Off-site Archive

  April 03, 2019 DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, HUMAN TRAFFICKING, AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION Written by: Judge David Langham Recently, Fox News reported  Detective assigned to murdered 21-year-old Utah female student-athlete's case is out of job: report . The underlying issue with the college student involved her relationship, which had eroded. She felt threatened by her ex-boyfriend and contacted the police for help. Much that I have read suggests it is not uncommon for some people to be disinclined to seek police support in a variety of potentially violent situations. Victims who overcome their reservations, in some instances, have complained that they do not perceive themselves as being taken seriously by officials. Some contend that the way police react to such reporting contributes to the unwillingness or resistance to reporting.  In this instance, the young lady student was “threatened with compromising photos,” and she contacted the police at her university campus. She receive...

  February 19, 2019 “EVIL PREVAILS WHEN GOOD MEN FAIL TO ACT.” By Judge David Langham There are great failings in our world. Some are the result of malfeasance, that is, people doing bad things. Some are misfeasance, people failing to do things in an appropriate manner. And, some failings are the simple result of all of us being way too busy, too involved, and thus spread too thin, distracted, and frankly exhausted. Edmund Burke, a  champion of conservative thought , said  that “ evil prevails when good men fail to act .” Undoubtedly, there is not one among us that is doing all we can, every day, to make this world a better place (O . K . , perhaps Captain America, Wonder Woman,  etc., but  you get the picture).  In September, the  Comp Laude ®  will convene in Huntington Beach, California. Through its iterations in Burbank, San Diego, and now Huntington Beach, the Laude strives to act, to do good, and to recognize the multitude of workers’ compen...

  January 29, 2019 IS IT A CRISIS, SHOULD IT MATTER? By Judge David Langham There has been ample discussion of Worker’s Compensation in recent years. I was recently at a meeting where the system and potentials for reform were discussed. The question arose, “where is the crisis?” Essentially the sentiment is that absent acute distress there is no perceived necessity of intervention. That is, the systems do not need attention, legislative or regulatory, absent some crisis.  That perspective is not isolated or new. There are those who perceive that legislative interventions in workers' compensation have ever only occurred when a crisis was perceived. Similarly, it seems plausible that there are literally millions of people today who are individually in no acute personal distress. Their personal health is not in crisis, although they may experience issues that are potentially affecting their longevity. Because they are not in acute distress, they do not seek either care or change....

  November 21, 2018 THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAY? By Judge David Langham We pause this week to give thanks. As I sat to pen this piece, I asked myself for what am I thankful? That is easy to answer in so many personal ways. If I could channel the open-book frankness of David DePaolo, I would share all of those personal feelings. But, alas, I am instead both shy and private. For me, sharing of my non-professional life is exceedingly rare, and is not forthcoming today. As to why I am professionally thankful, instead of personally though, I will strive to express myself. But first, I digress in the spirit of the holiday. The first Thanksgiving was in 1621, as the legend goes. According to the  History Channel , “colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations.” That was almost 400 years ago, and perhaps the upcoming 400th celebration will require a commemoration that is exceptional? You know, per...

  October 19, 2018 NORMALCY? By Judge David Langham This week I am watching people traverse a proverbial long road to normalcy. On Sunday, October 7, 2018 Florida Governor Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in 26 Florida counties. This stretched from the Alabama state line (Pensacola) to Interstate 75 (Columbia County, around Lake City). The breadth was over 300 miles. #Michael had formed in the lower Gulf of Mexico and pred ictions showed him headed  north,  fast. Predictions are a difficult thing. Many people discuss disasters, particularly immediately after one. Whether flood, earthquake, fire, tornado, hurricane, or otherwise, people have both lived through one and recovered from one. To a person, they all  acknowledge the impact and the effect on their lives. But, they also seem eager to compare their own risk to others’. We hear “at least with _______” there is _____,” or “at least we did not have to face ________.” There is a tendency to find something i...