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Saturday, March 12, 2011

Daylight Savings Time Switch May be Hazardous to Your Health

Time change at the end of Daylight Saving TimeImage via Wikipedia

The semi-annual tradition of changing the clock an hour ahead and an hour back has been reported to result in a high incident of work-related illness. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports, "More than 1.5 billion men and women are exposed to the transitions involved in daylight saving time: turning clocks forward by an hour in the spring and backward by an hour in the autumn. These transitions can disrupt chronobiologic rhythms and influence the duration and quality of sleep, and the effect lasts for several days after the shifts." This may result in an increase of work-related accidents in the days following the time adjustment.

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Thursday, March 10, 2011

NIOSH Seeks Information About World Trade Center Cancer Claims

September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City: V...Image via Wikipedia

The Director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) serves as the World Trade Center (WTC) Program Administrator for certain functions related to the WTC Health Program established by the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act (Pub. L. 111-347). 

In accordance with Section 3312(a)(5)(A) of that Act, the WTC Program Administrator is conducting a review of all available scientific and medical evidence to determine if, based on the scientific evidence, cancer or a certain type of cancer should be added to the applicable list of health conditions covered by the World Trade Center Health Program.

The WTC Program Administrator is requesting information on the following:

  • (1) Relevant reports, publications, and case information of scientific and medical findings where exposure to airborne toxins, any other hazard, or any other adverse condition resulting from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, is substantially likely to be a significant factor in aggravating, contributing to, or causing cancer or a type of cancer; 
  • (2) clinical findings from the Clinical Centers of Excellence providing monitoring and treatment services to WTC responders (i.e., those persons who performed rescue, recovery, clean- up and remediation work on the WTC disaster sites) and community members directly exposed to the dust cloud on 9/11/01; and 
  • (3) input on the scientific criteria to be used by experts to evaluate the weight of the medical and scientific evidence regarding such potential health conditions. 

DATES: Comments must be received by March 31, 2011. ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number NIOSH- 227, by any of the following methods: 
  • Mail: NIOSH Docket Office, Robert A. Taft Laboratories, MS-C34, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, OH 45226. 
  • Facsimile: (513) 533-8285. E-mail: nioshdocket@cdc.gov. All information received in response to this notice will be available for public examination and copying at the NIOSH Docket Office, 4676 Columbia Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226. The comment period for NIOSH-227 will close on March 31, 2011. 
All comments received will be available on the NIOSH Docket Web page at http:// www.cdc.gov/niosh/docket by April 30, and comments will be available in writing by request. NIOSH includes all comments received without change in the docket and the electronic docket, including any personal information provided.

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 asbestos related disease. Please contact our office if you require assistance in filing a claim under the newly enacted James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act.
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Another Hernia Patch Recall by FDA

FdaImage via WikipediaThe US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued another hernia and abdominal patch recall. The FDA on March 4, 2011 issued a Class 1 Recall Notice for Davol's XenMatric Surgical Graft.

The FDA indicated that the recall was issued because “Testing cannot confirm that all units of XenMatrix Surgical Graft are within FDA requirements for endotoxin levels. Several lots have been found to have elevated endotoxin levels. Endotoxins (pyrogens) are substances found in certain bacteria that, at elevated levels, can cause serious illness which can be fatal.”

This product was manufactured from June 1, 2010 through October 31, 2010 and distributed from July 1, 1010 through October 31, 2010. For more information, please see the FDA’s safety alert.

Litigation is pending against Davol, Inc. is pending in both federal and state court on behalf of patients who suffered serious injuries or complications related to the company’s Composix® Kugel® Mesh hernia repair patch.
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Brazilian Blowout Abandons Suits Against Oregon OSHA for Formaldehyde Findings

A company that makes a hair straightening product, Brazilian Blowout, has dropped a lawsuit that it had filed against Oregon OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) challeging the agency's findings that the product contained formaldehyde, a known carcinogen.

OSHA had tested 105 samples of the air product from 54 hair salons and reported significant formaldehyde findings. The lawsuit, filed by the company, alleged that the testing was incorrect.

The report had concluded, "Oregon OSHA and CROET have concluded that there are meaningful risks to salon workers  when they are confronted with these hair smoothing products. Effective control of those risks depends upon accurate information regarding the potential hazards and the control measures  available, which in turn begins with an accurate understanding of the ingredients and the potential harm they may cause."

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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Supreme Court Decided Not to Decide Illegal Alien Issue

The US Supreme Court has determined that States should be left to decided whether illegal aliens should be barred from collecting workers' compensation benefits.


A report in Insurance Journal provides further insight:
"The U.S. Supreme Court recently declined to hear a workers’ compensation insurance case that concerned an illegal immigrant in Louisiana who had sought coverage after a workplace accident. The Court’s refusal to consider the case means states are left to decide the issue of whether workers who entered the United States illegally may benefit from workers’ compensation coverage."
No. 10-841
Title:
Vaughan Roofing & Sheet Metal, LLC, Petitioner
v.
Antonio Garcia Rodriguez
Docketed:December 28, 2010
Lower Ct:Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Third Circuit
  Case Nos.:(09-1537, 09-1538, 09-1539)
  Decision Date:May 5, 2010
Discretionary Court  
  Decision Date:September 24, 2010

~~~Date~~~ ~~~~~~~Proceedings  and  Orders~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dec 23 2010Petition for a writ of certiorari filed. (Response due January 27, 2011)
Jan 26 2011Brief of respondent Antonio Garcia Rodriguez in opposition filed.
Feb 9 2011DISTRIBUTED for Conference of February 25, 2011.
Feb 16 2011Reply of petitioner Vaughan Roofing & Sheet Metal, LLC filed. (Distributed)
Feb 28 2011Petition DENIED.

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Monday, March 7, 2011

Maryland Awards Washington Redskins Football Player Benefits

Washington Redskins game at FedExField, Landov...Image via Wikipedia

 A Maryland Court of Appeals has awarded workers' compensation benefits to Tom Tupa, a Washington Redskins football payer. He was injured while warming-up for a football game to be played at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.

The Court held, "Considering the stipulated facts, we find that Tupa’s employment in Maryland was regular and not intermittent or temporary. Tupa was hired in Virginia, but the purpose of his employment was to play in professional football games at FedEx Field in Maryland and at various other stadiums around the country. We recognize that Tupa likely spends more time at the practice facility in Virginia than he spends playing in games at FedEx Field or elsewhere. As Hodgson suggests, however, the inquiry requires more than simply tallying up the quantity of time the employee spends in each jurisdiction. Here, it is clear that the purpose of Tupa’s employment was to play in games, not to practice. All of Tupa’s time in Virginia, whether practicing or attending team meetings, was geared towards improving his performance at the games. By way of contrast, a player signed to the practice squad would work entirely in Virginia because the purpose of a squad member's contract is to practice in Virginia."
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Washington Workers' Compensation Reform

The State of Washington is in the process of taking drastic action to reform its workers' compensation system as it faces potential insolvency within the next 5 years. A package of bills is advancing that would limit periodic benefits for older workers, restrict medical treatment and reduce costs of the ailing system.

The reform comes on heals of a bitter and contested failed ballot referendum last fall that would have privatized workers' compensation coverage. While the referendum did not succeed, legislators claim that a massive deficit is threatening the solvency of the entire system and that it needs to become much more restrictive in providing benefits.
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