Distracted Driving Workers Compensation Claim Draws Major Public Attention

A workers compensation claim filed by a state trooper for injuries he sustained while texting and speeding 126 miles per hour that resulting in a fatal accident with oncoming teenagers, a driver and a passenger, has drawn media attention. An effort to hold a hearing, "on the sly with no press," before the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission is now receiving coverage by news organizations including; the Associated Press, the Belleville News Democrat, the Courthouse News Service, and the ABA Journal. 


Accidents caused by distracted driving are creating an emerging challenge for workers' compensation court to adjudicate. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is following the lead of the US Department of Labor by encouraging employers to ban cell phone use while operating vehicles. An outright prohibition and supporting legislation may lead to the prohibition of workers' compensation benefits in many jurisdictions in the near future unless more global and radical action is taken to re-mediate this dangerous activity.

The state trooper pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless homicide last year. He has since resigned from his job.


The attempt to conceal the hearing of the Illinois troop was the subject of internal e-mails reported by the Belleville News Democrat. Public commenting was removed from the on-line report because of abuses. No hearing date or location has been reported yet for the compensation hearing.

Related Articles:

NIOSH Supports Efforts to Ban Distracted Driving
Cell Phone Safety and Workers Compensation
The Trend to Exclude Distracted Driving from Workers Compensation Coverage
Put it Down - Friday April 30th
Driving While Distracted Compared to DUI
Are Driving Distractions Within the Course of Employment?
Employee Cell Phone Chat Results in $5.2 Million Payment to Widow by Employer

AIG Reaches For Its Wallet to Cover $4.1 Billion in Work Comp Claims and Asbestos Liabilities

Image via Wikipedia

The American International Group (AIG), the huge insurance company that the US Government bailed out financially, is still hard pressed to raise funds to cover on going claims. AIG has announced that it will need to raise another $4.1 Billion dollars to cover such costs as primary and excess workers' compensation claims and asbestos liability claims.

AIG's long and troubled history was the subject of investigative reporting in the Academy Award nominated film, Inside Job. The Many factors have impact on an insurance company's solvency including the ability to collect premiums in a down economic cycle, the investment of the premiums collected and colateral bad investments the have a massive economic impact of the financial worth of the company in general.

Workers' compensation claims continue despite  a low employment cycle. Latent diseases, such as asbestos related lung cancer, asbestosis and mesothelioma, may be dormant for decades before  manifesting into a chronic and  terminal medical condition.

The industry continues to struggle on how workers' compensation should be employed to insure industries and employers from these condition. Originally the workers' compensation acts did not cover occupational conditions such as silicosis or asbestosis. In the 1950s acts were amended, at industries insistence to bring these occupational conditions under the umbrella of coverage and shield employers from civil lawsuits. With the expansion of products liability claims, based on the intentional concealment of information of the hazards of these conditions, as well as low economic recoveries from struggling workers' compensation systems put the boat back into the bottle, "the longest running tort", asbestos litigation, was born.

Industry continues to try to put the genie back into the bottle, which is reflected in the latest attempt in Missouri to bar liability claims against employers and co-workers. One of the incentives of a workers' compensation program is to prevent industrial accidents, but the system continues to struggle both economically and procedurally in achieving that objective.

The need for AIG to raise additional cash to pay claims raises a concern as to whether premium dollars to pay claims are being adequately protected in the first place, and whether those premiums ared being directed to injured workers and victims of occupational illness. Instead of trying to figure how to further restrict the payment of benefits, perhaps more attention should be paid to making a safer workplace by banning asbestos use, and providing more convenience access through universal medical care.

Related articles

• AIG -The Inside Job (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• AIG to pay $100 million in workers' comp fines (reuters.com)
• The RICO Consequences of Managing Health Care in Workers Compensation (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Proposal to Eliminate Participation of Lawyers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• A.I.G. to Take $4.1 Billion Charge (dealbook.nytimes.com)
• The Health Reform Act Charts a New Course for Occupational Health Care

Public Meeting on Implementation of the Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) will host a public meeting on March 3 in New York City to receive comments from the public on implementing the provisions of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-347).

NIOSH will convene the public meeting in response to a request by Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-NY), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), and Peter T. King (R-NY), the primary sponsors of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 in the U.S. House of Representatives. The meeting will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., Eastern Time, at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building, 26 Federal Plaza, Broadway entrance, 6th Floor, Conference Room A/B, New York, N.Y. 10278.

The meeting is open to the public, limited by the space available. The meeting space accommodates approximately 300 people, and will be available on a first-come-first-served basis. In addition, there will be an audio conference setup for those who cannot attend in person. The toll-free call-in number is 1-800-619-8873; pass code 8693287.

The James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 established the World Trade Center Health Program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, of which NIOSH is part. Comments from the public will help the Federal government in developing a plan to implement the Act by gaining perspectives from interested parties on ways to meet the Act's requirements.

The Act's requirements include:

• Medical monitoring for responders who were likely to have been exposed to airborne toxins that were released, or to other hazards, as a result of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
• Initial health evaluation for survivors.
• Follow-up monitoring and treatment for responders and survivors related to World Trade Center-related health conditions.
• Education and outreach to potentially eligible individuals.
• Clinical data collection and analysis.
• Research on health conditions.

A copy of the full Act is available at www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/wtc/hr847.html. A notice of the public meeting with further information on attendance and registration is scheduled to be posted in the Federal Register on Feb. 10.

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 asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.

Related articles

• Benefits Available Under the Zadroga 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund 
• World Trade Center Responders Continue to Suffer
• The World Trade Center Health Program Expands The Path to Federalization (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Our responsibility to all 9/11 victims | Lila Nordstrom (guardian.co.uk)
• NISOH Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards Available for Free Download (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• New 911 Photos Dramatically Illustrate Toxic Cloud

Additional Resources

• Implementation of the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-347) 76 FR 7862; 2/11/11  [PDF - 174 KB]
• "'James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act of 2010';" 1/5/10  [PDF - 300 KB]

Facebook Becomes a Questionable Friend of Workers Compensation

Social networking’s popularity has become a two-edged sword as a tool in the management, investigation, and disposition of workers’ compensation claims. Over the last several years there has been an exponential explosion in the use of this technology on the Internet. The challenge to properly access and effectively utilize the electronically stored information [ESI] is resulting in procedural and ethical ramifications for the workers’ compensation community.


Complete article appears as a guest blog on: PropertyCasualty360

Related articles

• Proposal to Eliminate Participation of Lawyers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Federal Push to Cap Workers' Compensation Based on Age (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Facebook Makes an Appearance in Workers'Compensation Court
• Compensation Judges Are Becoming Linkedin
• Facebook Job Boasts Leads to Work Comp Fraud Charges
• The Social Network

Proposal to Eliminate Participation of Lawyers

A proposal has been made by the Commission of Labor in Oklahoma, Mark Costello, to eliminate the participation of lawyers at the hearing level in workers' compensation matters. The reform has been suggested to save money and put more money on the hands of the injured workers.


Costello, a local businessman, was elected last November on the Republican ticket. He founded American Computer & Telephone (AMCAT) that he sold in 1991.


McCullough’s 279-page measure, House Bill 1224, would create a workers’ compensation commission with three members: a physician, an attorney and an industry professional. Administrative law judges would preside over claims hearings.

Related articles

• Too Old to Get Workers Compensation (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Congress Told Workers Compensation is a Deteriorating System (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Congressional Deficit Reform May Incorporate Workers Compensation Awards (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• USPS May Declare Bankruptcy Citing High Workers Compensation Costs (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• High Workers Compensation Costs May Force County to Layoff 100 Workers (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Workers To Lose More Employee Benefits: Illinois Worker's Compensation in Jeopardy (chicagonow.com)
• Federal Push to Cap Workers' Compensation Based on Age (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)

The Lingering Consequences of Smoke in the Workplace

Countless studies have confirmed the health risks associated with smoking and secondhand smoke exposure. Now, new research is bringing attention to potential health risks associated with so-called thirdhand smoke, the mixture of tobacco smoke toxicants that lingers in the air and on surfaces after the smoke itself dissipates. 


An article in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives takes a look at the state of the science on thirdhand smoke and discusses why some researchers believe it is a cause for concern.

Related articles

• Warning: Surgeon General Finds Tobacco is Even More Dangerous to Your Health (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Victory for an Aircrew for Breathing Contaminated Aircraft Air (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• AIG -The Inside Job (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Smokers' Former Homes May Retain Tobacco Toxins (nlm.nih.gov)
• 'Thirdhand smoke' may be bigger health hazard than previously believed (eurekalert.org)

California Report Makes Recommendations To Curtail Lien Claimants

A California workers' compensation report has made sweeping recommendations to reduce and manage the filling of liens in pending cases. One recommendation is to charge a $100 filing fee to be paid by a lien claimant.

The California workers compensation court has become a collection agency for unpaid bills. This issue is mirrored throughout the US as medical costs have soared and a single payer system has not yet been enacted as in European countries.

The study commission concluded that the volume of liens alone amounts to "coercion to settle." The report reveals that 35% of the present court calendar now involves liens. The cost to employers amounts to an estimated $200 Million annually. Over 450,000 liens are predicted to be filed this yea alone. Medical liens represent the vast majority of the liens filed in compensation cases.

Excluded from consideration in he report are Federal medical programs such a Medicare (Medicare Secondary Benefit claims), VA Medical claims and TRICARE (Military Health Plans.). Those claims can only be resolved only by a tribunal cloaked with  Federal jurisdiction.

Related articles

• New Jersey Issues Workers Compensation Guidance on Evaluating Disputed Medical Provider Claims (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• NJ Rejects Broad Medicare Release Language in Judgments (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Congressional Deficit Reform May Incorporate Workers Compensation Awards (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• CMS Issues Series of Mandatory Reporting Alerts (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• Congresswoman Woolsey Calls For A GAO Study of Workers Compensation-Cites Insurance Company Cost Shifting (workers-compensation.blogspot.com)
• The World Trade Center Health Program Expands The Path to Federalization