Probable Link Sustains Claim for Renal Cancer & Pulmonary Disability

A NJ appellate court upheld a trial court's decision holding an employer liable for workers compensation benefits for renal cancer and pulmonary disability where a probable link could be demonstrated as a result on a worker's occupational exposure to known carcinogens including asbestos.

Johnson v Exxon-Mobile Chemical Co. (2012 WL 3064003 (N.J. Super. A.D.) Decided July 30, 2012

Related Blogs About Asbestos

Workers' Compensation: Illinois Man Sentenced to 10 Years in ...

Aug 01, 2012

Duane “Butch” O'Malley, 59, of Bourbonnais, Ill., who was convicted by a federal jury on September 26, 2011, for the illegal removal, handling and disposal of asbestos from a Kankakee building in August 2009, was ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Unlawful Asbestos Removal Results in Criminal Charges

Jun 22, 2012

NJ Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced that two men and the demolition company they operated have been indicted by a state grand jury on charges that they unlawfully removed asbestos from the former Zurbrugg...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

National Asbestos Awareness Week - April 1 to 7 2012

Mar 19, 2012

Whereas the United States has substantially reduced its consumption of asbestos, yet continues to consume almost 1100 metric tons of the fibrous mineral for use in certain products throughout the United States;. Whereas ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Heart Disease Linked to Asbestos Exposure

Apr 06, 2012

"Objectives Asbestos is an inflammatory agent, and there is evidence that inflammatory processes are involved in the development of cardiovascular disease. Whether asbestos is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease has ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

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Canada Concedes Asbestos is Dangerous-Now It Needs to Ban Asbestos Entirely

Canada's Industry Minister announced yesterday that the country would finally concede to international pressure and label asbestos that it exports as a health hazard. Now Canada, and the United States, need to take the next step and impose a universal ban against the use and sale of asbestos products.

Asbestos is a known carcinogen and causally related to mesothelioma and lung cancer. For decades asbestos was mined and exported from the Province of Quebec.

Click here to read Ottawa does U-turn on asbestos mining (Globe & Mail)

Read More About "Ban Asbestos"

Asbestos Ban In Canada Gets Boast - Parti Quebecois Wins Election!

Sep 04, 2012

The Canadian Journal of Medicine had also endorsed a ban on Canadian asbestos production. "Canada's government must put an end to this death-dealing charade. Canada must immediately drop its opposition to placing .

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

OSHA Cites Employers for Exposing Workers to Asbestos

20 hours ago

Asbestos Ban In Canada Gets Boast - Parti Quebecois Wins Election! Sep 04, 2012. The Canadian Journal of Medicine had also endorsed a ban on Canadian asbestos production. ... The US has yet to ban asbestos .

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

This Is Just Plain Sick: US Consumption of Asbestos Increased 13 ...

Aug 06, 2012

The US Geological Survey has reported that US consumption of asbestos fiber increased 13% in 2011. Asbestos is a known carcinogen and the cause of mesothelioma, a rare and fatal cancer. The US has yet to ban asbestos ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Job Stress A Risk For Heart Attack

21 hours ago

A recent report associates asbestos exposure at work to a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease . ... Asbestos Ban In Canada Gets Boast - Parti Quebecoi... Clint Eastwood at the 2012 ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

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Pending NJ Supreme Court Workers' Compensation Cases

The following is a list of Workers' Compensation cases pending before the NJ Supreme Court as of August 12, 2013.

Off-Premises: Parking Lot Case

A-59-12 Cheryl Hersh v. County of Morris (071433)

Did this employee’s injuries, which occurred when she was struck by a car while walking across a public street to her place of employment from a privately owned garage in which she parked her car at her employer’s expense, arise out of the course of her employment entitling her to benefits under the Workers’ Compensation Act, N.J.S.A. 34:15-1 to -142?

Certification granted: 5/9/13

Posted: 5/13/13

Argued:

Decided:

Conflict of Laws: Preemption

A-130-11 Jersey Central Power & Light Co. v. Lempke (070649)

Was defendant's workers' compensation proceeding in New Jersey a "first-filed litigation" that preempts her Pennsylvania lawsuit against multiple parties over the work-related accident that caused her husband's death?

Certification granted 7/12/12

Posted: 7/13/12

Argued:

Decided:

Cardiovascular: Causal Relationship

A-71-11 James P. Renner v. AT&T (068744)

Does the record support this workers' compensation claim under N.J.S.A. 34:15-7.2, which sets the standard of proof governing claims based on injury or death from cardiovascular causes?

Certification granted: 2/14/12

Posted: 2/14/12

Decided:

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Heart Disease Associated With Overtime Work

New studies just published establish the causal relationship of overtime work with an increased risk of heart disease resulting in a greater risk of cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction and angina. Workers who put in just one or two extra hours a day did not appear to have an elevated risk of heart disease events, the researchers reported online in the European Heart Journal.

The study concludes that overtime work is related to increased risk of incident CHD independently of conventional risk factors. These findings suggest that overtime work adversely affects coronary health.

A major step towards liberalizing the Workers' Compensation Act relating to cardiovascular claims occurred in 1962 in the matter of Dwyer v. Ford Motor Co., 36 N.J. 487 (NJ 1962). Gerald E. Dwyer was 41 years of age and was employed at the Ford Motor Company for a period of seven (7) years doing factory laboring work. After several incidents of chest pain and numbness in his left hand requiring hospitalization, lost time, and medication, he returned to work to perform activities similar to those he had previously engaged in, including the movement of materials. In awarding Workers' Compensation benefits, the court indicated that the effort need not be a single incident, but may be a series of efforts which in combination, if related to the employment, result in a compensable event. The fact that the heart was seriously diseased prior to the fatal attack did not preclude the awarding of benefits because of the premise that the employer takes the employee as he is, with no standard of health required.

In Fiore v. Consolidated Freightways, Inc. 140 N.J. 452 (NJ 1995), the Supreme Court unanimously recognized that an occupational heart condition is compensable under the Workers' Compensation Act.  While recognizing that diseases are complex and their causes multi-factoral, the court realized that experts can disagree on the relative roles of an occupational exposure and personal-risk factors in causing a coronary condition. 

In an editorial title, "Overtime is Bad for the Heart," the European Heart Journal declares that the study will have major implication on employers who will have to reconsider the risks of overtime and compensable heart disease.

To read more about heart disease and workers' compensation click here.

Click here for more information on how Jon L Gelman can assist you in a claim for workers' Compensation claim benefits. You may e-mail Jon  Gelman or call 1-973-696-7900.

American Heart Association: Pay More Attention to Radiation in Imaging Procedures

The American Heart Association is urging physicians to better understand the risks of radiation in cardiac imaging procedures. When ordering these procedures physicians should understand the appropriate use of each procedure, the radiation dose associated with the procedure, and the risks associated with that dose. Both the risks and benefits should be fully explained and discussed with patients prior to the imaging procedure. The full importance of radiation from cardiac procedures is not always appreciated, write the authors of the newly published scientific statement, “Approaches to Enhancing Radiation Safety in Cardiovascular Imaging.” But, according to Reza Fazel, the chair of the writing committee, “heart imaging procedures account for almost 40 percent of the radiation exposure from medical imaging.” The role of radiation is particularly important when considering cardiovascular imaging in younger patients for whom the lifetime risk is likely higher, said Fazel. The statement urges physicians to discuss several important questions with their patients, including how the procedure will be used to diagnose and treat the patient’s heart problem, whether there are other available techniques that don’t use radiation, how much radiation the patient will receive, and what is known about the risk of cancer associated with the radiation dose. Fazel offered some overall reassurance: “In general, the radiation-related...

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World Heart Day — September 29, 2014

Cardiovascular events are compensable in workers' compensation. While in many jurisdictions the standard of proof is elevated they resukt in serious and sometime fatal claims.

Today's post is shared from cdc.gov

World Heart Day will be observed September 29, 2014. The focus of World Heart Day this year is creating heart-healthy environments in which persons are able to make heart-healthy choices wherever they live, learn, work, and play. Heart disease and stroke are the world's leading causes of death, claiming an estimated 17.3 million lives in 2008, and representing 30% of all deaths worldwide (1). A heart-healthy environment can help persons make healthy choices to reduce their risk for heart disease. World Heart Day 2014 encourages persons to reduce their risk for cardiovascular disease by promoting smoke-free environments, environments that encourage physical activity, access to healthy food choices, and a heart-healthy planet for all.

CDC is working to help create heart-healthy environments in multiple ways, including community-based approaches, such as the Sodium Reduction in Communities Program (SRCP), and community-clinical linkages, such as the Million Hearts Initiative. SRCP aims to increase access to and accessibility of lower-sodium food options while building the evidence base on population approaches to reduce sodium consumption at the community level. Million Hearts aims to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes by 2017 by bringing together communities, health systems, nonprofit organizations, federal agencies, and private-sector partners from across the country to fight heart disease and stroke and their risk factors.

Additional information about World Heart Day is available at http://www.world-heart-federation.org/?id=123. Additional information about Million Hearts, SRCP, and CDC's Healthy Community Programs is available at http://millionhearts.hhs.gov andhttp://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dch/programs/healthycommunitiesprogram/index.htm.
Reference
World Health Organization. Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2010. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2011. Available at http://www.who.int/nmh/publications/ncd_report2010

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Costliest 1 Percent Of Patients Account For 21 Percent Of U.S. Health Spending

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

A 58-year-old Maryland woman breaks her ankle, develops a blood clot and, unable to find a doctor to monitor her blood-thinning drug, winds up in an emergency room 30 times in six months. A 55-year-old Mississippi man with severe hypertension and kidney disease is repeatedly hospitalized for worsening heart and kidney failure; doctors don't know that his utilities have been disconnected, leaving him without air conditioning or a refrigerator in the sweltering summer heat. A 42-year-old morbidly obese woman with severe cardiovascular problems and bipolar disorder spends more than 300 days in a Michigan hospital and nursing home because she can't afford a special bed or arrange services that would enable her to live at home. These patients are among the 1 percent whose ranks no one wants to join: the costly cohort battling multiple chronic illnesses who consumed 21 percent of the nearly $1.3 trillion Americans spent on health care in 2010, at a cost of nearly $88,000 per person. Five percent of patients accounted for 50 percent of all health-care expenditures. By contrast, the bottom 50 percent of patients accounted for just 2.8 percent of spending that year, according to a recent report by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Sometimes known as super-utilizers, high-frequency patients or frequent fliers, these patients typically suffer from heart failure, diabetes and kidney disease, along with a significant psychiatric problem. Some are...

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Just Published: 2018 Update - Gelman on Workers' Compensation Law

Jon Gelman’s newly revised and updated 2018 treatise on Workers’ Compensation Law is now available from by West Group of Egan, MN within the next few weeks. The treatise is the most complete work available on NJ Workers’ Compensation law and integrated with WESTLAW™, the "most preferred online legal research service.'"

System Fails to Provide Appropriate Care for Non-Catastrophic Injuries

Todays post is authored by Melissa Brown* of the California Bar.

The October issue of the American Journal of Industrial Medicine confirms what our clients have been experiencing since the California legislature began “reforming” medical treatment access in 2003: the system fails to provide appropriate care for non-catastrophic injuries. (See Franklin, G., et al., “Workers’ Compensation: Poor Quality Health Care and the Growing Disability Problem in the United States,” American Journal of Industrial Medicine, October 2014). The reforms, which include reliance on “evidence-based” medicine and utilization review, often results in increased permanent disabilities and a shift of compensation to Social Security, Medicare and other state and federal disability systems.

The authors note a 75% increase in those receiving Social Security Disability benefits for working age people during the period 2000 and 2012. The basis of the inability to work has shifted from cardiovascular to musculoskeletal, arguably injuries that could have been prevented with safer work practices.

Our experience at Fraulob, Brown, Gowen & Snapp is consistent with these findings. Just today, one of our client’s reported that the expert medical evaluator in his case, agreed to by the insurance company, advised him that had his neck surgery been approved when his doctor requested, rather than going through the utilization review process, he would have had less residual disability. This of course does not even address the pain and suffering he endured waiting for approval; pain and suffering which is not paid by workers’ compensation.

The only way to change this system is through legislation. Which means that people need to vote and need to make it their mission to contact their legislators and the governor with their horror stories.

.....

*Melissa C. Brown is a frequent lecturer at legal conventions and seminars. Ms. Brown has been recognized in America’s Top Attorneys for over 20 years. She has studied Mediation at the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

Ms. Brown is a certified specialist in Workers’ Compensation as well as a national expert on Social Security Disability , Elder Law, Health Care Planning and decision-making. She is a law professor and published author.

Her practice includes serving as a court appointed and agreed upon Arbitrator for Workers’ Compensation matters. Her legal treatise, Advising the Elderly or Disabled Client, is utilized by law schools throughout America as well as Elder Law, Disability and Personal Injury attorneys. She been retained as an expert witness by the NFL Players association regarding compensation for brain and other serious injuries sustained by professional athletes.

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Should Employers Hire Smokers?

Workers' Compensation claims seem to increase with both complexity and severity when a worker is a smoker and suffers an occupational exposure. The class case is the synergistic effect that smoking has with some carcinogenic substance such as asbestos.

The ethical implications are reviewed this week in the New England Journal of Medicine

 where the authors seem to take the position that smokers should not be punished, but rather reformed.

"Finding employment is becoming increasingly difficult for smokers. Twenty-nine U.S. states have passed legislation prohibiting employers from refusing to hire job candidates because they smoke, but 21 states have no such restrictions. Many health care organizations, such as the Cleveland Clinic and Baylor Health Care System, and some large non–health care employers, including Scotts Miracle-Gro, Union Pacific Railroad, and Alaska Airlines, now have a policy of not hiring smokers — a practice opposed by 65% of Americans, according to a 2012 poll by Harris International. We agree with those polled, believing that categorically refusing to hire smokers is unethical: it results in a failure to care for people, places an additional burden on already-disadvantaged populations, and preempts interventions that more effectively promote smoking cessation."

Is the workers' compensation system ready for the COVID-19 [coronavirus] virus? Live Updates

It seems that every decade a new pandemic emerges on the world scene, and complacency continues to exist in the workers’ compensation arena to meet the emerging challenges of infectious disease.

Carbon Monoxide Safety Facts and Tips – How to prevent poisoning from a gas with no odor

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.nsc.org

NSC HOME > News & Resources > Resources > Carbon Monoxide         Carbon Monoxide Carbon Monoxide Safety Facts and Tips  Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless gas that interferes with the delivery of oxygen in the blood to the rest of the body. It is produced by the incomplete combustion of fuels. What Are the Major Sources of CO? Carbon monoxide is produced as a result of incomplete burning of carbon-containing fuels including coal, wood, charcoal, natural gas, and fuel oil. It can be emitted by combustion sources such as unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, furnaces, woodstoves, gas stoves, fireplaces and water heaters, automobile exhaust from attached garages, and tobacco smoke. Problems can arise as a result of improper installation, maintenance, or inadequate ventilation. What Are the Health Effects? Carbon monoxide interferes with the distribution of oxygen in the blood to the rest of the body. Depending on the amount inhaled, this gas can impede coordination, worsen cardiovascular conditions, and produce fatigue, headache, weakness, confusion, disorientation, nausea, and dizziness. Very high levels can cause death. The symptoms are sometimes confused with the flu or food poisoning. Fetuses, infants, elderly, and people with heart and respiratory illnesses are particularly at high risk for the adverse health effects of carbon monoxide. An average of 166 people die each year as a...

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Probability of Cancer in Pulmonary Nodules Detected on First Screening CT

Today's post was shared by NEJM and comes from www.nejm.org

Major issues in the implementation of screening for lung cancer by means of low-dose computed tomography (CT) are the definition of a positive result and the management of lung nodules detected on the scans. We conducted a population-based prospective study to determine factors predicting the probability that lung nodules detected on the first screening low-dose CT scans are malignant or will be found to be malignant on follow-up. Methods We analyzed data from two cohorts of participants undergoing low-dose CT screening. The development data set included participants in the Pan-Canadian Early Detection of Lung Cancer Study (PanCan). The validation data set included participants involved in chemoprevention trials at the British Columbia Cancer Agency (BCCA), sponsored by the U.S. National Cancer Institute. The final outcomes of all nodules of any size that were detected on baseline low-dose CT scans were tracked. Parsimonious and fuller multivariable logistic-regression models were prepared to estimate the probability of lung cancer. Results In the PanCan data set, 1871 persons had 7008 nodules, of which 102 were malignant, and in the BCCA data set, 1090 persons had 5021 nodules, of which 42 were malignant. Among persons with nodules, the rates of cancer in the two data sets were 5.5% and 3.7%, respectively. Predictors of cancer in the model included older age, female sex, family history of lung cancer, emphysema, larger nodule size, location of the nodule in the...

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….

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

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Death by Overwork

The consequences of working too much can have fatal consequences. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated this trend by extending work hours through remote work and eliminating time-off, including vacations. The toll on the American workforce is devastating, and the consequences on the entire workers’ compensation system are enormous. 

NFL Players Tackling Heart Disease

Many football players are essentially paid to be big—really big—especially those whose job is to block or stop the big guys on the other team.  They also suffer from medical conditions that are work related and claim medical benefits and other benefits available under the Workers' Compensation Act. 

There is a good chance that these players weigh in at sizes that are classified as obese as defined by body mass index (BMI).  In the general population, high BMI generally correlates with high body fat, and we know that high body fat is a risk factor for death (mortality) and heart disease.  Is the same true for elite athletes, for whom high BMI may relate to increased muscularity rather than increased body fat?  What if the athlete plays a position where size simply matters, regardless of whether size is related to muscle or to body fat?   And what happens when former athletes are no longer conditioning at their playing-day levels?  Do professional football players die earlier than or more often from heart disease or cancer than the average American male?   New research from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) helps answer these and other questions.

In 1994, NIOSH published research examining death rates and risk factors for former National Football League (NFL) players.¹  At that time the research was based on all deaths that had occurred through 1991.   After following these players for an additional 16 years, NIOSH has just published new research on the topic in the American Journal of Cardiology.  

The study included 3,439 retired NFL players from the 1959 through 1988 seasons.  The study found that:

• Players had a much lower overall rate of death compared to men in the general U.S. population of similar age and racial mix. On average, NFL players are actually living longer than the average American male. Out of the 3,439 players in the study, 334 were deceased. Based on estimates from the general population, we anticipated roughly 625 deaths.
• Players also had a much lower rate of cancer-related deaths compared to the general U.S. population. A total of 85 players died from cancer when we anticipated 146 cancer-related deaths based on estimates from the general population.
• Players who had a playing-time BMI of 30 or more had twice the risk of death from heart disease compared to other players. Similar findings have been noted in other studies. Offensive and defensive linemen were more likely to have a BMI greater than 30. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese in the general population whereas a healthy BMI is between 18.5-24.9.
• African American players had a 69% higher risk of death from heart disease compared to Caucasian players.   The study controlled for player size and position and determined that those factors are not the reason for this difference.
• Defensive linemen had a 42% higher risk of death from heart disease compared to men in the general population. A total of 41 defensive linemen died of heart disease, when we anticipated 29 deaths based on estimates from the general population.  Among the 41 defensive linemen who died of heart disease, 8 deaths were due to cardiomyopathy (a specific kind of heart disease that causes the heart to enlarge and can lead to heart failure). We anticipated fewer than two deaths from cardiomyopathy. We saw this increased risk only among the defensive linemen.

Source The NIOSH Science Blog

Read Also: 

Body Mass Index, Playing Position, Race, and the Cardiovascular Mortality of Retired Professional Football Players

"The initial cohort included 3,732 NFL players but 292 players with unknown race and 1 “player” who was actually a trainer were excluded. By the end of follow-up in 2007, the final cohort of 3,439 players contributed 104,776 person-years at risk and 334 deaths. On average the cohort was followed for 26.8 ± 8.7 years (mean ± SD) after retirement from the NFL. For players still alive, the median age at the study end date was 57 years; 60% of the players were white (including 15 Hispanics) and 39% were African-American..."

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Order: Workers' Compensation Law 2022 Update

Jon Gelman’s* newly revised and updated treatise on Workers’ Compensation Law can now be ordered from Thomson Reuters®. The treatise is the most complete and research integrated work available on NJ Workers’ Compensation law.

Trauma of Job Loss Often Includes Health Problems

Occupational heart attacks are notorious issues in workers' compensation claims. The New York Times reviews the phenomenon cardiovascular episodes attributed to work related stress due to plant closings.

A "....paper, published last year by Kate W. Strully, a sociology professor at the State University of New York at Albany, found that a person who lost a job had an 83 percent greater chance of developing a stress-related health problem, like diabetes, arthritis or psychiatric issues."

The Great American Smoke-out - November 15, 2012

Read more about smoking and workers' compensation

Workers' Compensation: The New Danger of Thirdhand Smoke ...

Oct 06, 2011

"Passive smoking exposure is a topic of great concern for public health because of its well-known adverse effects on human health (International Agency for Research on Cancer 2004). Two news articles on this topic were ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Occupational Secondhand Smoke ...

Apr 23, 2011

"Secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure causes lung cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in nonsmoking adults and children, resulting in an estimated 46,000 heart disease deaths and 3,400 lung cancer deaths ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Firefighters Required to Stop Smoking On And Off Duty

Jul 11, 2009

In many jurisdictions firefighters are allowed a presumption under the law that their pulmonary disability is causally related to their employment under workers' compensation. Now firefighters hired after January 1, 2010 in St.

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Workers' Compensation: Compensation Benefits for Smokers

Nov 18, 2009

For decades, the addictive habit of smoking has been treated as a non-compensable cause and a pre-existing condition. See The Health Consequences of Smoking: Cancer and Chronic Lung Disease in the Workplace: A ...

http://workers-compensation.blogspot.com/

Limit urged for cancer-causing chromium in California drinking water

Today's post was shared by FairWarning and comes from www.latimes.com 

State public health officials Thursday proposed the nation's first drinking-water standard for the carcinogen hexavalent chromium, at a level that elicited sighs of relief from municipal water managers and criticism from environmentalists.

At 10 parts per billion, the standard is 500 times greater than the non-enforceable public health goal set two years ago by the state Environmental Protection Agency.The Department of Public Health described the proposed limit as a balance of public health, cost and treatment technology, but the agency acknowledged that economics were a key consideration.

Mark Starr, deputy director of the Center for Environmental Health, said the state's aim was to determine the lowest possible limit for the toxic heavy metal "given the technology available and the cost in order to protect public health."

Environmentalists said the 10 parts per billion standard — the equivalent of about 10 drops in an Olympic-sized pool — was far too high. "Five hundred times higher than safe levels is not protective of public health," said Avinash Kar, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sued the state to issue the long-delayed standard.

Just Published - Workers' Compensation Law 2021 COVID-19 Update

Jon Gelman’s* newly revised and the updated treatise on Workers’ Compensation Law has been published by Thomson Reuters®. The treatise is the most complete and research integrated work available on NJ Workers’ Compensation law. Updated annually for over 35 years, this body of work provides practical tips, objective analysis, and academic support for the workers' compensation community.