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(c) 2010-2025 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, January 11, 2013

Florida's Pace is Impressive

David Langham is the Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims for the Florida
Florida's statistical report for case disposition of workers’ compensation claims is very impressive.

" In 2006, the Florida OJCC averaged 485 days between the filing of a petition and the beginning of trial. In 2012, the average was 166 days. In 2006, the Florida OJCC averaged 212 days between petition filing and the first mediation. In 2012, that average was just 88 days. Along the way, the OJCC leveraged technology, brought innovation to the attorneys and other interested parties, and deployed multiple processes that enhanced transparency and therefore efficiency." 

The data was reported by David Langham is the Deputy Chief Judge of Compensation Claims for the Florida Office of Judges of Compensation Claims and Division of Administrative Hearings.

To really be impressed, click here to read the Annual Report of the Office of Judges of Compensation 2012.Not only were the statistics demonstrating movement faster than a bullet train, but the transparency of information was stellar.


The Flu: A Compensable Event and Its Complications

Source: US CDC Reports widespread flu activity

For the first time in more than a decade, the seasonal flu is becoming a pandemic  that is causing major business disruptions, and illness and death in the workplace. Despite urgent calls from public health officials and declarations of states of emergency, the flu continues to aversely effect businesses and employees throughout the country.

The laxity amongst employers and employees in getting flu vaccinations, a lack of paid sick days, a shortage of medicine to treat the flu and consequences occurring because of poorly designed vaccination programs, may stretch the nations workers' compensation system to new limits.

Step One
Take time to get a flu vaccine like this young boy from an older female nurse.

Take time to get a flu vaccine.

  • CDC recommends a yearly flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against flu viruses.
  • While there are many different flu viruses, a flu vaccine protects against the three viruses that research suggests will be most common. (See upcoming season’s Vaccine Virus Selection for this season’s vaccine composition.)
  • Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine as soon as thecurrent season's vaccines are available.
  • Vaccination of high risk persons is especially important to decrease their risk of severe flu illness.
  • People at high risk of serious flu complications include young children,pregnant women, people with chronic health conditions like asthma, diabetes or heart and lung disease and people 65 years and older.
  • Vaccination also is important for health care workers, and other people who live with or care for high risk people to keep from spreading flu to high risk people.
  • Children younger than 6 months are at high risk of serious flu illness, but are too young to be vaccinated. People who care for them should be vaccinated instead.
Step Two

Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs like this mother teaching her young child to wash hands.

Take everyday preventive actions to stop the spread of germs.

  • Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  • If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
  • While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
  • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
  • Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
  • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
  • Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.
  • See Everyday Preventive Actions Adobe PDF file [257 KB, 2 pages] andNonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) for more information about actions – apart from getting vaccinated and taking medicine – that people and communities can take to help slow the spread of illnesses like influenza (flu).
Step Three

Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them like this older woman listening to her doctor.

Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor prescribes them.

  • If you get the flu, antiviral drugs can treat your illness.
  • Antiviral drugs are different from antibiotics. They are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) and are not available over-the-counter.
  • Antiviral drugs can make illness milder and shorten the time you are sick. They may also prevent serious flu complications. For people with high risk factors Adobe PDF file [702 KB, 2 pages], treatment with an antiviral drug can mean the difference between having a milder illness versus a very serious illness that could result in a hospital stay.
  • Studies show that flu antiviral drugs work best for treatment when they are started within 2 days of getting sick, but starting them later can still be helpful, especially if the sick person has a high-risk health or is very sick from the flu. Follow your doctor’s instructions for taking this drug.
  • Flu-like symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

Read more sbout the "flu" and workers' compensation:

Oct 23, 2012
Laboratory Workers and Contacts Warned of Accidental Flu Pandemic. Safety in the laboratory workplace is of critical concern as many research laboratory employees suffer from exotic diseases that become workers' ...
 
Oct 24, 2009
As the US flu vaccination program rolls out, the numbers are also growing for those who have reported adverse consequences from the H1N1 vaccine. The victims and their families are also lining up for benefits available in ...
 
Nov 27, 2009
The OSGA directive closely follows the prevention guidance issue by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to prevent the spread of H1N1 flu. The purpose of the compliance directive is "to ensure uniform procedures when ...
 
Sep 15, 2009
The 2009 influenza pandemic (flu) has created a new framework of acts and regulations to respond the World Health Organization's (WHO) phase 6 pandemic alert. Governmentally imposed employment disruptions resulting ...

NIOSH Announces the Top 10 Science Blog Posts in 2012

The list shows the vast array of topics covered by NIOSH.  Of note this year, the third and eleventh most viewed blogs were written by external partners.

  1. Help Wanted: Spray Polyurethane Foam Insulation Research.  We urged you to help us collect on-site air samples during SPF installation.  The response was fantastic!  Thank you!
  2. Worker Exposure to Crystalline Silica During Hydraulic Fracturing   highlighted a newly-identified hazard in the fracking industry, provided prevention information and asked for assistance with future efforts. 
  3. Hair Formaldehyde and Industrial Hygiene, from the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at Oregon Health and Science University, summarized the campaign to inform stylists of the risks related to formaldehyde-containing hair straighteners and the need for proper protection. 
  4. Sleep and Work. In honor of National Sleep Awareness Week we summarized sleep and work issues in this blog and highlighted NIOSH research in the companion blog NIOSH Research on Work Schedules and Work-related Sleep Loss(#6). 
  5. Stress and Health in Law Enforcement highlighted research from the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress (BCOPS) study and from related studies of morbidity and mortality among police officers. 
  6. See #4 above
  7. Brain Injury in the NFL discussed new research finding that National Football League (NFL) players may be at a higher risk of death associated with Alzheimer’s and other impairments of the brain and nervous system than the general U.S. population.
  8. Safer and Healthier at any Age:  Strategies for an Aging Workforce  presented strategies for preparing your workplace to accommodate an older workforce. 
  9. All-terrain Vehicles and Work highlighted the risks associated with ATVs and identified safe practices for use in the workplace.
  10. Respiratory Protection for Workers Handling Engineered Nanoparticles.  While this blog was technically posted in December of 2011 we included it anyway.  This blog provided an update on the science and rationale behind NIOSH’s recommendations for the use and selection of respirators against engineered nanoparticles.
  11. Sleep Pain and Hospital Workers, from colleagues at Harvard, examined the question: Does lack of sleep increase pain and limit function among hospital care workers?
  12. Safety and Health in the Theater:  Keeping Tragedy Out of the Comedies… and Musicals…and Dramas discussed the often overlooked hazards in the theater.

Downton Abbey and Workers' Compensation

Highclere Castle
Highclere Castle (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The PBS series, Downton Abbey, has many parallels to the nation's workers' compensation system and reflects how outdated the present benefit system is to meet current needs of injured workers.

The critically acclaimed fictional British TV series, that begins a 3rd broadcast season this month in the US. The first season was set in 1912, with the sinking the RMS Titanic and the outbreak of World War I. 


 The drama concerns itself with non-working aristocratic elite who had amassed multitudes of wealth and were land barrons. The post-Edwardian era Crawley family had a large entourage of servants, who worked 
"downstairs," at low pay and no benefits, providing services to the heirs of Downton Abbey, a lavish estate in England.

It mirrors the era of the enactment of the original European, and thereafter adopted US, workers'  compensation programs. The system provided an administrative remedy to provide a summary, remedial system of benefits to workers in lieu of a trial by jury in the civil justice system.

While workers' compensation is not explicitly mentioned in the TV series, the viewer can gain an understanding of the perspective of the oppressed employees who devoted their lives to the land owning family and considered it an honor and privilege to stay in their employ. Dedication to the employer resulted in lifelong career positions with little complaint of working conditions and lack of benefits.

The British aristocracy system portrayed in the Downton Abbey soon fell into economic ruin, as did the entire British workers' compensation system, yielding to a better medical delivery system and socialized benefits. 


On the other side of "the pond," in the US, the program has just persisted with more money going to the richest individuals, reflected in with major compensation packages. On the other hand, working Americans have lost jobs, benefits, and income as the nation's economy continues to decline. The US needs to adjust the benefit system to approach what the European Economic Union has achieved.

The second Obama Administration is beng recomposed with a Cabinet to achieve a better funded and structured benefit system. Hopefully a better benefit system will be formulated for injured workers and their families.

Obama signs MSP Medicare bill

"The legislation changes the way Medicare collects money from people whose negligence caused a patient to incur medical bills. Murphy said the new law will streamline an outdated process, making it easier to close cases and bring money into the Medicare program."

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/medicare/276621-obama-signs-medicare-bill#ixzz2HehBHham


Questions remain on the practicalities of implementation as regulations need to be promulgated.

The NEW law will be discussed at the Hot Topics in Workers' Compensation Law 2013 Seminar (NJ ICLE Jn 29, 2013)

Thursday, January 10, 2013

OSHA posts results of sampling for contaminants at Sandy cleanup areas in New York and New Jersey


Employers reminded they must protect their workers from exposure to health hazards

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has posted results of its initial industrial hygiene sampling of locations in New York and New Jersey where recovery work in connection with Hurricane Sandy is being performed. The results are posted on OSHA's website at: http://www.osha.gov/sandy/sample_results.html.

The purpose of the sampling is to measure potential or actual employee exposure to potential health hazards during recovery operations. Sampling was conducted in a variety of locations throughout the storm affected areas. The results of this first round of sampling show that while some contaminants were present, such as carbon monoxide, asbestos and silica, they have so far not exceeded any of OSHA's Permissible Exposure Limits, which can be found at: http://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/pel/index.html.

"These initial results should not be taken by employers as an "all clear" signal regarding potential exposure to health hazards," said Robert Kulick, OSHA's regional administrator in New York. "It is important that each employer continually ensure that workers are not overexposed. Employers can accomplish this by performing site assessments to determine potential hazards and institute effective measures to protect workers against exposure to toxic substances such as asbestos, lead and mold."

OSHA will continue to conduct industrial hygiene monitoring on a rotating basis at various locations where recovery work is being performed. The results will be posted on OSHA's website. The monitoring is one element of OSHA's ongoing efforts to protect the safety and health of workers cleaning up after Sandy.

Since the storm struck, OSHA has been conducting daily briefings, safety and health field interventions and other outreach activities to identify and remove employees from hazards and to provide Sandy cleanup workers and employers with safety and health information. To date, OSHA has conducted over 4,400 briefings and interventions, reaching nearly 61,000 workers and employers performing recovery work in Sandy-impacted areas. OSHA's work is ongoing. Guidance, fact sheets and other information can be found on OSHA's Hurricane Sandy web page, located at www.osha.gov/sandy/.

Curing the Profit Motive in Health Care

Soaring medical costs have afflicted the workers' compensation industry with economic distress and have severely impacted the efficient and effective delivery of medical care to injured workers.  Both increased costs/profits and a related spike in mortality addresses the need for more governmental control in the United States.

A study "...found that patients’ mortality rates spiked when nonprofit hospitals switched to become profit-making, and their staff levels declined."

Read "Health Care and Profits, a Poor Mix" NYTimes