Louis’ Blog

Louis' Blog

As a tribute to Louis van Assen’s lifelong contribution to Workers’ Compensation, we have elected to keep his blogs up on our site for all to read. Please read with renewed appreciation these insights derived from his ongoing commitment to a field in which he believed.


I have often wondered what the universal problems are that are encountered in countries with workers’ compensation systems similar to ours. To establish what the position is, I have done a bit of rese …

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Introduction Subsequent to the April 2010 column which amongst others addressed the lack of understanding of the COID Act, I would like to briefly discuss the essence of the training problem that exis …

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April 2010

“I coined the term ‘future shock’ to describe the shattering stress and disorientation that we induce in individuals by subjecting them to too much change in too short a short time” –Alvin Toffler:  “ …

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The Messenger In classics times, messages were delivered in person by someone entrusted with the duty. The messenger, not covered by the modern labour law, was in many cases killed by the receiver of …

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As time goes by, to quote the song, things change whether we like it or not. As society with all its intricacies changes, it also means that legislation, rules and everything associated with them need …

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The Ongoing Debate The question whether the Compensation Commissioner should be paying for prophylactic treatment in cases such as needle prick injuries is an ongoing debate. I know from experience th …

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Common Law As previously discussed, in the absence of any workers’ compensation legislation the employee could sue the employer if his or her injury was caused by the negligence of the latter.  That w …

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It is with some interest that I recently read the following in a journal on workers compensation. My interest is in the fact that the document is published from a source in North America yet the paral …

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Labour Brokers During the past few months we have all witnessed the vitriolic debate about the existence and operation of labour brokers. The matter is now with NEDLAC and the outcome is highly uncert …

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Spring is in the air and with it have arrived hay fever and a few other ailments besides. To prevent avoidable deterioration of my immune system, I have avoided opening a newspaper except for emergenc …

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