How a work injury to an arthritic knee can be fully compensable, even when the worker had a pre-existing degenerative condition.
Showing posts sorted by date for query obesity. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by date for query obesity. Sort by relevance Show all posts
Wednesday, June 24, 2026
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
Eat Well, Claim Less
This is an updated and expanded edition of a 2014 post on diet and workplace health, revised with current research and data.
Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Thursday, November 13, 2025
Healthcare Crisis Threatens Workers' Compensation
The American healthcare system is approaching a breaking point that will have profound implications for employers and workers' compensation insurers. As healthcare costs spiral out of control and insurance becomes increasingly unaffordable, a growing number of workers are entering the workplace with untreated medical conditions that will significantly amplify the severity and cost of work-related injuries.
Friday, June 10, 2022
Senator Merkley Chairs Hearing on Asbestos Ban Legislation
Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice, and Regulatory Oversight, called and chaired a hearing on the Alan Reinstein Ban Asbestos Now Act of 2022.
Wednesday, June 8, 2022
Common Law Discrimination Complaint Fatally Flawed
One of the remedies available to injured workers who have been discharged in retaliation for filing a workers’ compensation claim is a common law action. The failure to adequately plead a retaliation action in the complaint will result in the dismissal of the action.
Sunday, June 5, 2022
The Honorable Maria Del Valle-Koch Appointed the New Chief Judge and Director
The Honorable Maria Del Valle-Koch will be the New Chief Judge and Director effective Monday, June 6, 2022. Outgoing Chief Judge and Director Russell Wojenko, Jr. announced Friday that Robert Asaro-Angelo, Commissioner of NJ Labor and Workforce Development, had made the appointment.
Saturday, June 4, 2022
Penalties for Delay in Payment Excessive
Waiting for timely payment of a workers’ compensation award can sometimes be a frustrating experience for an injured worker. The penalties assessed for the delay in paying a workers’ compensation award were an issue of first impression reviewed by the NJ Appellate Division.
Tuesday, May 31, 2022
US Supreme Court to Conference Medical Marijuana Preemption Case
The US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is scheduled to conference the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting reimbursement of medical marijuana costs in a workers’ compensation claim. The Petitioner for a Writ of Certiorari conference is listed for Thursday, June 16, 2022. Musta v. Mendota Heights Dental Center, et al., No. 21-998.
Monday, May 30, 2022
Dual Employment Status Bars Double Recovery
An employee may have dual employers but ultimately can only receive a single recovery from only one employer for work-related injuries. The “exclusivity doctrine,” permitting a complete recovery of damages against an employer, limits an injured worker’s benefit recovery to the compensation system, barring an intentional tort.
Saturday, May 28, 2022
NJ Senate Confirms Judicial Nominations
On May 26, 2022, the NJ Senate has confirmed NJ DWC Chief Judge and Director Russell Wojtenko Jr. of West Windsor to be a Judge of the Superior Court for the term prescribed by law, ending seven years from the date of appointment.
Monday, May 16, 2022
US Requests SCOTUS Not Review Medical Marijuana Reimbursement Issue
The US Government filed an amicus curiae brief requesting that the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) not review the Minnesota Supreme Court’s decision prohibiting reimbursement of medical marijuana costs in a workers’ compensation claim. The US Government was invited to submit a brief by SCOTUS. Musta v. Mendota Heights Dental Center, et al., No. 21-998.
Thursday, March 31, 2022
The Effects of Obesity on an Injury
The impact of morbid obesity on the residuals of an injury that occurred at work is to be considered when evaluating an individual’s eligibility for Social Security disability.
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Noise Induced Health Threats
Excessive noise that has dominated the workplace throughout time is now associated as causing a plethora of serious health conditions. A recent article in the New York Magazine by David Owen focusses on occupational induced noise pollution and the ailments it affects.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Shift Work Reportedly Causally Related to Increase Risk of Diabetes and Heart Disease
Shift work has been shown to be associated with heart and metabolic disorders. A recently published study reports exactly how shift work is causally related in the long-term to both diabetes and heart disease. Workers’ Compensation claims may increase for such diseases going forward for injured workers seeking benefits for such medical conditions.
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Weighing Genetic Factors in Cardiovascular Cases
Cardiovascular cases involving occupational risks are complicated causation proof issues in workers' compensation cases. The association of the work exposure and/or effort is usually a challenging proof battle where literature and medical experts are caught in a contentious duel.
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
Should Workers' Compensation Be In The Wellness Business?
A recent study indicate that wellness programs are exceptionally important. Employers and workers' compensation insurance companies would be wise to follow this initiative.
One out of every four dollars employers pay for health care is tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or conditions like smoking, stress and obesity, despite the fact that most large employers have workplace wellness programs.
One out of every four dollars employers pay for health care is tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or conditions like smoking, stress and obesity, despite the fact that most large employers have workplace wellness programs.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
The Extra Cost Of Extra Weight For Older Adults
Bayou La Batre calls itself the seafood capital of Alabama. Residents here depend on fishing and shrimping for their livelihood, and when they sit down to eat, they like most things fried.
It’s here that former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benjamin has been trying to reverse the nation’s obesity epidemic one patient at a time. Benjamin grew up near Bayou La Batre and has run a health clinic in this town of seafood workers and ship builders since 1990. As obesity became commonplace around the U.S., health care providers like Benjamin began seeing the impacts of obesity all around them.
“We saw our patient population get heavier,” Benjamin said. “We saw chronic diseases start to rise, and if we continued, our entire community would totally be crippled, basically, based on chronic diseases.”
Two major trends are on a collision course here, as in the rest of the United States: a decades-long surge in obesity and the aging of the U.S. population. Today, one out of every three adults in the U.S. are clinically obese, and many who have lived for decades with excess weight, diabetes and heart disease are now heading into their senior years. Obese people are far more likely to become sick or disabled as they age, and researchers say this burgeoning demographic will strain hospitals and nursing homes.
“We’re potentially going to have a larger, older population that’s more likely to be obese,...
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Thursday, December 18, 2014
Obesity is a disability. Employers should start treating it that way.
Today's post is shared from washingtonpost.com/ Helen Leahey is a Welsh journalist and documentary filmmaker who works in education management.
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 Job interviews are an uncomfortable experience for most people. But for people like me who suffer from morbid obesity, they are especially grueling. It’s hard to impress someone when you’re the fat applicant. There’s the added challenge of sustaining an engaging conversation as a potential future employer walks you around the premises, a hike that leaves you winded. After that, you have to squeeze into a tiny chair and present your credentials, maintaining a charming demeanor as the blood circulation to the lower half of your body is cut off. I went through this process over and over again while I was searching for a job. I did land one eventually, as a manager in one of the world’s leading business schools. But my problems didn’t end there. Because of my handicap, co-workers had to take over tasks that I couldn’t manage – mainly those that involved climbing any number of stairs or walking more than 20 feet. It is clear to me that morbid obesity — defined as having a body mass index above 40 — is often a disability, irrelevant of the cause. But in many legal systems, that’s still an unanswered question. Even as obesity rates have soared, U.S. and European courts have grappled with whether to classify it as a disability, which would obligate employers to provide necessary accommodations so obese employees can... |
Workers Fired for Being Obese May Sue Bosses, Court Says
Today's post is shared from businessweek.com/
Obese workers may claim discrimination in the workplace, the European Union’s highest court said in a case that will pave the way for severely fat people to be protected as disabled.
“That condition falls within the concept of disability where, under particular conditions, it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers,” the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled today.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, according to the World Health Organization, which says at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. People with a BMI of more than 25 are classified as overweight and a BMI of more than 30 is obese. As many as 30 percent of adults in Europe are obese, the WHO says.
Today’s case was triggered by Karsten Kaltoft, who sued the town of Billund, Denmark, after he was dismissed from his post in 2010. Kaltoft, whose weight was never less than 160 kilograms (353 pounds) at the time, had a high body mass index of 54, which classified him as obese. His public-sector employer denies that this was why he lost his job.
Kaltoft first took his case to a Danish court, which asked the EU tribunal to rule on whether obesity could be included as a reason for unlawful discrimination by employers. The Danish court will have decide on his firing in line with today’s ruling.
The case is: C-354/13, FOA, acting on behalf...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Read more about obesity and workers' compensation
Obese workers may claim discrimination in the workplace, the European Union’s highest court said in a case that will pave the way for severely fat people to be protected as disabled.
“That condition falls within the concept of disability where, under particular conditions, it hinders the full and effective participation of the person concerned in professional life on an equal basis with other workers,” the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled today.
Obesity has reached epidemic proportions globally, according to the World Health Organization, which says at least 2.8 million people die each year as a result of being overweight or obese. People with a BMI of more than 25 are classified as overweight and a BMI of more than 30 is obese. As many as 30 percent of adults in Europe are obese, the WHO says.
Today’s case was triggered by Karsten Kaltoft, who sued the town of Billund, Denmark, after he was dismissed from his post in 2010. Kaltoft, whose weight was never less than 160 kilograms (353 pounds) at the time, had a high body mass index of 54, which classified him as obese. His public-sector employer denies that this was why he lost his job.
Kaltoft first took his case to a Danish court, which asked the EU tribunal to rule on whether obesity could be included as a reason for unlawful discrimination by employers. The Danish court will have decide on his firing in line with today’s ruling.
The case is: C-354/13, FOA, acting on behalf...
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Read more about obesity and workers' compensation
Nov 21, 2014
Officials estimated that about 30 percent of seniors are obese and therefore eligible for counseling services, which studies have shown improve the odds of significant weight loss. But less than 1 percent of Medicare's 50 ...
Jun 30, 2014
Those are the results of a first-of-its-type study the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries sponsored connecting what you do for work with obesity. The study also examined the percentage of workers in specific ...
Nov 20, 2013
Obesity is now been classified as disease. With such a designation of Worker's Compensation systems will be impacted by request for benefits in order to diminish obesity is a pre-existing and coexisting diagnosis. Treatment ...
Dec 04, 2012
With over two-thirds of the nations' workforce overweight, the US workers' compensation system appears to weighed down with issue of obesity and its complications and costs. The delivery of medical treatment, and resulting ...
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