costs -- if not costs themselves -- have fallen dramatically in those states. Oklahoma also ranks high in the number of cases involving back injuries and surgeries and holds hearings in contested cases at a much higher rate, the state Chamber of Commerce and legislative leaders say.

Judges say those statistics are wrong and that businesses are at fault at any rate because they are less willing to settle. Judges and almost every other player in the system except lawmakers say the Legislature should give reforms passed last year time to work before passing new laws.

Other critics caution such reforms focus only on saving employers and insurance companies money at the cost of worker safety. They say the Legislature has had the power all along to make one key change that impacts many contested cases: the maximum weekly wage paid to workers seeking permanent partial disability status.

The Tulsa World has collected past stories on the topic, resources for more information and offers new analysis of court data spanning the past five years.

HEADLINES
Fighting injuries: Fire chief responds to high number of workers comp claims

Fighting injuries: Fire chief responds to high number of workers comp claims   5/18/2013

The Fire Department's injury incident rate in 2011 was four times the national rate, with more than one injury for every two firefighters.

CONTINUING COVERAGE: Read past storiesand view dataand documentsrelated to workerscompensationissues.

Oklahoma House passes workers comp bill   4/25/2013

House Republicans united behind a comprehensive workers compensation reform bill that was ardently sought by leadership and business interests and overpowered Democratic opposition with a 74-24 vote on Wednesday that would seem to all but settle the matter.

Workers comp reform, tax-cut agreements hinted at   4/18/2013

The Legislature is days away from making some announcements on historic agreements, House Speaker T.W. Shannon said Wednesday.
Secretive group, Oklahoma Works, opposes workers comp changes

Secretive group, Oklahoma Works, opposes workers comp changes   4/14/2013

A secretive group is spending thousands of dollars on political ads calling for the defeat of legislation that would dramatically change the workers compensation system in Oklahoma, records show.

Workers comp rewrite still has a ways to go, lawmaker says   4/14/2013

One of the lawmakers most involved in a massive rewrite of the state's workers compensation laws says he's confident the job will get done before the Legislature adjourns in late May.

Committee sends workers comp reform bill to full House   4/10/2013

The House of Representatives Judiciary Committee sent its version of workers compensation reform to the floor Tuesday on a party-line vote that suggested that the Republican majority might stick together on the matter this year.

Workers comp proposal could initially double costs for state   3/8/2013

Switching from a workers compensation court system to an administrative system in Oklahoma would about double the state's annual operating cost - at least initially, said Michael Clingman, court administrator.

Workers comp reform bill passed by state Senate   2/28/2013

The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday passed a bill that would dramatically reduce benefits to people injured on the job in an effort to reel in workers compensation costs.

Workers comp move to administrative system gets Gov. Mary Fallin's support   2/22/2013

Overhauling Oklahoma's workers compensation court and replacing it with an administrative system has the support of the governor.
City of Tulsa plans changes to cut down on workers compensation claims, costs

City of Tulsa plans changes to cut down on workers compensation claims, costs   2/10/2013

Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett and other city officials say they are trying to repair the 'three-legged stool' that forms the wobbly foundation of the city's high workers compensation costs.

DHS leads state agencies in workers compensation court settlement costs   2/10/2013

Two state agencies are among the 10 biggest spenders - public and private - in the state when it comes to the cost of workers compensation court settlements, a Tulsa World analysis shows.
Employers like Texas workers comp

Employers like Texas workers comp   1/21/2013

Fixing employees' bad backs, sore knees and other work-related injuries costs Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby three times as much in Oklahoma as it does in Texas or Arkansas.
Proactive business cuts workers comp costs

Proactive business cuts workers comp costs   1/14/2013

Tulsa businessman Larry Mocha is all for workers compensation reform. He's served on several committees and task forces concerned with the evergreen issue and is on the board of directors of CompSource, the state-owned 'insurer of last resort' for Oklahoma employers.
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