Workplace Fatalities Decline Significantly in 2008

Key findings of the 2008 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries:

 - Fatal work injuries in the private construction sector in 2008 declined by 20 percent from the updated  2007 total, twice the all-worker decline of 10 percent.

- Fatal workplace falls, which had risen to a series high in 2007, also declined by 20 percent in 2008.

- Workplace suicides were up 28 percent to a series high of 251 cases in 2008, but workplace homicides declined 18 percent in 2008. 

- The number and rate of fatal work injuries among 16 to 17 year-old workers were higher in 2008. 

- Fatal occupational injuries involving Hispanic or Latino workers in 2008 were 17 percent lower than in 2007.    

-       Fatalities among non-Hispanic Black or African American workers were down 16 percent.

- The number of fatal workplace injuries in farming, fishing, and forestry occupations rose 6 percent   in 2008 after declining in 2007.

   - Transportation incidents, which accounted for approximately two-fifths of all the workplace fatalities in 2008, fell 13 percent from the previous series low of 2,351 cases reported in 2007.

Federal Government Alerts Employers to Prepare for Flu Outbreaks

The Federal government has now taken action to alert employers and business as to what precautions should be taken in anticipation of the anticipated fall Flu outbreak. Yesterday the government revealed that deployment of vaccines would be too slow to prevent or restrain further spread this fall.

In a joint letter from the Secretaries of Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security and Labor, the Federal government has alerted employers and business of a new web site directed to encouraging prevention and containment for a resurgence in the months ahead of H1N1 Flu.

For more on this topic and workers' compensation benefits, visit the Workers Compensation Blog.

Industry Spokesperson Declares Need for a National Workers' Compensation Law

At an industry based conference in Florida, Terry Fleming, Risk and Management Society's vice president, spoke for the need of a national workers' compensation program with a foundation of a unified benefit structure. Fleming declared that the workers' compensation program which was enacted in 1911 "is dead or dying."

The National Workers' Compensation Education Conference was presented by the Florida Workers' Compensation Institute in partnership with the National Underwriter Company.

AAJ Comments that Medicare Set-Asides Only Recommend

The American Association for Justice issued a statementt that Medicare Set Aside Agreements were only "recommended" by CMS in workers' compensation claims. In interpreting the reporting requirements of Section 111 Medicare, Medicaid & SCHIP Act of 2007 (MMSEA), Public Law No. 110-173, AAJ declared that there no shift of responsibility that would mandate Set Aside Agreements in liability claims.

For more information on Set Aside Agreements visit the Workers' Compensation Blog.

NJ Supreme Court Advance Notice On Mandatory Continuing Legal Education

While the NJ Supreme Court has yet to take final action on The Final Report of the Supreme Court’s Ad Hoc Committee on Continuing Legal Education, it has issued an advance notice on the validity of credits for courses taken after January 1, 2009.

"To ensure that attorneys continue to participate in continuing legal education programs while the Committee’s Final Report is pending, the Court has determined to provide advance notice that any new continuing legal education program that may be adopted by the Court pursuant to the Committee’s recommendations will grant credit for certain qualifying continuing legal education courses taken after January 1, 2009."

Reminder: The Hot Topics in Workers' Compensation 2009 Seminar is October 7, 2009.

US EPA Cites Vermont Companies for Asbestos Removal

A Vermont company was cited by the US EPA for failing to test for asbestos. The company had been demolishing a building and failed to first test for the presence of asbestos fiber. The companies involved could face a penalty of nearly $30,000 for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Asbestos.

"The federal Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Asbestos (Asbestos NESHAP) require owners and operators of demolition and renovation operations to follow certain inspection and notification requirements prior to beginning such operations, and to abide by specific work practice and waste disposal requirements when the owners and operators identify the presence of regulated asbestos-containing material."

Ingestion and inhalation of asbestos fibers is a known cause of lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma.

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For further reference on asbestsos exposure visit the Workers' Compensation Blog.

Employer Responsibility in the Flu Pandemic

The threat of the spread of flu this fall in the US is a major concern to infectious disease specialists. Healthcare workers are extremely apprehensive as the disease is beginning to spread and employers have not instituted adequate protections for workers.

In the US alone there have been 6,506 hospitalizations of H1N1 Flu patients. The CDC has reported that there have been 436 reported to date because of the novel flu infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the virus a Phase-6 pandemic, the highest level of concern. Over 1,154 deaths have been reported worldwide.

The CDC has issued an Interim Guidance for controlling the spread of infection in healthcare facilities including hospitals, long-term care and outpatient facilities and other settings where healthcare is provided.

Healthcare workers have rallied to protest the firing of a co-worker who disclosed that a healthcare facility was not taken appropriate action to prevent the spread of flu at its work site. The major national unions in April 2009 warned in a report that employers were not taking adequate precautions to protect healthcare workers.

Most recently a task force of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) charged with the responsibility of making recommendations on how to protect workers from the H1N1 flu heard evidence that actions by employers could reduce the spread of the disease. It was reported the use of N95 masks provided 75% protection against lab-confirmed flu.

Workers' remedies from the residuals of the illness have now been limited. The Federal vaccination compensation program will shield the vaccine makers from liability claims. Employers will be protected against civil law suits by the exclusivity provisions of the workers' compensation system. Workers' Compensation does not encompass a roll in prevention of disease. OSHA has alerted employers to take action, but cannot compel them to do so.

It is time for employers to act to prevent unnecessary illness and death in the workplace. Simple educational and enforcement actions by employers will go along way to protect workers from the consequences of this unprecedented pandemic. While time is short and the clock is ticking away as the US flu season formally approaches, time still remains for employers to act and mandate protocols and procedures that will prevent the spread of the disease and will save lives.

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For more on workers compensation and the flu pandemic visit the Workers' Compensation Blog.