The only thing that perhaps matched the vastness of the spread or the depth of the traction of the "death panel" lie was the predictability that such a lie would come to be told in the first place. After all, this was a Democratic president trying to sell a new health care reform plan with the intention of opening access and reducing cost to millions of Americans who had gone without for so long. What's the best way to counter it? Tell everyone that millions of Americans would have increased access ... to Death! The best account of how the "death panel" myth was born into this world and spread like garbage across the landscape has been penned by Brendan Nyhan, who in 2010 wrote "Why the "Death Panel" Myth Wouldn't Die: Misinformation in the Health Care Reform Debate." |
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query death. Sort by date Show all posts
Showing posts sorted by relevance for query death. Sort by date Show all posts
Friday, November 22, 2013
California Doctors Prescribe More Name-Brand Drugs Than Any Other State
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Amazon Being Investigated for Worker’s Death at U.S. Warehouse
The Associated Press reported that the deceased is Jody Rhoads, a 52-year-old woman who was killed when machinery she was operating to move pallets crashed into shelving and pinned her.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Jody’s family and loved ones,” an Amazon spokeswoman said. “We are actively working with OSHA to investigate this tragedy.”
Separately, OSHA yesterday issued its findings on the investigation into the work conditions surrounding the death of 57-year-old Ronald Smith, who died in December after being crushed my machinery at a New Jersey sorting facility owned by Amazon but operated by a separate company.
Five companies were cited for violations related to Smith’s death, but Amazon wasn’t one of them. One was Genco, the logistics company hired by Amazon to manage the facility as well as four staffing agencies, including one called Abacus that employed Smith. The four staffing agencies each face penalties of $6,000 — yes, only $6,000 — for “failure to perform a hazard assessment of the facility before assigning employees to determine if hazards existed.”
Genco is also facing a $6,000 penalty for failing to confirm that...
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Wednesday, April 9, 2014
Acclaimed photographer Anja Niedringhaus dies
Today's post was shared by Steven Greenhouse and comes from bigstory.ap.org
 Anja Niedringhaus faced down some of the world's greatest dangers and had one of the world's loudest and most infectious laughs. She photographed dying and death, and embraced humanity and life. She gave herself to the subjects of her lens, and gave her talents to the world, with images of wars' unwitting victims in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and beyond. Shot to death by an Afghan policeman Friday, Niedringhaus leaves behind a broad body of work — from battlefields to sports fields — that won awards and broke hearts. She trained her camera on children caught between the front lines, yet who still found a place to play. She singled out soldiers amid their armies as they confronted death, injuries and attacks. Two days before her death, she made potatoes and sausage in Kabul for veteran AP correspondent Kathy Gannon, who was wounded in the attack that killed Niedringhaus, and photographer Muhammed Muheisen. "I was so concerned about her safety. And she was like, 'Momo, this is what I'm meant to do. I'm happy to go,'" Muheisen recalled. And then they talked, and argued. Mostly, they laughed. Niedringhaus, 48, started her career as a freelance photographer for a local newspaper in her hometown in Hoexter, Germany, at the age of 16. Her coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall led to a staff position with the European Pressphoto Agency in 1990. Based in Frankfurt, Sarajevo and Moscow, she spent much of her time covering the brutal conflict in the former... |
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Friday, November 15, 2013
More Obamacare Enrollees In California Than In 36 States Combined
Today's post was shared by Huffington Post and comes from www.huffingtonpost.com
 Obamacare California The only thing that perhaps matched the vastness of the spread or the depth of the traction of the "death panel" lie was the predictability that such a lie would come to be told in the first place. After all, this was a Democratic president trying to sell a new health care reform plan with the intention of opening access and reducing cost to millions of Americans who had gone without for so long. What's the best way to counter it? Tell everyone that millions of Americans would have increased access ... to Death! The best account of how the "death panel" myth was born into this world and spread like garbage across the landscape has been penned by Brendan Nyhan, who in 2010 wrote "Why the "Death Panel" Myth Wouldn't Die: Misinformation in the Health Care Reform Debate." You should go read the whole thing.But to summarize, the lie began where many lies about health care reform begin -- with serial liar Betsy McCaughey, who in 1994 polluted the pages of the New Republic with a staggering pile of deception in an effort to scuttle President Bill Clinton's health care reform. As Nyhan documents, she re-emerged in 2009 when "she invented the false claim that the health care legislation in Congress would result in seniors being directed to 'end their life sooner.'"Nyhan: "McCaughey's statement was a reference to a provision in the Democratic health care bill that would have provided funding for an advanced care planning for Medicare recipients once every five... |
[Click here to see the rest of this post]
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Democrats Jump on the 'Death Panel' Bandwagon
Many workers' compenssation systems strickly control medicsl care.Will workers' compensation insurace companies buy into the "death panel" consequence just to cut costs? Today's post was shared by Mother Jones and comes from www.motherjones.com
Rod Lamkey Jr./ZUMAPress
In 2009, Sarah Palin claimed Obamacare would create "death panels," or bands of bureaucrats who would decide whether old or disabled Americans were worthy of medical care. That notion turned out to be a figment of her imagination. But now, a growing cohort of Democratic lawmakers is cozying up to the idea, charging that the cost-cutting board that Obama's health care law creates will indeed hurt people on Medicare, The Hill reports.
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Reps. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) have all signed onto bills repealing the powers of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel created by the Affordable Care Act that will make recommendations on how to reduce Medicare spending once Medicare cost growth reaches a certain level.
The lawmakers have said they oppose the board because it would limit care for Medicare patients, even though the health care law says that any cuts would have to affect doctor reimbursement rates or the prices for certain drugs, not patient care.
All five lawmakers are worried about losing their seats in 2014. Barber, Kirkpatrick, Sinema and Esty have also voted with Republicans to delay the law's individual and employer mandates—the requirements that Americans purchase insurance and that employers of a certain size offer coverage, respectively.
The Democratic death panel fear-mongering follows an editorial that former Democratic...
[Click here to see the rest of this article]In 2009, Sarah Palin claimed Obamacare would create "death panels," or bands of bureaucrats who would decide whether old or disabled Americans were worthy of medical care. That notion turned out to be a figment of her imagination. But now, a growing cohort of Democratic lawmakers is cozying up to the idea, charging that the cost-cutting board that Obama's health care law creates will indeed hurt people on Medicare, The Hill reports.
Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) and Reps. Ron Barber (D-Ariz.), Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) and Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.) have all signed onto bills repealing the powers of the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel created by the Affordable Care Act that will make recommendations on how to reduce Medicare spending once Medicare cost growth reaches a certain level.
The lawmakers have said they oppose the board because it would limit care for Medicare patients, even though the health care law says that any cuts would have to affect doctor reimbursement rates or the prices for certain drugs, not patient care.
All five lawmakers are worried about losing their seats in 2014. Barber, Kirkpatrick, Sinema and Esty have also voted with Republicans to delay the law's individual and employer mandates—the requirements that Americans purchase insurance and that employers of a certain size offer coverage, respectively.
The Democratic death panel fear-mongering follows an editorial that former Democratic...
Saturday, March 2, 2019
Dr. Ruiz Announces Progress on Burn Pits Bill
For the first time, the bipartisan Burn Pits Registry Enhancement Act has a bipartisan companion in the Senate and is closer than ever to becoming law.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Lawyer Raises Death Toll to 42 in Faulty G.M. Vehicles
| The lawyer overseeing the program to compensate victims of General Motors’ defective ignition switch has declared 42 death claims eligible for payment, bringing the number of deaths linked to the problem to more than triple the automaker’s original estimate of 13. The total was posted on Monday in a weekly update by the lawyer, Kenneth R. Feinberg. The report also said that Mr. Feinberg had accepted seven claims for catastrophic injuries — a category that includes permanent brain damage, quadriplegia and paraplegia — and 51 claims for other injuries that were serious enough to require hospitalization. G.M. has given Mr. Feinberg sole discretion to determine which claims are eligible for payment, so his determinations serve as the public record of the human toll from the defective switch, a flaw that the automaker has admitted was known in some parts of the company for more than a decade before it decided to recall 2.6 million cars for the problem this year. Monday’s update showed that a total of 2,326 claims had been filed so far, including 251 for deaths. Of those, 306 claims — including 46 death claims — were rejected. Most of the others are awaiting additional evidence. A version of this brief appears in print on December 16, 2014, on page B2 of the New York edition with the headline: Lawyer Raises Death Toll to 42 in Faulty G.M. Vehicles. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe |
Friday, September 14, 2012
Job Stress A Risk For Heart Attack
 |
| Map of Heart Disease Death Rates in US White Males from 2000-2004 (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
"30 214 (15%) of 197 473 participants reported job strain. In 1·49 million person-years at risk (mean follow-up 7·5 years [SD 1·7]), we recorded 2358 events of incident coronary heart disease. After adjustment for sex and age, the hazard ratio for job strain versus no job strain was 1·23 (95% CI 1·10—1·37). This effect estimate was higher in published (1·43, 1·15—1·77) than unpublished (1·16, 1·02—1·32) studies. Hazard ratios were likewise raised in analyses addressing reverse causality by exclusion of events of coronary heart disease that occurred in the first 3 years (1·31, 1·15—1·48) and 5 years (1·30, 1·13—1·50) of follow-up. We noted an association between job strain and coronary heart disease for sex, age groups, socioeconomic strata, and region, and after adjustments for socioeconomic status, and lifestyle and conventional risk factors. The population attributable risk for job strain was 3·4%."
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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 work related accident and injuries.
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 work related accident and injuries.
Read more about "heart disease" and working conditions
Sep 11, 2012
"More than 80 million people in the United States have some form of cardiovascular disease (CVD)—for example, coronary heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, or heart failure—and millions of others are at increased...
Apr 06, 2012
The occupational exposure to asbestos fiber has now been linked to fatal heart disease. A recent report associates asbestos exposure at work to a higher risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. Cardiovascular disease ...
Jan 30, 2012
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 ...
May 19, 2010
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 ...
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Insurance Agent's Conduct Determines Liability for Failure to Inform an Employer of Workers' Compensation Coverage Options
The NJ Supreme court held that the insurance agent's conduct must be a willful, wanton, or grossly negligent act of commission or omission for failure to advise an employer about workers' compensation coverage for a Limited Liability Corporation.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Death of Apple factory workers highlight safety, underage issues
The recent deaths of a 15-year-old and three other workers at an iPhone plant in Shanghai highlight the challenges that Apple Inc. and its suppliers face to maintain worker safety and keep underage people out of factories.
In September, 15-year-old Shi Zhaokun began work at Pegatron's Shanghai assembly plant using an identification card that said he was 20. A month later, he died of pneumonia. Labor groups said long working hours and crowded living conditions contributed to Shi's death. Taiwan-based Pegatron on Wednesday confirmed that four workers died of illnesses recently at the Shanghai factory, which employs about 100,000 people. Pegatron and Apple said their investigations indicated that the deaths weren't linked to work conditions. In response to Shi's death, Apple last month sent independent medical experts from the U.S. and China to the Pegatron factory to conduct an investigation, Apple spokeswoman Carolyn Wu said. "While they have found no evidence of any link to working conditions there, we realize that is of little comfort to the families who have lost their loved ones," she said. Apple declined to comment about employment of underage workers, although the company has long said it is diligent about enforcing age rules at its suppliers. It was unclear how Shi — who, his family said, was pronounced healthy at a Pegatron checkup in September — ended up dying of acute pneumonia a month later. |
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Obama administration to begin processing Social Security payments to same-sex couples
Same sex marriages are now going to be recognized as beneficiaries for Social Security purposes. Today's post is shared from Jurist.org
The Obama administration announced [press release] Monday that the Social Security Administration will begin processing payments to surviving spouses of same-sex married couples
In n a brief statement, Press Officer LaVenia LaVelle said, "I am pleased to announce that, effective today, Social Security is processing some widow's and widower's claims by surviving members of same-sex marriages and paying benefits where they are due. In addition, we are able to pay some one-time lump sum death benefit claims to surviving same-sex spouses.
As I stated shortly after the Supreme Court decision on Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, our goal is to treat all Americans with dignity and respect." Widow's benefits are payable to the surviving spouses who were married at the time of their spouse's death, as well as those who were legally married for at least 10 years, but later divorced. The maximum amount a widow over 60 years old may receive is the amount the deceased spouse was receiving or would have received at the time of death. Because the SSA regulations specifically yield to the definition of "marriage" used by the state in which a couple lives, the SSA has lagged behind other federal departments in providing for same-sex couples.
Other federal agencies have taken similar steps to ensure the inclusion of same-sex couples in administrative processes. Earlier this month the US Department of Education [official website] announced [JURIST report] that for the purposes of applying for and receiving federal student financial aid, the federal government will now recognize all legal same-sex marriages.On the same day as the Department of Education's announcement, the US Customs and Border Protection said [Time report] it will expand the definition of "members of a family residing in a household" to include same-sex couples and other domestic relationships so as to facilitate the declarations process.
While the Windsor decision did not create a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, it does entitle couples in lawfully recognized same-sex marriages to certain federal benefits. In September the US Department of Labor [official website] issued guidance explaining [JURIST report] that all legally married same-sex spouses in the US can participate in employee benefit plans overseen by the Employee Benefits Security Administration [official website]. Earlier in September the US Department of Justice [official website] announced [JURIST report] that it will no longer enforce a federal law that denies same-sex spouses veterans benefits. In August the US Treasury Department [official website] announced that it, along with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [official website], will recognize marriages [JURIST report] of all same-sex couples for federal tax purposes.
The Obama administration announced [press release] Monday that the Social Security Administration will begin processing payments to surviving spouses of same-sex married couples
In n a brief statement, Press Officer LaVenia LaVelle said, "I am pleased to announce that, effective today, Social Security is processing some widow's and widower's claims by surviving members of same-sex marriages and paying benefits where they are due. In addition, we are able to pay some one-time lump sum death benefit claims to surviving same-sex spouses.
As I stated shortly after the Supreme Court decision on Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, our goal is to treat all Americans with dignity and respect." Widow's benefits are payable to the surviving spouses who were married at the time of their spouse's death, as well as those who were legally married for at least 10 years, but later divorced. The maximum amount a widow over 60 years old may receive is the amount the deceased spouse was receiving or would have received at the time of death. Because the SSA regulations specifically yield to the definition of "marriage" used by the state in which a couple lives, the SSA has lagged behind other federal departments in providing for same-sex couples.
Other federal agencies have taken similar steps to ensure the inclusion of same-sex couples in administrative processes. Earlier this month the US Department of Education [official website] announced [JURIST report] that for the purposes of applying for and receiving federal student financial aid, the federal government will now recognize all legal same-sex marriages.On the same day as the Department of Education's announcement, the US Customs and Border Protection said [Time report] it will expand the definition of "members of a family residing in a household" to include same-sex couples and other domestic relationships so as to facilitate the declarations process.
While the Windsor decision did not create a constitutional right to same-sex marriage, it does entitle couples in lawfully recognized same-sex marriages to certain federal benefits. In September the US Department of Labor [official website] issued guidance explaining [JURIST report] that all legally married same-sex spouses in the US can participate in employee benefit plans overseen by the Employee Benefits Security Administration [official website]. Earlier in September the US Department of Justice [official website] announced [JURIST report] that it will no longer enforce a federal law that denies same-sex spouses veterans benefits. In August the US Treasury Department [official website] announced that it, along with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) [official website], will recognize marriages [JURIST report] of all same-sex couples for federal tax purposes.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
OSHA Cites Correctional Facility for Exposing Employees to Workplace Violence
Mississippi correctional facility cited by US Department of Labor's OSHA for
workplace violence and other hazards; more than $104,000 in fines proposed
workplace violence and other hazards; more than $104,000 in fines proposed
The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited The GEO Group Inc. with six safety and health violations, including one willful, for exposing employees to workplace violence and failing to take adequate measures to reduce the risk of violence following a December 2011 inspection stemming from a complaint about the Meridian correctional facility. Proposed penalties total $104,100.
"This employer knowingly put workers at risk of injury or death by failing to implement well-recognized measures that would protect employees from physical assaults by inmates," said Clyde Payne, OSHA's area director in Jackson. "Prisons may be inherently dangerous workplaces, but the employer is still required to take every reasonable precaution to protect corrections officers and other staff against safety and health hazards, including assaults."
A willful safety violation has been cited, with a $70,000 penalty, for failing to knowingly provide adequate staffing, fix malfunctioning cell door locks or provide required training to protect employees from incidents of violent behavior by inmates, including stabbings, bites and other injuries. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
One repeat health violation, with a $16,500 penalty, also has been cited for failing to conduct medical evaluations for workers required to wear respirators. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. A similar violation was cited in November 2010 at GEO's Pompano Beach, Fla., facility.
Two serious health and one serious safety violation, carrying a total of $17,600 in penalties, include failure to conduct a fit test for employees required to wear respirators, have a written exposure control plan for employees exposed to bloodborne pathogens and complete a personal protective equipment hazard assessment. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
One other-than-serious safety violation has been cited for failing to provide a written energy control procedure for workers exposed to electrical shock hazards. No penalty was assessed. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
The GEO Group Inc. is a correctional and detention organization with approximately 80,000 beds and 116 facilities located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. The company's East Mississippi correctional facility houses 1,318 low, medium and high security inmates, as well as inmates with mental illness.
Information on workplace violence is available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html.
The citations can be viewed at
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/The_GEO_Group_Inc_315306803_06_11_2012.pdf*,
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/The_GEO_Group_Inc_315306357_06_11_2012.pdf*.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Jackson office at 601-965-4606.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
"This employer knowingly put workers at risk of injury or death by failing to implement well-recognized measures that would protect employees from physical assaults by inmates," said Clyde Payne, OSHA's area director in Jackson. "Prisons may be inherently dangerous workplaces, but the employer is still required to take every reasonable precaution to protect corrections officers and other staff against safety and health hazards, including assaults."
A willful safety violation has been cited, with a $70,000 penalty, for failing to knowingly provide adequate staffing, fix malfunctioning cell door locks or provide required training to protect employees from incidents of violent behavior by inmates, including stabbings, bites and other injuries. A willful violation is one committed with intentional knowing or voluntary disregard for the law's requirements, or with plain indifference to worker safety and health.
One repeat health violation, with a $16,500 penalty, also has been cited for failing to conduct medical evaluations for workers required to wear respirators. A repeat violation exists when an employer previously has been cited for the same or a similar violation of a standard, regulation, rule or order at any facility in federal enforcement states within the last five years. A similar violation was cited in November 2010 at GEO's Pompano Beach, Fla., facility.
Two serious health and one serious safety violation, carrying a total of $17,600 in penalties, include failure to conduct a fit test for employees required to wear respirators, have a written exposure control plan for employees exposed to bloodborne pathogens and complete a personal protective equipment hazard assessment. A serious violation occurs when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.
One other-than-serious safety violation has been cited for failing to provide a written energy control procedure for workers exposed to electrical shock hazards. No penalty was assessed. An other-than-serious violation is one that has a direct relationship to job safety and health, but probably would not cause death or serious physical harm.
The GEO Group Inc. is a correctional and detention organization with approximately 80,000 beds and 116 facilities located in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and South Africa. The company's East Mississippi correctional facility houses 1,318 low, medium and high security inmates, as well as inmates with mental illness.
Information on workplace violence is available at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/workplaceviolence/index.html.
The citations can be viewed at
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/The_GEO_Group_Inc_315306803_06_11_2012.pdf*,
http://www.osha.gov/ooc/citations/The_GEO_Group_Inc_315306357_06_11_2012.pdf*.
The company has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and proposed penalties to comply, request a conference with OSHA's area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
To ask questions, obtain compliance assistance, file a complaint, or report workplace hospitalizations, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers, the public should call OSHA's toll-free hotline at 800-321-OSHA (6742) or the agency's Jackson office at 601-965-4606.
Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing safe and healthful workplaces for their employees. OSHA's role is to ensure these conditions for America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards, and providing training, education and assistance. For more information, visit http://www.osha.gov.
Friday, March 2, 2012
COPD: The 3rd Leading Cause of Death
Image via WikipediaA large number of disabled workers suffer from Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (COPD). This compensable workers' compensation condition has now been recognized as the third leading cause of death in the US.
See Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Associated Health-Care Resource Use — North Carolina, 2007 and 2009 MMWR 61(08)
"Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), including emphysema and chronic bronchitis, is a progressive condition in which airflow becomes limited, making it difficult to breathe. Chronic lower respiratory diseases, primarily COPD, are the third leading cause of death in the United States (1), and 5.1% of U.S. adults report a diagnosis of emphysema or chronic bronchitis (2). Smoking is the primary cause of COPD, and at least 75% of COPD deaths are attributable to smoking in the United States (3). Information on state-specific prevalence of COPD is sparse (4), as are data on the use of COPD-related health-care resources. To understand how COPD affects adults in North Carolina and what resources are used by persons with COPD, 2007 and 2009 data from the North Carolina COPD module of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) were analyzed. Among 26,227 respondents, 5.7% reported ever having been told by a health professional that they had COPD. Most adults with COPD reported ever having had a diagnostic breathing test (76.4% in 2007 and 82.4% in 2009). Among adults with COPD, 43.0% reported having gone to a physician and 14.9% visited an emergency department (ED) or were admitted to a hospital (2007) for COPD-related symptoms in the previous 12 months. Only 48.1% of persons reported daily use of medications for their COPD (2007). These results indicate that many adults with COPD might not have had adequate diagnostic spirometry, and many who might benefit from daily medications, such as long-acting bronchodilators and inhaled corticosteroids, are not taking them. Continued and expanded surveillance is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention and intervention programs and support efforts to educate the public and physicians about COPD symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment."
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For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
For over 3 decades the Law Offices of Jon L. Gelman1.973.696.7900 jon@gelmans.com have been representing injured workers and their families who have suffered work related accident and injuries.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Are You My Mother?
Sorting out dependency status in a workers' compensation claim can be as confusing as the questions classic novel posed in P.D. Eastman's children's story, "Are You My Mother?" The US Supreme Court ruled, (Astrue v. Capato) that for the eligibility requirements of Social Security, that children conceived after a father's death are not to be considered a dependent. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) will pose yet another intriguing question for the multitude of state workers' compensation programs to sort out.
Click here to read more: Supreme Court Denies Benefits for Children Conceived After Father's Death (Jurist)
Related articles
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Hispanic Workers Have High Death Rates
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has again reported higher death dates for Hispanic workers in the United States. Hispanic workers are one of the fastest growing segments in the US workforce and their death rate has been reported as consistently high.
Work-related injury deaths among Hispanic workers during 1992-2006 totaled 11,202 which equates to 13% of the entire US work-related deaths during that timeframe. Of that number 67% of the Hispanics who lost their lives during the years 2003-2006 were foreign born which is an increase of 52% from 1992.
While the highest number of deaths of Hispanic workers were reported 2003-2006 in California (773 deaths), the highest rates were in South Carolina (22.8 per 100,000 Hispanic workers.)
Work-related injury deaths among Hispanic workers during 1992-2006 totaled 11,202 which equates to 13% of the entire US work-related deaths during that timeframe. Of that number 67% of the Hispanics who lost their lives during the years 2003-2006 were foreign born which is an increase of 52% from 1992.
While the highest number of deaths of Hispanic workers were reported 2003-2006 in California (773 deaths), the highest rates were in South Carolina (22.8 per 100,000 Hispanic workers.)
Monday, August 18, 2014
Family of LAPD officer killed in Beverly Hills crash files lawsuit
The family of a 27-year LAPD officer has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the cities of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and the company that owns the truck that hit his vehicle and killed him. Det. Ernest L. Allen Sr. was killed May 9 when an out-of-control concrete truck barreled downhill on Loma Vista Drive in Beverly Hills and slammed head-on into Allen’s pick-up truck, which was northbound on the winding, sloping road. The collision marked the fourth major crash on the road in less than a year and the second one to kill a Los Angeles Police Department officer. On March 7, Officer Nicholas Lee was killed near the same stretch of Loma Vista by an out-of-control truck that was in the area for construction. The May 9 collision is still under investigation, but Beverly Hills police investigators say it appears the truck’s brakes failed -- the same issue that appears to have been involved in Lee’s crash. In the lawsuit filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Allen’s mother and two children assign responsibility for his death to the truck’s driver for failing to maintain his vehicle; the company he worked for, Over & Over Ready Mix, for hiring him; and Beverly Hills and Los Angeles for designing the road and failing to keep it safe. After Allen’s death, the city placed a 30-day... |
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Advocates Lobby to Eliminate the Death Penalty in Workers' Compensation
Compensating dependents in the workers' compensation has always been problematic. The issue is that the system just can't make complex issues simple and hope that they just go away.
Dependents are again advocating for the elimination of what appears as "the death penalty in workers' compensation". Workers' Compensation is a scheduled system of payments usually based on wages in effect at the of death capped by wages in effect at the time of employment. For the most part, this is ALWAYS lower than the wages paid to the worker when living. The problem is that in some jurisdictions as NJ, they never increased benefits due to inflation or with cost of living adjustments. Those dependents (post 12/31/1979) are caught in such a trap.
The Sweeney-Madden Bill would correct this injustice in New Jersey. The bill, S-785 would enact an increase effective July 1, 2011. As for the years gone bye and the failure to pay retroactive benefits, they will remain as a monument to an injustice.
Friday, June 19, 2020
COVID Predictions Now Estimating Second Wave Beginning Sept 15 in US and 200,000 deaths
The Sun-Belt States, lead by Florida, are now reporting a huge upswing in US-COVID reinfection rates. Implementation of rapid return to work scenarios, and lackadaisical attitudes by 14-50 year olds in failing to adhere to social distancing and use of face masks, is now causing a massive increase in COVID hospitalizations and deaths. The new modeling prediction is going to create further uncertainty as to financial stability in the workers' compensation arena going forward.
Monday, May 25, 2020
NY to Pay Death Benefits For All Essential Public Workers Who Died From COVID-19
Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that state and local governments will provide death benefits for frontline workers who died from COVID-19 during this emergency.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Pulmonary Embolism Due to Sedentary Work Held Compensable
Workers' Compensation benefits were awarded for a pulmonary embolism causally related to sedentary work activity. A NJ Appellate Court awarded benefits for the development of a pulmonary embolism precipitated by the inactivity of sitting long hours at a desk job.
This is the second time that the Appellate Division review this matter. Previously it denied benefits for an "occupational exposure" type heart condition. This time the Court declared thst the pulmonary embolism as an ordinary cardiovascular incident triggered by a significant event, that being inactivity.
The reasoned, "The workers' compensation judge followed our instructions on remand and applied Section 7.2 which states that:
"In any claim for compensation for injury or death from a cardiovascular or cerebral vascular causes, the claimant shall prove by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the injury or death was produced by the work effort or strain involving a substantial condition, event or happening in excess of the wear and tear of the claimant's daily living and in reasonable medical probability caused in a material degree the cardiovascular or cerebral vascular injury or death resulting therefrom.
Material degree means an appreciable degree or a degree substantially greater than de minimus.
Thus, the question is whether Cathleen's lack of movement at work was more severe than her lack of movement in her daily living, and whether the inactivity at work caused her pulmonary embolism in a material way."
Renner v AT&T, A-2393-10T3, 2011 WL 2518781 (N.J.Super.A.D.) Decided June 28, 2011
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 occupational accidents and illnesses.
This is the second time that the Appellate Division review this matter. Previously it denied benefits for an "occupational exposure" type heart condition. This time the Court declared thst the pulmonary embolism as an ordinary cardiovascular incident triggered by a significant event, that being inactivity.
The reasoned, "The workers' compensation judge followed our instructions on remand and applied Section 7.2 which states that:
"In any claim for compensation for injury or death from a cardiovascular or cerebral vascular causes, the claimant shall prove by a preponderance of the credible evidence that the injury or death was produced by the work effort or strain involving a substantial condition, event or happening in excess of the wear and tear of the claimant's daily living and in reasonable medical probability caused in a material degree the cardiovascular or cerebral vascular injury or death resulting therefrom.
Material degree means an appreciable degree or a degree substantially greater than de minimus.
Thus, the question is whether Cathleen's lack of movement at work was more severe than her lack of movement in her daily living, and whether the inactivity at work caused her pulmonary embolism in a material way."
Renner v AT&T, A-2393-10T3, 2011 WL 2518781 (N.J.Super.A.D.) Decided June 28, 2011
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 occupational accidents and illnesses.
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