Asbestos Disease Remains a Problem Despite Lower Consumption in the US

Recently release statistics from the US Geological Survey brings some hope to reducing asbestos disease in the US.  Historically, as the production of asbestos fiber lowers, so does the incidence of asbestos related disease, which is a latent medical condition that takes 10 to 30 years to manifest itself.

Asbestos this has been used for decades in the United States in militray and civilian environments in various forms including construction material and insulation. It appears in commercial and military buildings and equipment, as well as residential and consumer appliances. 

Asbestos has been causally connected to a rare and fatal cancer,  mesothelioma. Asbestos has also been linked to various other cancers including: lung cancer, a well as a pulmonary condition, asbestosis.

How to Protect Public Employees and Communities From Asbestos Exposure

It is unconscionable in this day and age for a worker who is exposed to asbestos fiber in the workplace. Ironically, in the 1950's, in Paterson, NJ, the city where the world renown asbestos researcher, Irving J. Selikoff MD, had conducted the initial the sentinel studies linking asbestos exposure with a fatal cancer, mesothelioma, public employees are still being exposed.
Despite the courts and public opinion frowning on such terrible events, it is imperative that the legislatures of the nation take the appropriate measures to ban asbestos in use, and to require a registry all sites where asbestos is known to be present. Additionally, the sites should be publicly listed in a registry by the US EPA and those site declared to be areas where a potential health emergency exists.

Siemens Recalls Temperature and Humidity Sensors for Schools, Hospitals and Other Buildings Due to Fire Hazard

Siemens Sensor - Biege Display Screen

Consumers should stop using this product unless otherwise instructed. It is illegal to resell or attempt to resell a recalled consumer product.

This recall involves wall-mounted Q-series sensors that control heat, air conditioning and humidity inside commercial buildings, hospitals and schools. 

The sensors come in three designs: a blank cover, a cover with a digital display screen or a cover with a digital display screen and door.

Social Security Disability: Get the evidence you need

Today's post comes from Roger Moore of the Nebraska Bar.

Social Security Disability applicants sometimes have trouble getting the evidence needed to demonstrate that they have a disability.

  PROBLEM 1: You haven't had regular medical care because you don't have health insurance. Without regular medical care, it's difficult to develop a relationship with a doctor that is strong enough that the doctor can complete a report on your health. Even if your disability is very real, proving it in Court can still be a hard thing to do. However, without medical insurance, most doctors won't see a patient.

 SOLUTION: In Nebraska there are some free clinics where you can be seen by a doctor even if you cannot afford to pay. To find a free clinic near you, contact your local health department. Anyone planning on applying for Social Security Disability should try to develop a relationship with a doctor by seeking regular medical care as often as possible.

PROBLEM 2: Many applicants don't have the right kinds of conversations with their doctors about their disabilities. Doctors are mainly concerned with your symptoms and how they can help you get well. They aren't necessarily focused on the kinds of things they'll need to know to help you with your Social Security Disability claim. To fill out a report for your claim, they'll need to know exactly how much you can and cannot do.

The Vanishing Concept of a Job

While reviewing some historical cases today, I realized that what is missing from the workplace is the concept of "a job." America's economy has dramatically changed, and so have jobs that were once available in the workforce.

Even clearer is the fact that the concept of a job has disappeared. The idea of getting up in the morning and going regularly to a job has even vanished. The evolution changed slowly with the younger generation claiming that a job cycle transformed from a lifetime position to one lasting two years. Then the next stage in the evolution occurred, where the employee became a transient worker, and daily the job changed, No stable employer really exists.

This evolution has eroded the underlining framework of a functional workers' compensation program and the delivery of benefits. The injured worker becomes lost to the system, and a safe and secure workplace has become an illusion. Lost in the complexity is the adequate reporting of accidents and occupational disease, and the ability to accurately follow the evolution of latent diseases and medical conditions.

"A new trend in the U.S. labor market is reshaping how management and workers think  about employment, while at the same time reshaping the field of occupational safety  and health. More and more workers are being employed through “contingent work”  relationships. Day laborers hired on a street corner for construction or farming work,  warehouse laborers hired through staffing agencies, and hotel housekeepers supplied by  temp firms are common examples, because their employment is contingent upon shortterm fluctuations in demand for workers. Their shared experience is one of little job  security, low wages, minimal opportunities for advancement, and, all too often, hazardous working conditions. When hazards lead to work-related injuries, the contingent nature of the employment relationship can exacerbate the negative consequences for the injured worker and society. The worker might quickly find herself out of a job and, depending on the severity of the injury, the prospects of new employment might be slim. Employerbased health insurance is a rarity for contingent workers, so the costs of treating injuries are  typically shifted to the worker or the public at large. Because employers who hire workers on  a contingent basis do not directly pay for workers’ compensation and health insurance, they are likely to be insulated from premium adjustments based on the cost of workers’ injuries. As a result, employers of contingent labor may escape the financial incentives that are a main driver of business decisions to eliminate hazards for other workers."

Click here to read "At the Company’s Mercy: Protecting Contingent Workers from Unsafe Working Conditions"

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Temporary Employees Cannot Be Excluded From Workers’ Compensation

Today's post comes from Paul J. McAndrew, Jr. of the Iowa bar. Paul 's expertise in workers' compensation issues is nationally known and he has bee an zealous advocate for workers' rights.

According to a recent decision by the Texas Supreme Court, a temporary employee cannot be excluded from an employers’ workers’ compensation policy. In 2005, Rafael Casados was killed on his third day at work at a grain storage facility owned by Port Elevator-Brownsville L.L.C.

Because Casados was a temporary employee of Port Elevator at the time of his death, he was initially awarded a liability ruling of $2.7 million directly from Port Elevator.

However, according to the latest Supreme Court ruling, Casados’s family should receive remedy under Port Elevator’s workers’ compensation policy instead. Port Elevator’s insurance provider is liable for Casados’s death benefits, despite the fact that Port Elevator never paid workers’ compensation insurance for any of their temporary employees.

According to the decision: “If Port Elevator’s policy had set out certain premiums solely for temporary workers and Port Elevator had not paid those premiums, Casados would still have been covered under the policy and the failure to pay premiums would be an issue between Port Elevator (their insurance provider).”    

 Photo Credit:sixninepixels / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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US Supreme Court Upholds Equitable Tolling In Reimbursement Matter

US Supreme Court Upholds Equitable Tolling In Reimbursement Matter
Sebelius v. Auburn Regional Medical Center, Decided Jan. 22, 2013

"But this Court has explained that giving intermediaries more time to discover overpayments than providers have to discover underpayments may be justified by the “administrative realities” of the system: a few dozen  fiscal intermediaries are charged with issuing tens of thousands of NPRs, while each provider can concentrate on a single NPR, its own.  Your Home Visiting Nurse Services, Inc. v. Shalala, 525 U. S. 449, 455, 456.  Pp. 11–14. "
See full analysis on Scotus Blog.

Read more about equitable tolling:

US Supreme Court to Hear Arguments in ERISA Equitable ...

Nov 13, 2012

ERISA health reimbursement claims asserted in Workers' Compensation claims may be subject to equitable relief depending on the upcoming decision in a case pending before the US Supreme Court. Oral argument is ...

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Workers' Compensation: The Doctrine of Equitable Allocation Not ...

Nov 22, 2011

The Doctrine of Equitable Allocation Not Applicable in a Medicare Secondary Payment Reimbursement Claim. The 6th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is entitle to ...

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Workers' Compensation: "Under the Magnifying Glass" -- US ...

Nov 29, 2012

The US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in defiance of several other circuits held [opinion] that "appropriate equitable relief" did not include revoking the payment to McCutchen. Interestingly enough at oral argument ...

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Workers' Compensation: US Supreme Court Maybe Asked to Rule ...

Dec 05, 2011

US Supreme Court Maybe Asked to Rule on CMS Issue: "The Doctrine of Equitable Allocation". The 6th ... The Doctrine of Equitable Allocation Not Applicable in a Medicare Secondary Payment Reimbursement Claim A recent ...

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