Workers' Compensation

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Commentary: Florida court ruling may force closer look at workers’ comp

Today's article is shared from palmbechpost.com

On Aug. 13, a Miami-Dade County Circuit Court judge declared that the state’s workers’ compensation system is unconstitutional and an inadequate alternative to allowing workers to take their employers to court for injuries and illnesses caused by employers’ negligence or, as is too often the case, reckless indifference to health and safety (“Workers’ Compensation Act declared unconstitutional,” Aug. 17). Many injured workers I have interviewed over the past decade would never have thought they would see the day when a court finally said that the emperor has no clothes.
For the past century, workers’ compensation systems have been the exclusive remedy for workers hurt or made ill on the job in almost every state, meaning that workers are not allowed to go to court. At best, workers’ compensation was always a compromise. Workers were supposed to receive modest but guaranteed and timely partial wage replacement payments and medical care in exchange for giving up their right to sue employers for any negligent actions that led to their injuries. Employers gained a “risk management” strategy exchanging unpredictable lawsuits for the obligation to insure workers against all work related injuries regardless of the cause of injury. But many labor leaders have been less than impressed with this so-called “grand bargain” between workers and employers.
Workers’...

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A Motion for Rehearing in Florida Workers' Advocates v. State of Florida

Todays post is authored by Judge David Langham and shared from http://flojcc.blogspot.com/
This week finds me off of my regular Monday/Wednesday schedule again. Whether you call it "Padgett," or "that 11th Circuit case," you are all talking about Judge Cueto's August 13, 2014 determination that the Florida Workers' Compensation law is unconstitutional. It is now styled as Florida Workers' Advocates v. State of Florida, case no 11-13661 CA 25.
Last week in Orlando (at the WCI conference where thousands discussed all that is Florida workers' compensation), I heard a great deal about this decision. People agree with it, disagree with it, think it is important, think it is of minimal relevance, claim they understand it and deny that they do. People have thoughts, opinions, questions, and more. The opinions, interpretations, thoughts and discussion are all over the board. Many people told me how thorough and concise they thought Judge Cueto's 27 page order is. Substance is one thing, but I consistently heard compliments on the drafting.
One major question raised repeatedly was "what will happen with this next."
Well, I take to the blogosphere this Thursday morning, outside my Monday/Wednesday habit, to tell you that shoe has dropped. The "next" is a Motion for Rehearing filed by the Florida Attorney General. The Motion was filed August 22, 2014 and is not complimentary, referring to the case as being in a "procedural morass."
The Attorney General complains that the intervenors brought this case...

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Explosion at BP refinery in Whiting released sulfur dioxide

Today's post is shared from abc7chicago.com/
BP officials have notified the state of Indiana that more than 500 pounds of sulfur dioxide were released into the air following an explosion at refinery in northwestern Indiana.
Indiana Department of Environmental Management spokesman Dan Goldblatt says the agency is still preparing a report but the initial indication is that the release didn't cause any air quality problems.
BP spokesman Scott Dean says there's no indication the explosion had any environmental impact.
Dean says the explosion Wednesday night was caused by a compressor in one of the units of the refinery. He says the plant was continuing to operate Thursday. He wouldn't comment on whether it affected the production at the plant.
The plant is in Whiting, just east of Chicago, along Lake Michigan.

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Disappointing summer for progress by OSHA on new worker safety regulations

Just before Memorial Day—the kickoff of the summer season—the Obama Administration released its agenda for upcoming regulatory action. In the worker safety world of OSHA, “regulatory action” rarely means a new regulation. Rather, it refers to a step along the long, drawn-out process to (maybe) a new rule to protect workers from occupational injuries, illnesses or deaths.

The items identified by the Labor Department suggested that OSHA planned a productive summer of 2014. Here’s what OSHA outlined for its summer tasks.

In May 2014:

Convene a meeting of small business representatives to review a draft proposed regulation to better protect workers employed in healthcare, correctional facilities, homeless shelters and other settings from infectious diseases.

Accomplished? NO

In June 2014:

Publish a request for information from stakeholders to address the hazards faced by those who work on communication towers, in particular the risk of working at heights.

Accomplished? NO

In July 2014:

Publish a proposed rule to protect workers who are exposed to beryllium, which can cause lung cancer and chronic beryllium disease. More than two years ago, in February 2012, the world’s largest producer and supplier of beryllium AND the United Steelworkers handed OSHA the regulatory text of a proposed rule on beryllium. It was a document that the two key stakeholders had thoughtfully negotiated. They expected their effort would expedite OSHA’s...

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Coverage for End-of-Life Talks Gaining Ground

Today's post is shared from nytimes.com

Five years after it exploded into a political conflagration over “death panels,” the issue of paying doctors to talk to patients about end-of-life care is making a comeback, and such sessions may be covered for the 50 million Americans on Medicare as early as next year.
Bypassing the political process, private insurers have begun reimbursing doctors for these “advance care planning” conversations as interest in them rises along with the number of aging Americans. People are living longer with illnesses, and many want more input into how they will spend their final days, including whether they want to die at home or in the hospital, and whether they want full-fledged life-sustaining treatment, just pain relief or something in between. Some states, including Colorado and Oregon, recently began covering the sessions for Medicaid patients.
But far more significant, Medicare may begin covering end-of-life discussions next year if it approves a recent request from the American Medical Association, the country’s largest association of physicians and medical students. One of the A.M.A.’s roles is to create billing codes for medical services, codes used by doctors, hospitals and insurers. It recently created codes for end-of-life conversations and submitted them to Medicare.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which runs Medicare, would not discuss whether it will agree to cover end-of-life discussions; its...

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Endless Assault on Health Care Reform

Today's post is shared rom nytimes.com
The opponents of the Affordable Care Act make no secret of their consuming hatred for the law that has already provided health care to millions of lower-income people.
From the beginning, they have tried everything they could to kill it. As one conservative scholar, Michael Greve, said in 2010: “I do not care how this is done, whether it’s dismembered, whether we drive a stake through its heart, whether we tar and feather it and drive it out of town, whether we strangle it.” Yet the challengers keep losing in Congress and in court.
The latest jerry-built effort to destroy health care reform could be defeated in the full federal appeals court in the District of Columbia. In July, a three-judge panel of that court — taking a ridiculously crabbed view of a section in the law — ruled 2-to-1 that tax-credit subsidies are allowed only for those buying insurance on a health exchange “established by the state.” Therefore, it said, no subsidies for people in 36 states where the federal government set up the exchange because the states refused to do so.
There is no evidence that Congress intended to make this distinction, which defies the law’s central purpose. In fact, this argument was rejected unanimously by a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in Virginia.
Now the fight has shifted to an arcane legal debate over whether the full appeals court in the District of Columbia should rehear the case or allow it to be appealed...

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California Legislature Passes Bill to Protect Temp Workers

Today's post is shared from http://www.propublica.org/
The bill, inspired in part by a ProPublica investigation, will hold companies accountable for labor abuses by temp agencies and subcontractors they use.The California legislature has passed a bill that would hold companies legally responsible if the temp agencies and subcontractors they hire cheat workers out of their wages or put them in harm's way.
Labor officials across the country have increasingly expressed concern about the rapid growth of the temporary staffing industry since the recession. They have also noted the push by hotels and warehouses to subcontract work that is part of their core business, such as cleaning guest rooms and unloading trucks.
Assembly Bill 1897, passed Thursday night, was inspired in part by a ProPublica investigation last year that found that temp workers were more likely to be injured on the job than regular workers and that some temps for brand-name companies were being charged fees that brought their pay below minimum wage.
"We are one step closer to preventing companies from engaging in a 21st century scam by claiming the men and women who do their work are not really employees, but 'temporary workers' for labor contractors or agencies," Jim Hoffa, president of the Teamsters union, said in a statement after the bill passed the state Senate earlier this week. "This corporate shell game allows corporations to deny responsibility for basic worker rights like pay, benefits, and working conditions."
The Teamsters and the...

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Saturday, August 30, 2014

South Carolina Man Sentenced for Knowing Endangerment by Release of Asbestos

United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that Scott William Farmer, age 37, of Anderson, South Carolina was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Spartanburg, South Carolina, for Knowing Endangerment by Release of Asbestos, a violation of 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(5). United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis of Spartanburg sentenced Farmer to 41 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release.

Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that between November 2012 and April 2013, Farmer and others working for Farmer demolished portions of Haynsworth Mill, located at 2115 McDuffie Street, Anderson, SC, in order to sell scrap metal from the building. The materials in the building contained hazardous levels of asbestos. Farmer was repeatedly warned by South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control to stop his demolition efforts because of the danger. Farmer continued tearing down the building and failed to take required precautions to safeguard his workers, individuals to whom he sold the metal from the Mill, and the public. On March 14, 2013, an Emergency Order was issued against Farmer to cease all activities on the site due to the hazardous levels of asbestos. In April of 2013, DHEC inspectors again located Farmer and another conducting demolition work on the contaminated site.

"Exposure to asbestos can cause serious health problems and in some cases may prove fatal,” said Maureen O’Mara, Special Agent in Charge of EPA’s criminal enforcement program in South Carolina. “The defendant’s actions threatened not only the environment but the safety of his workers and the surrounding community. EPA and its law enforcement counterparts take seriously our obligation to investigate these violations and prosecute to protect the public's well-being." United States Bill Nettles stated, "The United States Attorney's Office is committed to protecting the citizens of South Carolina and our natural resources from hazardous pollutants such as asbestos. Our office will continue to prioritize the environmental work we do with both federal and state agencies, to ensure that our state is protected and others are deterred from breaking the law.."

The case was investigated by agents of the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Health and Environmental Control of South Carolina. Assistant United States Attorney Jamie Lea Schoen of the Greenville office prosecuted the case.

….

Jon L. Gelman of Wayne NJ is the author of NJ Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters) and co-author of the national treatise, Modern Workers’ Compensation Law (West-Thompson-Reuters). For over 4 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 accidents and illnesses.

Popular antibiotics implicated in nerve damage, says study with B.C. links

Today's post was shared by Take Justice Back and comes from www.vancouversun.com

A popular class of oral antibiotics doubles the risk of experiencing permanent nerve damage, according to new research published in the journal Neurology.
Fluoroquinolones are one of the most-prescribed classes of antibiotics in B.C., often used in cases of respiratory and urinary tract infection, but they have been implicated in a variety of serious side effects.
“An Ontario group found a link with liver disease. We found a link with retinal detachment and kidney disease, and now peripheral neuropathy. These are pretty serious, nasty conditions compared with a more typical antibiotic, which might give you a couple of days of diarrhea,” said lead author Mahyar Etminan, a drug safety researcher at the University of B.C.
The most popular of these drugs, ciprofloxacin, mocifloxacin and levofloxacin, are sold under the trade names Cipro, Avelox and Levaquin.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration last year ordered a warning be added to the labelling on all fluoroquinolone drugs after receiving anecdotal reports of peripheral neuropathy, which causes muscle weakness, numbness and pain.
Etminan’s group sought to quantify the risk.
“In the past couple of years, there were lots of cases reported to the FDA of peripheral neuropathy, which is a condition in which the...

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Urgent Care Centers Opening For People With Mental lllness

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from capsules.kaiserhealthnews.org

Hoping to keep more people with mental illness out of jails and emergency rooms, county health officials opened a mental health urgent care center Wednesday in South Los Angeles.

The goal of The Martin Luther King, Jr. Mental Health Urgent Care Center is to stabilize and treat people in immediate crisis while connecting them to ongoing care. Run by Exodus Recovery, it will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and can serve up to 16 adults and six adolescents. During their stay of up to one day, patients will undergo a psychiatric evaluation, receive on-the-spot care such as counseling and medication and be referred for longer-term treatment.

The center can take people in severe crisis and expects many will be brought in by police and paramedics, said Connie Dinh, vice president of nursing services for Exodus. But she said it cannot accept people who are incoherent, extremely aggressive or need emergency medical attention. They will still need to be treated at hospitals or inpatient psychiatric facilities.

Staff will be able to place people on 72-hour psychiatric holds if they are a danger to themselves or others.

Mental health urgent care centers, also known as crisis stabilization units, are opening throughout California in response to the shortage of psychiatric beds and the increase in patients with mental illnesses showing up at hospital emergency rooms with nowhere else to go,...

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Obama Vows Better Health Care, Other Initiatives, For Vets, Military

Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from www.kaiserhealthnews.org

Addressing the American Legion’s national convention, the president announced steps to expand access to mental health care and an initiative to lower home loan costs for military families. He also promised a new "culture of accountability' at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The New York Times: Obama Tells Veterans He Will Fix Health System, As New Report Lists Lapses
President Obama on Tuesday promised several thousand military veterans that he would fulfill his “sacred trust” to those returning from America’s wars by overhauling a dysfunctional health care system, even as a new report documented “unacceptable and troubling lapses” in medical treatment (Baker and Philipps, 8/26).
Los Angeles Times: Obama Tells American Legion He's Working To Regain Veterans' Trust
The list included seemingly straightforward changes, such as making it easier for veterans to earn commercial driver's licenses, and new funding for complex research. The Pentagon and the National Institutes of Health have launched a study on early detection of suicide risk, post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain disorder, while the VA will invest $34.4 million in a national clinical trial on suicide prevention involving 1,800 veterans at 29 hospitals, the White House said (Hennessey, 8/26).
The Washington Post: Obama Pledges Better Mental Health Services, Other Initiatives For Military, Vets
Heralding a new...

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Friday, August 29, 2014

OSHA Fines Frost King $90K for Workplace Hazards

Workers willfully exposed to amputation hazards at Paterson, New Jersey, manufacturing facility
Film Pak Extrusion facing more than $90K in OSHA penalties

Workers at Film Pak Extrusion LLC were exposed to amputation and other safety and health hazards according to an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The company's Paterson manufacturing facility has been cited for one willful and 12 serious workplace violations related to the dangerous conditions. The company manufactures products under the name Frost King, a well-known, do-it-yourself brand of supplies for contractors distributed in stores like Home Depot and Lowes throughout the United States. OSHA initiated the inspection in February and is proposing $90,300 in penalties.

"Machines left without required guards can cause catastrophic injury to workers, including amputation and death. One slip can end a worker's life or livelihood, and employers can prevent that," said Lisa Levy, director of OSHA's Hasbrouck Heights Area Office. "Film Pak Extrusion has a responsibility to put worker safety first."

OSHA inspectors cited the company with a willful violation, with a $56,000 penalty, due to a lack of machine guarding. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, approximately 9,000 New Jersey workers were injured* in the manufacturing industry during 2011, the most recent year with available data. BLS reported 8,200 New Jersey manufacturing workers were injured in 2010. The rate of incidents grew from 3.2 cases per 100 workers in 2010* to 3.6 in 2011*. A willful violation is one committed with intentional, knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.

Carrying $34,300 in penalties, serious violations were cited for the following:
An obstructed exit route
Lack of a lockout/tagout program
Powered industrial trucks not inspected prior to use
Lack of a hearing conservation program
Failure to conduct audiometric testing
Failure to provide hearing protection and training on hearing protection and noise hazards
Failure to maintain washing facilities

A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Film Pak Extrusion has 15 business days from receipt of its citations and proposed penalties to comply, meet informally with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety & Health Review Commission.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance.

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Can Boomers Stop The Bullying At Work?

Today's post was shared by Trucker Lawyers and comes from www.forbes.com

If you saw a young child being pushed around on the playground, chances are you would intervene. But are you equally proactive when you see bullying at work?

While this may sound like a hypothetical question, it’s anything but. According to a 2014 survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute (WBI), 27% of Americans have been bullied at work, 21% have witnessed it and 72% of us are aware that workplace bullying happens.

Real bullying involves more than just bad management and obnoxious behavior.

How Bullying Can Harm A Victim’s Health

It also means health-harming behaviors that can include verbal abuse, offensive conduct and intentional sabotage. And workplace bullying doesn’t just harm the victim. It leads to poor morale, high turnover and low productivity, which impact the entire organization.

(MORE: What to Do When You Work for a Bully)

The problem is now so widespread that lawmakers in 15 states have introduced legislation aimed at prodding employers to take the matter seriously or face consequences. (Tennessee already has workplace bullying laws on the books, but they only apply to public sector employees.)

Why Boomers Can Be Effective

So what are you willing to do about it? I ask because many boomers are in management and as a result, some are in a good position to take action. Even if you’re not among your employer’s leadership team, you still might be able to make a difference.

If you’re well respected by colleagues, have good...

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DuPont Fined $1.275 Million For Hazardous Violations

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice announced today a settlement with E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont) at its Belle, W. Va. facility for eight alleged releases of harmful levels of hazardous substances between May 2006 and January 2010. Several of the releases posed significant risk to people or the Kanawha River. One DuPont worker died after exposure to phosgene, a toxic gas released due to DuPont’s failure to comply with industry accident prevention procedures.

DuPont will pay a $1.275 million penalty and will take corrective actions to prevent future releases to resolve the alleged violations of the general duty clause and risk management provisions of the Clean Air Act, and the emergency response provisions of Section 103 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and Section 304 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

“Producing toxic and hazardous substances can be dangerous, and requires complying with environmental and safety laws,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “Today's settlement with DuPont will ensure that the proper practices are in place to protect communities and nearby water bodies."

“Failing to follow laws meant to prevent accidents can have fatal consequences – as was tragically the case here,” said Sam Hirsch, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “Today’s settlement holds DuPont accountable for its failure to prevent hazardous releases and requires improvements to its risk management operations and emergency response systems that could prevent future tragedies and damage to the environment.”

Through this settlement, DuPont will implement enhanced risk management operating procedures to improve its process of responding to alarms triggered by releases of hazardous substances.

DuPont will also develop an enhanced operating procedure to improve its management of change process, which is a best practice used to ensure that safety, health and environmental risks are controlled when a company makes changes to their processes.
In addition, DuPont will improve procedures so federal, state, and local responders are notified of emergency releases, and will conduct training exercises to prepare employees to make such notifications.

DuPont estimates that it will spend approximately $2,276,000 to complete the required improvements to its safety and emergency response processes.

Previously, on March 18, 2010 the U.S. EPA issued an administrative order to DuPont to undertake corrective measures related to the releases. DuPont estimates that it has spent approximately $6,828,750 to comply with the administrative order.

On Jan. 22, 2010, at DuPont’s chemical manufacturing plant in Belle, West Virginia operators discovered that more than 2,000 pounds of methyl chloride had leaked into the atmosphere and employees failed to respond to alarms triggered by the release. On the morning of Jan. 23, workers discovered a leak in a pipe containing the toxic gas oleum. Later that day, a hose containing phosgene, a highly toxic gas, ruptured resulting in the fatality of a worker exposed to phosgene.

The alleged risk management violations on Jan. 22 and 23 include failing to:· identify hazards that may result from accidental releases
· design and maintain a safe facility
· minimize consequences of accidental releases that do occur
· follow recognized industry safety practices
· train its employees on how to respond to potential risks
· frequently inspect and test equipment consistent with good engineering practices and manufacturer recommendations.
· follow the company’s own procedures for responding to alarms indicating potential problems and implementing safety protocol for the phosgene process.

In addition, there were five incidents identified through EPA inspections and extensive review of Dupont’s records that do not comply with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act.

In these incidents, EPA alleged the company released harmful quantities of hazardous substances and then did not report the releases to the National Response Center, State Emergency Response Commission and Local Emergency Planning Committee in a timely manner. The largest of these was the release of 80 tons of methanol into the Kanawha River on September 21, 2010.

For more information about the Clean Air Act’s Risk Management Program requirements, seehttp://www.epa.gov/compliance/monitoring/programs/caa/112r.html and http://www.epa.gov/oem/content/rmp/.

For information about RMP*eSubmit or to view a Checklist for Submitting Your Risk Management Plan (RMP) for Chemical Accident Prevention and the RMP*eSubmit Users’ Manual, visit http://www.epa.gov/emergencies/rmp).

The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.

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Thursday, August 28, 2014

Public Comment Sought on Draft Document for Workplace Tobacco Policies

NIOSH is seeking public comment on a draft Current Intelligence Bulletin,Promoting Health and Preventing Disease and Injury through Workplace Tobacco Policies. The public comment period is open for 30 days, closing on September 15. Occupational safety and health practitioners, healthcare professionals, and the general public are encouraged to review the document and provide comments. https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-19384.

Former clerk sues Hackensack council, former city manager

Today's post is shared from northjersey.com

The former Hackensack clerk is suing the city, the former interim manager and all five City Council members for “in excess of” $2 million over claims they illegally retaliated against her and drove her out of her job because of her personal relationship with a political foe of the administration.

Debra Heck, who left the job in December, filed the lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Newark. Heck said in the complaint that she resigned because of “hostile” and “intolerable” working conditions and intimidation by her superiors.

The alleged hostility began when council members learned that she was in a romantic relationship with Richard Salkin, a former city attorney who is aligned with the council’s political opponents, according to the lawsuit.

“The city had no problem with her job performance until it became publicly known she was engaged in a relationship with Rick Salkin,” said Heck’s lawyer, Jason Nunnermacker. “They continued to discriminate against her because of her perceived political affiliations and her relationship with him. They made her miserable.”

City attorney Thomas Scrivo did not return calls...

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Wednesday, August 27, 2014

IF THINGS GO VERY WRONG

Today's post was shared by CAAA and comes from www.workerscompzone.com

Bay Area residents were awakened last night to a 6.0 earthquake in Napa.
News reports indicated that Napa County’s old courthouse was among the downtown buildings sustaining major damage.
For many years, California has been lucky in not having an earthquake that caused widespread loss of life.
But what if a major earthquake struck during work hours, killing or severely injuring scores of workers in a facility operated by one of California’s public entities?
Such a scenario is clearly not out of the question, as schools, courthouses, hospitals, municipal administration buildings and other large structures are located in at-risk fault zones up and down California.
Such structures could also be at risk for a terrorist incident. Hospitals could be at risk for a severe infectious disease incident.
Many California public entities are self-insured. How would they deal with a widespread catastrophic incident?
Thinking about this made me turn to a recent study that is currently posted on the CHSWC site for public comment. The study, titled “California Public Sector Self-Insurance” (link to the study can be found at the end of this post) was produced by Mark Priven, an actuary with Bickmore Consulting.
Priven’s study examines many aspects of public sector workers’ comp insurance in California, including a section on solvency.
Recent municipal bankruptcies of cities such as Vallejo and Stockton have not resulted in defaults on workers’ comp...

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Preventing Heart Attacks in Firefighters

Today's post is shared from njtvonline.org

Every year nearly 100 firefighters die on the job and one half of those deaths are from fatal heart attacks. These statistics remain consistent year in and out. The very nature of the job automatically puts them at a higher risk.
“Being a firefighter, you never know when the bell is gonna ring, when the alarm is gonna sound. We basically go from 0 to 100 like that,” said Rich Mikutsky, vice president of the Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association (FMBA).
Doctors say it’s hard to pinpoint exactly why firefighters have some of the highest rates. But those in the business have a few ideas.
“There’s the obvious weight of our equipment, our tools, our Scott Pack, but then there’s the other part of it where we start and stop quickly, ya know, at anytime at night when we could be at full rest we may have to get up and be at full speed,” said Paterson firefighter Kyle Hughes.
Extended exposure to traumatic stress, both mentally and physically, boosts inflammation in the body, increasing the risk. Continuous disruptions to the sleep-wake cycle can lead to lower metabolic rates linked directly to heart failure.
“Yesterday we had a big fire in Clifton. It started around 1 p.m. and we had a number of guys that suffered heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation, had to be taken to the hospital and fortunately everyone was all right but I saw a couple of them last night around 8 o’clock and they were exhausted....

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