Decided Dec. 10, 2008.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Parent Corporation Has 3rd Party Lien Rights
A NJ Appellate Court ruled that a workers' compensation carrier is permitted to enforce its right reimbursement against the third party recovery from a parent company of the employer. Liberty Mutual was permitted to "pierce the corporate veil." The Court declared, "...To do otherwise would be to condone a situation in which an injured employee collects workers' compensation benefits and thereafter receives monetary damages in a third-party liability action with no obligation to reimburse the workers' compensation insurer."
Washington Supreme Court Restricts Asbestos Claims
The Washington Supreme Court has taken a step back in time and rendered two significant decisions limiting he rights of asbestos victims to gain recovery. The Court ruled that if a company did not make asbestos products or manufacture them there was no duty to war. Speaking for the minority, Justice Debra Stephens wrote, "no duty to warn of a serious hazard it knew or should have known was involved in the use of its product ignores logic, common sense, and justice."
Decisions
Friday, December 12, 2008
Asbestos Continues to Reduce Potential Years of Life
Asbestos exposure continues to have high rates of death in the US. Potential years of lost life continue to be at epidemic proportions. The US CDC reports that premature mortality as a result of asbestos related disease continues to be at all time highs. Asbestos is still not banned in the US
Thursday, December 11, 2008
CMS to Mandate Use of WCIO Reporting Codes
In a telephone conference on December 12, 2008, CMS indicated that it will require the Workers Compensation Insurance Organizations reporting codes under the mandatory reporting procedures.
An explanation of the codes is available at on the WICO website.
Medicare Secondary Payer Mandatory Reporting
Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA) (P.L. 110-173), adds new mandatory reporting requirements for group health plan (GHP) arrangements and for liability insurance (including self-insurance), no-fault insurance, and workers' compensation. See 42 U.S.C. 1395y(b)(7) & (8).
Medical Costs Soar in Workers' Compensation
The cost of medical care has increased tremendously according to a recently issued report. The NCCI (National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc.) reports an increase in medical costs from 40% in the early 1980s to almost 60% currently.
NCCI reports that the increase appears to be national, "....Furthermore, although there are differences in the medical share by state, the change in the relative mix of states has had very little impact on the estimated countrywide share of medical and indemnity benefits."
The national workers' compensation medical delivery system has now become a focus of attention in light of the prospects of an overhaul of national health care system as medical costs continue to put American businesses at a economic disadvantage with foreign competitors. James Kvaal, in his article, "The Economic Imperative for Health Reform," highlights that "...ever rising medical costs are threatening to drive an unsustainable explosion in the national debt." Higher insurance premiums result in lower wages or lack of medical coverage all together and the loss of preventive care.
The costly and inadequate workers' compensation medical delivery system provides a fragmented approach to medical care. The system's focus should treat current medical conditions and provide for preventive care. The administrative costs savings in providing global coverage will translate into reduced delivery costs and a healthier work force. Some of the extra savings could be well spent on much needed medical research to avoid the need for costly medical care.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Putting Workers First - A Proposed Agenda for the Obama Administration
The Center for American Progress will host a program on Tuesday, December 8, 2008 to discuss how the Obama Administration may immediately improve upon the Bush's administration's poor track record for the ordinary American worker.
9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
Panel I: Enforcing Change: Strategies for the Obama Administration to Enforce Workers' Rights at the Department of Labor
Jordan Barab, Senior Labor Policy Advisor, Committee on Education and Labor, U.S. House of Representatives
Kim Bobo, Founder and Executive Director, Interfaith Worker Justice
Thomas E. Perez, Secretary, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation
Catherine K. Ruckelshaus, Litigation Director, National Employment Law Project
Karla Walter, Policy Analyst, American Worker Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Moderated by:
David Madland, Director, American Worker Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
10:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Keynote Address:
Governor Jon Corzine (D-NJ)
11:00 - 12:00
Panel II: Making Federal Contracting Work for the United States
Scott Amey, General Counsel, Project on Government Oversight
Margaret Daum, Counsel, House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
Richard C. Loeb, University of Baltimore School of Law
David Madland, Director, American Worker Project, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Moderated by:
Scott Lilly, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress Action Fund
Dry Cleaning Agent 1-BP Causing Neurological Illness
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that 1-Bromopropane (1-BP) (n-propyl bromide), a solvent increasingly used as a substitute for ozone-depleting chloro-fluorocarbons and similar regulated compounds, has been reported to cause neurological illness. 1-BP is used in vapor and immersion degreasing operations and other manufacturing processes, and as a solvent in industries using aerosol-applied adhesives.
Two cases of illness occurring in New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been reported, In NJ a worker in a cleaning facility, following the use of 1-BP, reported "...unusual fatigue and headaches and developed arthralgias, visual disturbances (difficulty focusing), paresthesias, and muscular twitching."
NIOSH had previously reported that some workers developed adverse problems in use of this product. In 2006 it made suggestions to reduce exposure.
The CDC has made the following recommendation, "....Clinicians and public health officials should be alert to potential adverse health effects from exposures to 1-BP in industries where such use might increase, such as the dry cleaning industry, and in workplaces where 1-BP use might be more established. A thorough occupational history always should be part of the clinical evaluation of persons who have unexplained or onset of nonspecific neurologic symptoms. Exposure to electronics cleaning solvents or dry cleaning solvents should prompt a more through inquiry concerning exposure to 1-BP. In the evaluation of a worker with occupational exposure to 1-BP and neurologic abnormalities, diagnosis of 1-BP poisoning is suggested by an elevated urinary or serum bromide concentration and a negative serum anion gap. Findings of potential 1-BP poisoning in a potentially exposed worker should prompt removal of the worker from the exposure while an evaluation of workplace exposures is conducted by a qualified professional"
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