Federal Shutdown: Is Workers' Compensation Ready for Tropical Storm Karen?

With a Federal Government in a shutdown, will the State Workers' Compensation system be ready for a natural disaster? The public announcements indicate that FEMA will have to ramp up, but will other Federal agencies be ready and reactivated in time? Workers' Compensation will be stressed with emergency responders who become ill and injured as a result of hurricane related activities. One year almost to the Superstorm Hurricane Sandy and recovery efforts are still continuing. Time will tell....... State emergency management officials on the U.S. Gulf Coast have been assured that the recent shutdown of the federal government will not affect the Federal Emergency Management Administration's response to Tropical Storm Karen.The storm is expected to come ashore late Saturday or early Sunday on the Gulf Coast. A hurricane watch has been issued from southern Louisiana to the western Florida Panhandle. A hurricane watch means that winds exceeding 74 miles per hour (119 kilometers per hour) are possible within 36 hours. Although Karen could strengthen into a hurricane as it approaches the Gulf Coast, forecasters aren't certain that it will maintain that strength until it makes landfall. Meanwhile, emergency management agencies in the area are conferring with FEMA officials as they prepare for the storm. A call to FEMA's External Affairs office in Atlanta was answered by a recording saying that its staff had been furloughed because of the federal government shutdown. Calls to FEMA offices in the Gulf Coast region were answered by staffers not authorized to speak on the record. But state emergency management officials said they are talking to FEMA personnel and the  federal agency is preparing to respond to the storm. "Our director locally has been in touch with FEMA, and he's received every assurance that FEMA will support us," said Mike Steele, communications director for the Louisiana Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness in Baton Rouge. ...

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Oklahoma: Gov. Fallin's picks for workers comp commission lack experience

Today's post is shared from Tulsworld.com

Gov. Mary Fallin's first two appointments to the state's new workers compensation system have no experience in workers compensation law. And that's OK, says Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz. "As a manager and a business leader, Troy Wilson is acutely aware of how workers compensation affects businesses," said Weintz. "As the former director of the Department of Commerce, Jonna Kirschner knows what an obstacle workers comp costs can be to businesses looking to locate here." Wilson, named by Fallin to be the first chairman of the new Workers Compensation Commission, and Kirschner, who is expected to be one of the commission's first administrative law judges, get high marks all around for integrity and general ability. But the enabling legislation creating the new system specifies that commissioners "must have been involved in the workers compensation field for at least three years." Judges, the law says, "shall have not less than three years of workers compensation experience prior to appointment." Wilson is a retired banker, businessman and Xerox executive who was retired comfortably in Florida at the time of his appointment. Kirschner is an attorney who specialized in corporate law before joining the Commerce Department. She is also the daughter of state Supreme Court Justice Yvonne Kauger, which could complicate the court's consideration of a lawsuit challenging the new system's constitutionality. Weintz said questioning Wilson's...

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United Airlines flight lands safely after pilot suffers heart attack

Safety in the air is of great concern.What is lacking is adequate access to medical care and resources on an urgent basis. This article is shared from Reuters.

A United Airlines flight bound for Seattle with 165 people on board made an emergency landing at Boise Airport on Thursday evening after the pilot suffered a heart attack, an airport spokeswoman said. The Boeing 737 landed safely shortly after 8 p.m. local time and the pilot was rushed to a local hospital, where his condition was unknown, Boise Airport spokeswoman Patty Miller said. "We got a call from United flight 1607 at about 7:55 p.m. Mountain Time declaring an emergency, they said the pilot had had a heart attack," Miller said, adding that the plane landed at 8:08 p.m. Click here to read the complete article.

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Breathe Deep....on the airplane OR not?

Welcome sulfur dioxide,

Hello carbon monoxide

The air, the air is everywhere

Breathe deep, while you sleep, breathe deep

Lyrics from HAIR, The Broadway show

This post is shared from OH-world.org.

A review of chemical exposures associated with "fume events" on aircraft hears about two UK studies that found low levels of organophosphate contamination.

I attended a meeting of the UK Committee on Toxicity (COT) of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment to discuss our work on oil contamination in aircraft. This was one of a number of projects that were commissioned by the Department for Transport (DfT) following an earlier review, which included: a pilot study to scope methods for measuring air concentrations, analysis of data on the occurrence of fume events in British commercial aircraft, the main study measuring contaminant levels in cabin air and our study of residues on surfaces in aircraft.

Back in 2007 the COT reviewed information submitted by the British Airline Pilots Association (BALPA) about the possible effects on aircrew health from hydraulic fluid smoke/fume contamination incidents in commercial aircraft. These incidents occur infrequently because of small leaks in the engine, which result in a very fine oil mist being carried into the aircraft ventilation system. A key concern is the small amounts of organophosphate compounds present in the hydraulic oils. In their review the COT concluded there was insufficient evidence to show there was a causal association between cabin air exposures, either generally or following incidents, and ill-health in commercial aircraft crews.

Read more:

Oil contamination in aircraftA review of chemical exposures associated with "fume events" on aircraft hears about two UK studies that found low levels of organophosphate contamination.http://johncherrie.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/oil-contamination-in-aircraft.html 

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State files charges against city business

Employer fraud results in criminal charges.Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from citizensvoice.com

The state Department of Labor & Industry on Friday filed criminal charges against a Wilkes-Barre business, alleging it failed to maintain worker's compensation insurance. Kus Tire Inc. at 10 Carey Ave. is charged with 100 felony counts of failing to procure worker's compensation insurance, court records say. A message left seeking comment at Kus Tire was not immediately returned. According to a criminal complaint, the business, headed by Bernard Kusakavitch, failed to have the insurance for 100 days - from Sept. 10, 2008, through Sept. 17, 2008, and again from Oct. 1, 2011, through Dec. 31, 2011. As a self-insured employer, the business was not exempt from possessing the coverage, the charges say. The complaint said an employee, Walter Booth Jr., was injured Sept. 12, 2008, and subsequently petitioned for benefits from the Uninsured Employers Guaranty Fund, which provides benefits to injured employees of uninsured employers. According to the complaint, Workers' Compensation Judge Joseph B. Sebastianelli awarded Booth benefits on May 31, 2011. Investigators filed a summons against the business Friday. The matter is scheduled for a preliminary hearing before Magisterial District Judge Rick Cronauer at 9 a.m. Oct. 31. jhalpin@citizensvoice.com comments powered by Disqus

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Business Groups Call For More Changes To Workers' Compensation Laws

Today's post was shared by WCBlog and comes from northernpublicradio.org

Despite a drop in the rate of workers' compensation insurance, Illinois businesses say the system is still too burdensome. In 2011, Illinois changed its workers' compensation laws.  The state Department of Insurance, the governor and others say  the changes worked: the workers' comp insurance rate is down 4.5 percent. Kim Maisch is a lobbyist representing the state association for small, independent businesses. "We need to go a lot faster towards greater reform, and we certainly need to make sure the politicians know the job is not done," Maisch said. Maisch says there should be more protections for businesses -- like making workers prove an injury really happened on the job rather than during off hours. Rep. Dwight Kay (R-Glen Carbon) says Illinois' rates are still too high. "We still are not competitive with the states around us with regard to reforming our workers' compensation system," Kay said. Kay says most of the savings comes from paying doctors less for treating injured workers, and he doesn't consider that "reform." He says Illinois needs to make employees prove an injury happened on the job before forcing a company to pay a settlement. But his proposed changes didn't gain any traction in the General Assembly. Unions have fought that change, saying a higher burden of proof is unfair to workers. Illinois Public Radio's Amanda Vinicky contributed to this report.

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The Triangle Fire Airs on PBS Feb 28, 2011

It was the deadliest workplace accident in New York City’s history. A dropped cigarette on the 8th floor of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory sparked a fire that killed over a hundred innocent people trapped inside. The private industry of the American factory would never be the same.


Airs on American Experience on PBS Feb. 28, 2011 at 9:00pm on most PBS stations. Commemorating the workers' compensation centennial.

Jackie K. Cooper writes in the Huffington Post, "The conditions and events shown in this story will lead viewers to reflect on many of the battles occurring in our nation today. The balance between union and non-union forces is still a delicate one. We also see how far we have come in the protection of workers and the conditions under which they toil."

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AIG -The Inside Job

Advertised as 'The movie that took over $20 Trillion dollars to make", Inside Job, is now on the screens of theaters throughout the nation. The movie's premise is that the recent,  systemic,   financial collapse was founded upon AIG's  feared inability to payout on the claims for failed sophisticated financial instruments that AIG insured. The resulting consequences of the AIG bailout  became a vehicle to shelter and fund Wall Street at enormous taxpayer expense.

The lack of criminal accountability for AIG, and the insurance industry's inadequate disclosures, poor ratings and reserves, bad investments and resulting political cover, left the industry destitute and unable to meet its fiduciary obligations to its insureds. Despite all of the bad news, AIG continued to pay bonuses to its executives, scheduled junkets and act as a conduit for payments. The movie questions who is actually regulating the financial/insurance industry, and whether the industry has now become so fused with American politics that Wall Street is insulated no  matter which political party is at the helm.

Workers' Compensation insurance coverage is premised on the legislative intent to provide remedial coverage and summary benefits. When major players in the insurance industry jeopardize that coverage, then the result impacts the ability of the system to function and causes lingering inability to pay. Government regulators have the moral, if not the legal obligation, to protect the system.

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Class Action Certification Sought in NCCI et al v AIG Premium Case

Class Action certification is being sought in a claim against AIG brought by NCCI Holdings Inc., Liberty Mutual and Travelers Insurance for underreporting of workers ' compensation premiums. See  AIG tries to block workers comp competitors' class action.

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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.

Atlantic Mutual Insurance Co Placed into Rehabilitation

The NJ Division of Workers' Compensation has responded to an Order of Rehabilitation of Atlantic Mutual Insurance Company and Centennial Insurance Company entered by the New York Supreme Court entered on September 14, 2010. The NJ Division of Workers' Compensation has directed that 120 active cases now pending are stayed until further notice.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900  jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.

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Victory for an Aircrew for Breathing Contaminated Aircraft Air

A major global legal precedent has been established with an Australian flight attendant winning damages for injury from exposure to aircraft air contaminated by oil fumes and smoke.

The problem of aircraft cabin air becoming contaminated by synthetic jet engine oils containing organophosphates (such as Tricresyl Phosphate, TCP) and a wide range of chemicals has been ongoing sin

The aviation industry has known about the potential for exposure to oil fumes in the cabin and flight deck during normal commercial flights for more than 50 years. Instead of mandating air contaminant filters and monitors, the industry denies the problem and allows aircrew and passengers to breathe oil fumes that contaminate the aircraft air supply since the 1950s.

On  September 3, 2010 a former Australian flight attendant became the first person in the world to win a civil case resulting from breathing oil smoke and fumes in the aircraft cabin on a BAe 146 in Australia in 1992.

The legal precedent Joanne Turner v. Eastwest Airlines was made in the High Court of Australia. Ms Turner a former flight attendant with Australia’s Ansett and Eastwest Airlines, was exposed to smoke and fumes resulting from a failed oil seal on a BAe 146 flight between Sydney and Brisbane on 4 March 1992, while 5 months pregnant.

The court found that Ms Turner was exposed to oil fumes and smoke generated from engine oil that had leaked into a component of the aircraft air supply system called the Auxiliary Power Unit (APU -engine).

The failure of the APU oil seal was found to be foreseeable, as was the risk that smoke from the leaking oil would enter the aircraft cabin.

Cabin smells from oil were noted to be an ongoing problem acknowledged by the defendant, with numerous complaints about the cabin air prior to the incident on 4 March 1992, including an entry 10 days prior to the incident stating: ‘APU AIR NOT FIT FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION.’

Ms Turner was found to have been exposed to Mobil Jet Oil II on 4 March 1992 with the court finding that ‘pyrolysed effects of Mobil Jet Oil II are harmful to the lungs.’ As such Ms Turner suffered from a pathological condition to the lungs caused by exposure to the smoke and that condition has continued for more than eighteen years and is expected to be life-long. As such Ms Turner was awarded $138,757 Australian dollars.

The defendant appealed the decision to the New South Wales Court of Appeal and then the High Court of Australia, however subsequently lost both appeals on 1 April 2010 and 3 September 2010 respectively.

It is well documented that synthetic jet engine oil leaks into aircraft cabin air (as a feature of using air supplied through the engines) and that such exposures are a flight safety and health concern, for both aircrew and passengers. Contaminated air exposures are now known to be a normal regular occurrence, an expected occurrence and regrettably an accepted occurrence within the aviation industry.

This court verdict supports the long held Global Cabinet Air Quality Executive (GCAQE) view that industry actions currently being undertaken to address the issue of exposure to aircraft bleed air are inadequate. The court verdict clearly demonstrates that the call by the industry for further research to determine what chemicals are present when engine oil leaks and how often this occurs is unwarranted. There is already enough evidence available to satisfy the duty of care requirements.

The benchmark has now been set supporting that exposure to oil leaking into the aircraft air supply is harmful to people, both aircrew and passengers.

The supply air for the cabin and flight deck is taken from either the engine or APU and is not filtered for engine oil fumes before people breathe it. Commercial aircraft are not equipped with detection equipment to alert the crew that the air is contaminated, creating an unacceptable flight safety and public health issue. The aviation industry inaction ignores the fact that aircrew and passengers are owed a duty of care and there is, without doubt, enough evidence to apply the precautionary principle and prevent oil contaminating the air supply with proactive maintenance and bleed air cleaners and monitors.

The GCAQE calls for all future aircraft to be designed using bleed free technology such as that used by the Boeing 787, for all current aircraft to be fitted with suitable filters and detection systems, and for airlines to service their fleets with less toxic oils. This court verdict supports that 60 years of unfiltered bleed air is no longer acceptable.

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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900
 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational illnesses. Author NJ Workers Compensation Law (West).

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$30.4 Million Verdict in Popcorn Flavoring Lawsuit

A jury in the Chicago area awarded a local factory worker $30.4 Million for a pulmonary illness resulting from exposure to popcorn flavoring,  diacetyl. The verdict is considered to be largest ever in the US for an individual claim involving a chemical used to flavor popcorn.

Click here to read the Chicago Tribune article

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational illnesses. The read more about diacetyl and workers' compensation click here.

Ballot Issue in Washington State to Privatize Workers Compensation

The countdown is underway and the rhetoric is becoming inflamed, as private insurance carriers in Washington State battle to privatize the workers compensation system.  $1 Million in donations have been accepted to date.


"There is a ballot initiative being presented by the large industries of Washington State in the next election cycle that could divide a worker’s overall notion of how they feel politically and what is in their own personal best interest. It is in regards to workers compensation and the fate of theWashington State Department of Labor and Industries.


"The Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) introduced Initiative 1082. The BIAW is a conservative organization who “fight against” government on behalf of private industry. They are specifically geared to improving the profit of the building industry through deregulation, much like what happened with the banking industry in the early 2000’s, which resulted in a global economic collapse.


"Their intent with I-1082 is to privatize workers compensation insurance in Washington state. In theory this would bring down premiums due to competition, or that’s what many who promote privatization contend. Others who back this initiative say that this would allow employers more choice on their workers compensation plans and thus be able to better protect their workers.


"With help of private donation from Washington businesses large and small, the BIAW spent about $500,000 to put the I-1082 on the ballot. This initiative was also largely backed by those who would reap the profits from it, the insurance companies. Liberty Mutual, the new corporate parent of Safeco, has given $300,000 to the campaign, a mere drop in the bucket compared to the expected profit to be had if the initiative passes.

Complete Blog: http://tinyurl.com/2a8egv5 Philips  Webster

The Complete Ballot Initiative: http://tinyurl.com/2bb8xyl

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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational exposures.
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State Colleges Seek to Privatize Workers' Compensation Coverage

NJ State colleges and universities want to opt out of the costly NJ State claims network and are seeking to establish a joint fund to cut costs. Yesterday S2067 advanced in he NJ Legislature and was transfered to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. 

Senate Bill No. 2067 of 2010 authorizes two or more State colleges or universities to form a State college risk management group and to participate in joint liability funds, risk management programs, and related services provided by the group, subject to certain regulatory oversight by the State Treasurer. Currently, the Division of Risk Management in the Department of the Treasury administers certain insurance coverage programs for various agencies of State government, including State colleges. This bill would modify that authority in order to allow State colleges to form their own risk management groups and joint liability funds to provide that coverage.

For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman 1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com  have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered occupational exposures.

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US Workplace Deaths Decrease

A preliminary total of 4,340 fatal work injuries were recorded in the United States in 2009, down from a final count of 5,214 fatal work injuries in 2008. The 2009 total represents the smallest annual preliminary total since the Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) program was first conducted in 1992. Based on this preliminary count, the rate of fatal work injury for U.S. workers in 2009 was 3.3 per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, down from a final rate of 3.7 in 2008. Counts and rates are likely to increase with the release of final 2009 CFOI results in April 2011. Over the last 2 years, increases in the published counts based on information received after the publication of preliminary results have averaged 156 fatalities per year or about 3 percent of the revised totals.

Economic factors played a major role in the fatal work injury decrease in 2009. Total hours worked fell by 6 percent in 2009 following a 1 percent decline in 2008, and some industries that have historically accounted for a significant share of fatal work injuries, such as construction, experienced even larger declines in employment or hours worked. In addition, some source documents used by CFOI State partners to identify and verify fatal work injuries were delayed, due at least in part to fiscal constraints at some of the governmental agencies who regularly provide source documentation for the program.

Key preliminary findings of the 2009 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries: 

- Workplace homicides declined 1 percent in 2009, in contrast to an overall decline of 17 percent for all fatal work injuries. The homicide total for 2009 includes the 13 victims of the November shooting at Fort Hood. Workplace suicides were down 10 percent in 2009 from the series high of 263 in 2008.

 - Though wage and salary workers and self-employed workers experienced similar declines in total hours worked in 2009, fatal work injuries among wage and salary workers in 2009 declined by 20 percent while fatal injuries among self-employed workers were down 3 percent. 

- The wholesale trade industry was one of the few major private industry sectors reporting higher numbers of fatal work injuries in 2009. 

- Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector declined by 16 percent in 2009 following the decline of 19 percent in 2008.

- Fatalities among non-Hispanic black or African-American workers were down 24 percent. This worker group also experienced a slightly larger decline in total hours worked than non-Hispanic white or Hispanic workers. 

- The number of fatal workplace injuries in building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations rose 6 percent, one of the few major occupation groups to record an increase in fatal work injuries in 2009.

 - Transportation incidents, which accounted for nearly two-fifths of all the fatal work injuries in 2009, fell 21 percent from the 2,130 fatal work injuries reported in 2008. 

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Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon  Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.
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Comment:

The BLS fatality figures are the fatalities from injuries that occurred at the worksite or shortly thereafter, and do not include occupational illness fatalities, the latter primarily from toxic chemical exposures in the workplace.

Worker deaths from toxic exposures, other work illnesses are conservatively estimated by NIOSH, Steenland, Markowitrz, and other researchers at 50,00 to 60,000 deaths each year, or ten times the number of fatalities from work injuries. It is a disaster of monumental proportions that goes largely unrecorded. The United States has no comprehensive occupational health data collection system.

As we have lagged behind other nations in our lack of a national comprehensive medical and statistical database on occupational illnesses, occupational injuries; we have lagged behind in the research into the causes and consequences of occupational illnesses that would lead to improved diagnosis, treatment, prognosis, and ultimately prevention, of occupational toxic exposures and resultant diseases.

Patrice Woeppel, Ed.D.

Author: Depraved Indifference: the Workers' Compensation System

www.patricewoeppel.us