During June--December 2011, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will conduct a health survey of persons who resided or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before 1986 and might have been exposed to contaminated drinking water.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
ATSDR Health Survey of Pre-1986 Personnel at Camp Lejeune
During June--December 2011, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will conduct a health survey of persons who resided or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before 1986 and might have been exposed to contaminated drinking water. The purpose of the survey is to learn more about participants' health. Health surveys also will be mailed to a comparison group of former active duty marines, sailors, and civilian employees, sampled from those who lived or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California.
Eligible participants who were formerly at Camp Lejeune include 1) former active duty marines and sailors who were stationed at Camp Lejeune any time during June 1975--December 1985, 2) civilian employees who worked at Camp Lejeune any time during December 1972--December 1985, 3) families who took part in the 1999--2002 ATSDR telephone survey of childhood cancers and birth defects, and 4) persons who registered with the Camp Lejeune notification registry.
Participants will receive a paper copy of the health survey and instructions for completing and mailing. A web-based version of the survey also will be available for those who prefer to answer online. Health-care providers are asked to share information regarding the Camp Lejeune survey with their patients who lived or worked at the base before to 1986 and to encourage those receiving a health survey for either Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton to fill it out and return it or complete it online. Additional information is available at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune.
Participants will receive a paper copy of the health survey and instructions for completing and mailing. A web-based version of the survey also will be available for those who prefer to answer online. Health-care providers are asked to share information regarding the Camp Lejeune survey with their patients who lived or worked at the base before to 1986 and to encourage those receiving a health survey for either Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton to fill it out and return it or complete it online. Additional information is available at http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/sites/lejeune.
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.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Top 10 Surgery Center Violations
A recent report reveals that 1 out of 2 surgical centers have serious health safety violations. Workmens comp insurance carriers, as well as others, rely heavily upon these centers for surgery since they are less costly to operate than hospitals.
The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, (NJDHQI) reviewed state violations in a program funded by a Federal grant. NJDHQI published a report noting that more than 25% of the surgery centers were cited for "Immediate Jeopardy," which is a violation defined as noncompliance with established rules that has caused, or is likely to cause, serious injury, impairment or death to a patient.
The top violations were:
- Staff members walked through the sterile operating room in street clothes
- The surgery center did not have mandated emergency equipment and medicines on site
- The surgery centers had no system to track controlled and regulated medications on site
- Physicians and staff did not have current licenses and credentials
- The patient beds and floors were not sanitized correctly
- Surgical instruments were not cleaned or sanitized correctly
- The staff filled out patient charts in advance for convenience
- Single use items were used more then once on a patient
- The facility did not maintain an ongoing infection control program
- The surgery center failed to obtain consent from patients prior to permitting physician residents in an educational program participate in their surgeries.
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.
Occupational Safety Recognized as One of the Top Ten Great Health Achievements
During the 20th century, life expectancy at birth among U.S. residents increased by 62%, from 47.3 years in 1900 to 76.8 in 2000, and unprecedented improvements in population health status were observed at every stage of life (1). In 1999, MMWR published a series of reports highlighting 10 public health achievements that contributed to those improvements. This report assesses advances in public health during the first 10 years of the 21st century. Public health scientists at CDC were asked to nominate noteworthy public health achievements that occurred in the United States during 2001--2010.
Occupational Safety
Significant progress was made in improving working conditions and reducing the risk for workplace-associated injuries. For example, patient lifting has been a substantial cause of low back injuries among the 1.8 million U.S. health-care workers in nursing care and residential facilities. In the late 1990s, an evaluation of a best practices patient-handling program that included the use of mechanical patient-lifting equipment demonstrated reductions of 66% in the rates of workers' compensation injury claims and lost workdays and documented that the investment in lifting equipment can be recovered in less than 3 years (45). Following widespread dissemination and adoption of these best practices by the nursing home industry, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed a 35% decline in low back injuries in residential and nursing care employees between 2003 and 2009.
The annual cost of farm-associated injuries among youth has been estimated at $1 billion annually (46). A comprehensive childhood agricultural injury prevention initiative was established to address this problem. Among its interventions was the development by the National Children's Center for Rural Agricultural Health and Safety of guidelines for parents to match chores with their child's development and physical capabilities. Follow-up data have demonstrated a 56% decline in youth farm injury rates from 1998 to 2009 (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, unpublished data, 2011).
In the mid-1990s, crab fishing in the Bering Sea was associated with a rate of 770 deaths per 100,000 full-time fishers. Most fatalities occurred when vessels overturned because of heavy loads. In 1999, the U.S. Coast Guard implemented Dockside Stability and Safety Checks to correct stability hazards. Since then, one vessel has been lost and the fatality rate among crab fishermen has declined to 260 deaths per 100,000 full-time fishers.
Reported by: Domestic Public Health Achievements Team, CDC. Corresponding contributor: Ram Koppaka, MD, PhD, Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, CDC; rkoppaka@cdc.gov, 347-396-2847.
Occupational Safety
Significant progress was made in improving working conditions and reducing the risk for workplace-associated injuries. For example, patient lifting has been a substantial cause of low back injuries among the 1.8 million U.S. health-care workers in nursing care and residential facilities. In the late 1990s, an evaluation of a best practices patient-handling program that included the use of mechanical patient-lifting equipment demonstrated reductions of 66% in the rates of workers' compensation injury claims and lost workdays and documented that the investment in lifting equipment can be recovered in less than 3 years (45). Following widespread dissemination and adoption of these best practices by the nursing home industry, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed a 35% decline in low back injuries in residential and nursing care employees between 2003 and 2009.
The annual cost of farm-associated injuries among youth has been estimated at $1 billion annually (46). A comprehensive childhood agricultural injury prevention initiative was established to address this problem. Among its interventions was the development by the National Children's Center for Rural Agricultural Health and Safety of guidelines for parents to match chores with their child's development and physical capabilities. Follow-up data have demonstrated a 56% decline in youth farm injury rates from 1998 to 2009 (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, unpublished data, 2011).
In the mid-1990s, crab fishing in the Bering Sea was associated with a rate of 770 deaths per 100,000 full-time fishers. Most fatalities occurred when vessels overturned because of heavy loads. In 1999, the U.S. Coast Guard implemented Dockside Stability and Safety Checks to correct stability hazards. Since then, one vessel has been lost and the fatality rate among crab fishermen has declined to 260 deaths per 100,000 full-time fishers.
Reported by: Domestic Public Health Achievements Team, CDC. Corresponding contributor: Ram Koppaka, MD, PhD, Epidemiology and Analysis Program Office, Office of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and Laboratory Services, CDC; rkoppaka@cdc.gov, 347-396-2847.
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.
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Driving Home From A Conference Held to Be Compensable
The employee's travel which resulted in his fatal injuries while he was driving from home in a vehicle furnished by his employer to an overnight conference outside his normal work area at the employer's request, was held to be compensable for workers' compensation purposes. The travels originated in, and furthered, the business of his employer and, thus, occurred "in course of employment." Even though the accident occurred on the way to pick up a coworker who had the same job as the employee and was also required to attend the same conference, death benefits were payable.
"As previously noted, an employee's travel between home and work furthers the affairs of the employer (the second element of the course and scope definition) because it makes employment possible. Thus, the propriety of summary judgment hinges on the definition's first element—whether the travel originated in the employer's business. There is no bright-line rule for determining whether employee travel originated in the employer's business. Rather, each situation is necessarily dependent on the facts. As a general rule, an employee's travel originates in his employer's business if the travel was pursuant to the express or implied requirements of the employment contract. This reflects the underlying policy goal of allocating to the employer and insurance carrier the risks inherent in an employee's job while leaving to the employee risks that are “shared by society as a whole and do not arise as a result of the work of the employer.” When the employer requires the employee to travel as part of its business—i.e., pursuant to the contract of employment—the risk of traveling stems from that business and properly can be said to arise as a result of the employer's business." [Cites omitted]
Zurich American Ins. Co. v McVey, No. 03–09–00666–CV, 2011 WL 1238657 )Tex. App. - Austin, 2011) Decided March 30, 2011.
"As previously noted, an employee's travel between home and work furthers the affairs of the employer (the second element of the course and scope definition) because it makes employment possible. Thus, the propriety of summary judgment hinges on the definition's first element—whether the travel originated in the employer's business. There is no bright-line rule for determining whether employee travel originated in the employer's business. Rather, each situation is necessarily dependent on the facts. As a general rule, an employee's travel originates in his employer's business if the travel was pursuant to the express or implied requirements of the employment contract. This reflects the underlying policy goal of allocating to the employer and insurance carrier the risks inherent in an employee's job while leaving to the employee risks that are “shared by society as a whole and do not arise as a result of the work of the employer.” When the employer requires the employee to travel as part of its business—i.e., pursuant to the contract of employment—the risk of traveling stems from that business and properly can be said to arise as a result of the employer's business." [Cites omitted]
Zurich American Ins. Co. v McVey, No. 03–09–00666–CV, 2011 WL 1238657 )Tex. App. - Austin, 2011) Decided March 30, 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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Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Halted: Medicare Secondary Payer Recovery Contractor Demand Letters
The Medicare Recovery Contractor (MSPRC) has now posted a notice on its web site that, "...Issuance of the Rights and Responsibilities (“RAR”) and Demand letters has been temporarily suspended while these letters are under review. The MSPRC is still working cases, and the RAR and Demand letters will be mailed out once appropriate revisions have been made."
This follows a recent US District Court ruling enjoining CMS's collection procedures. Haro v. Sebelius, (A. Ariz.) CV 09-134 TUC DCB
This follows a recent US District Court ruling enjoining CMS's collection procedures. Haro v. Sebelius, (A. Ariz.) CV 09-134 TUC DCB
Employers Face a Triple Legal Threat for Distracted Driving Claims
Employers usually make an "after the fact" reaction to cell phone use that the result in distracted driving accidents. The mounting liability for employers, a triple economic threat, may soon change their attitude to adopt an improved cell phone safety culture.
Employers who have no policy in-place or enforcement protocol, passive or active, seem to be in the majority according to a recently released survey conducted by ZoomSafer Inc. The company offers several products to actively stop cellphone use while driving. Their survey of over 500 business managers reveals that 32% of companies have knowledge or evidence of vehicle cashes that have occurred as a result of distractions stemming from employee use of cell phone while driving. Of the 54% of the companies with a defined cell phone policy, more than half, 27.3%, created that policy only after an incident occurred.
Employers are now faced with a triple threat of legal actions including: workers' compensation claims from their employees, liability law suits from the innocent individual who was injured, and now an OSHA fine. It is anticipated that these economic factors will have a major impact in creating an improved cellphone safety culture.
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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