BP Oil Spill Compensation Flows to Florida

Oil compensation funds are now flowing along the predictable loop current to the State of Florida. The Palm Beach Post reports that while 90,000 claims have been filed as of July 2, 2010 by individuals totally, in Florida only one in four of the 25,000 have yet to be paid. Most of #22.4 million that BP has paid in Florida has gone to compensate for lost wages.

To read more about petroleum exposure 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.

Happy 4th of July

US Supreme Court Justices, "Reading of the Declaration of Independence" 6.26.1998: C-Span

NIOSH Targets the Safety and Health of Oil Spill Workers

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) added further resources to its web page on occupational safety and health issues associated with the Deepwater Horizon Response in the Gulf of Mexico. This is an expansion of the Federal government' s plan to design an oil spill compensation fund.  The new additions provide NIOSH's updated, science-based interim findings and recommendations to help protect the safety and health of Deepwater Horizon Response workers:

• “Interim Guidance for Protecting Deepwater Horizon Response Workers and Volunteers.”www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/protecting/ This document recommends interim measures under a comprehensive approach for protecting the health and safety of the response workers in the Gulf. Recommendations will be updated as more information about exposures is collected and assessed in relationship to the incidence and prevalence of symptoms, illnesses and injuries. (Added June 25.)
• A table of respiratory protection recommendations for Deepwater Horizon Response workers – at a glance. (Added June 25.)www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/pperecsumm.html
  
• “Staying Safe and Healthy on the Job” – concise tips for Deepwater Horizon Response workers, in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. (Added June 29.) www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/dwhworkertips.html
  
• The first of a series of interim reports from the NIOSH health hazard evaluation of response workers. (Added June 25.)www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/gulfspillhhe.html
  
• A NIOSH report of BP injury and illness data, updated as of June 30. This report is designed to provide a basic overview of illnesses and injuries reported by responders involved in the Deepwater Horizon response. It will be updated on a regular basis as new data becomes available. The data utilized to produce the report was provided to NIOSH by BP safety officials.www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/data.html
  
• Also added on June 25 was a copy of a NIOSH presentation regarding the federal response to the Deepwater Horizon Response health issues, from a June 22-23 workshop by the Institute of Medicine.www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/pdfs/IOMNIOSHPresentation.pdf

NIOSH also updated statistics from its work in developing a voluntary roster of Deepwater Horizon Response workers. With the roster, NIOSH will have a record of those who have participated in cleanup activities, and a mechanism to contact them about possible work-related symptoms of illness or injury, as needed. As of June 30, 2010, NIOSH had rostered 26,289 response workers.www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/workerroster.html

Additional NIOSH information and resources about the Deepwater Horizon Response can be found atwww.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/oilspillresponse/.

To read more about petroleum exposure 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.

Gulf Oil Spill Forecast to Involve The US East Coast

The  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAH) has just released a dismal projection that there was a high probability that the Gulf Oil Spill will migrate up the East Coast of the US.


"Much of the west coast of Florida has a low probability (1%–20%) for impact, but the Florida Keys, Miami, and Fort Lauderdale areas have a greater probability (61%–80%) due to the potential influence of the Loop Current."


If this senario plays out, the health threat to workers and volunteers will expand.


To read more about petroleum exposure 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. 

Occupational Risks and Health Hazards to Oil Spill Workers & Volunteers

Video Highlight: Welcome Remarks by Harvey V. Fineberg, President, IOM

Several days ago the US Institutes of Medicine held a conference on the medical conditions potentially related to occupational exposures arising out of the gulf oil spill. The complete program,  Assessing the Human Health Effects of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill: An Institute of Medicine Workshop, is now available online.

To read more about petroleum exposure 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. 

Delay To Reinstate For Tactical Reasons Not Excuseable

The NJ Court of Appeals did not permit reinstatement of a dismissed claim where the claimant's attorney waited more than one year following the entry of a dismissal for lack of prosecution. While the NJ case law permits discretion by the Judge of Compensation to reinstate a claim, the Court upheld the trial court's decision of not allowing reinstatement.


"Here, there was no impediment to the filing of a timely motion for reinstatement for nearly the entire one-year statutory period. Despite the considerable age of most of the petitions in question, and despite the fact that they still were not capable of being moved due to petitioner's failure to provide discovery, petitioner here did nothing but adopt a deliberate course of delay, choosing to expend as much of the one-year period as possible without taking action. The fact that petitioner's attorney's unanticipated illness proved untimely and struck at a critical moment is of no consequence. Even if counsel's inactivity between September 7 and October 3, 2008 was excusable, his conscious and deliberate inaction from September 27, 2007 until September 6, 2008 was inexcusable. An attorney's neglect or inadvertence is not ground for relief pursuant to Rule 4:50-1(a). See, e.g., Baumann v. Marinaro, 95 N.J. 380, 394 (1984); Quagliato v. Bodner, 115 N.J. Super. 133, 138 (App. Div. 1971)."

Danter v. Arrow International, Inc., DOCKET NO. A-0111-09T30111-09T3, (NJ App Div 2010) Decided June 30, 2010 - Unpublished.


To read more about dismissals  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. 

Federal Government Launches HealthCare Insurance Website

"
The Federal Government has launched a new web site to provide information to consumer of health care insurance.
"HealthCare.gov launches today. It’s a website designed to help you take control of your health care – by putting the power of information at your fingertips.

"It’s the first website to collect both public and private health insurance options across the nation in a single place. Even better, our insurance options finder automatically sorts through this huge catalog of options to help you identify the ones that may be right for you.

"Other highlights of the site include extensive information about your rights as a consumer, how to navigate the health insurance marketplace, and how the Affordable Care Act can help you – all tailored to you.

To read more about health care  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.