This blog has covered many topics. From opioids to constitutional challenges; from attorney ethics to cybersecurity; from California to Massachusetts; from the Hot Seat to SAWCA; from conferences in Florida, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, Kentucky, Texas, California, Mississippi, Georgia, Virginia, and more. There has been discussion of positive aspects of workers' compensation, challenges, victories, and shortcomings. Undoubtedly, at some point, someone has likely felt criticized or faulted, though I have striven mightily to avoid that. On occasion, a critic or two has made their ire known.
On March 12, 2012, the first Workers' Compensation blog ran on this space. That day began an odyssey, and the post was titled Changes at the OJCC for Fiscal Year 2013 (In Florida, our fiscal year begins July 1). I find myself today a decade older. In all, a total of just under 1,400 posts now litter this little corner of the Internet. Recently, the schedule has been three posts per week, but over the decade it averages to about 2.7. Perhaps one or two have helped someone better understand the law, the role of judges, the professionalism of attorneys, the challenges of medicine, the community of workers' compensation, and perhaps more.
Since I began in this space, I have seen these posts re-posted on sites like WorkersCompensation.com, WorkCompCentral, Comp and Benefits Today, The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Section, and various law firms, associations, and other websites. Many have been republished in newsletters like the NAWCJ Lex and Verum, which I started for judges in 2009 and edited for over 100 monthly editions over almost a decade. I have never turned down a republication request, and am grateful to have seen these thoughts on those larger platforms. I have forayed periodically onto other platforms in parallel, including articles in The News and 440 Report, The Lex and Verum, and various other journals and magazines. I have written many pieces, made many grammatical errors, and even printed a couple of explanations, but no retractions (see above re ire).
In the decade since 2012, I have been humbled by the overall response to these pages. It is impractical to authenticate how many discrete views or reads these posts have attracted, but calculating conservatively, there have been at least 2.4 million views, and it is likely just over 3 million. The conservative 2.4 million equates to about 1,700 views per post. I strive to ignore the statistics, ignore what topics draw views, avoid clickbait titles, and work to remain true to writing about what I find interesting or informative for this workers' compensation community. In fairness, I primarily write for myself. Despite that, I am pleased when I find others viewing these posts.
I am comfortable that I am likely less successful as regards statistics than the best major league batters. The best batters in the history of that game struck out more than 60% of the time. In the back of my head as I write this is Lloyd Benson's voice reminding me "Dave" (I never knew Senator Benson, but Dan Quayle always called me "Dave," You can Call me Dave, July 2021), but I digress . . . "Dave, I played with Ty Cobb. I knew Ty Cobb. Ty Cobb was a friend of mine. Dave, you're no Ty Cobb." And, Senator Benson would be right, I am no Ty Cobb. But, perhaps, I occasionally catch the corner of one and eek out a stand-up double on these pages or elsewhere?
It is rare anymore for me to meet someone who does not comment upon some posting here. People have opinions, questions, and comments. Sometimes they are complimentary of these pages, sometimes not so much. One favorite comment came from a Kansas attorney of significant repute who said "I always enjoy reading your blog . . . (long pause) don't always agree with it, but always enjoy reading it." That is fair. It illustrates that perhaps these pages generate comprehension, discussion, and even disagreement. I am persistently surprised that people seem to think disagreement is a bad thing. It is not. I enjoy debate and discussion. My favorite public interactions are with people who hold different views and are willing to say so.
If you are one of my readers (if you aren't congratulations on receiving this message through other means), I appreciate the time you spend reading these posts. I really appreciate the comments on LinkedIn, the emails, the phone calls, and the personal comments. I hope that this last decade of work has been of value. I am very grateful for the critics, criticisms, compliments, and suggestions. I value those criticisms more highly than you might expect.
Since 2015, I have averaged three posts per week. There are those of you who express wonder at that volume. I have never been as prolific as the "real" bloggers. David DePaolo one year posted every workday, over 250 posts. Bob Wilson similarly seems to never lack for inspiration and subject matter. Mark Walls has a knack for spotting the essence of any program or presentation and distilling them with an apparent ease. This community has many great writers. They inspired me to try my hand at this a decade ago and to persevere since. Despite perhaps not matching their volume, I am proud of the content here.
Perhaps one day, after the world has circled the sun several more times, someone will return to these pages after I have moved on and happen upon the perspectives of "that guy that was the deputy chief judge back then." Perhaps there will be some nugget in these ramblings that stands the test of time, or perhaps they will universally be mounds of digital detritus. Either way, I have enjoyed penning them and have grown through the challenges and experience.
My apologies for the introspection and your likely boredom by this point of the post. I think we all benefit from our own periodic retrospection. Today, I bring nothing new to the table, but merely take stock in the last decade of posts and reflect. I appreciate your patience with my pause and invite your thoughts and criticisms.
