Copyright

(c) 2010-2024 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.

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.
Related articles
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,

New Rules to Govern Federal Employees Compensation Act

The US Labor Department has announced new rules updating procedures for Federal Workers’ Compensation Act claims. These rules mark the first major regulation updates since 1999.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workers' Compensation Programs today published a final rule that revises and modernizes the procedures used in administering claims under the Federal Employees' Compensation Act. They were published in the June 28 Federal Register. The Rules modernize procedures to increase fairness and efficiency, updates the regulations to account for recent statutory changes and incorporates advances in technology that preserve administrative resources.

"This is the first substantial change to the FECA regulations since 1999," said OWCP acting Director Gary Steinberg. "The new regulations take advantage of technological and other changes that will improve the fairness and efficiency of the claims process."The rule also clarifies a number of current practices. Updates include acknowledging reorganization within the department and incorporating statutory changes, such as the new FECA death gratuity benefit. Changes also have been made to existing policies to improve the benefit program and lessen burdens on claimants. Additionally, the rule adds the skin as a covered organ retroactive to Sept. 11, 2001, under the act's schedule award provision, providing up to 205 weeks of compensation for burns, cancers and other medical conditions that impair the skin's function. The administrative and procedural changes include requiring employing agencies to file claims electronically by the end of 2012 and allowing for the use of video and teleconferences in hearings, as well as changes to the medical approval and procurement procedures.


The Office of Workers' Compensation Programs administers several disability benefit programs that cover federal workers, nuclear weapons workers, coal miners, longshore and harbor workers, and civilian contractors of the federal government who work overseas. These programs provide a variety of medical benefits, as well as wage replacement, vocational rehabilitation and other services. Benefits also may be paid to eligible dependents or survivors. For more information, visit http://www.dol.gov/owcp/.


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.
Related articles
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

Monday, June 27, 2011

Tonight on HBO: Hot Coffee - How The Industry Suppresses Litigation


The acclaimed documentary, "Hot Coffee," premieres tonight on HBO. The film reveals what really happened to Stella Liebeck, the Albuquerque woman who spilled coffee on herself and sued McDonald’s, while exploring how and why the case garnered so much media attention, who funded the effort and to what end.
The film reveals what tactics are used by Industry to suppress litigation. After seeing this film, you will decide who really profited from spilling hot coffee.

Related articles

Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

Friday, June 24, 2011

The Ugly Canadians

Today, Canada blocked the United Nations from banning asbestos. Reuters reported, "Chrysotile asbestos will not be listed as a hazardous industrial chemical that can be banned from import after countries including Canada and Ukraine blocked consensus."

An editorial in the Toronto Star called the action by Canada as hypocritical: 

"The hypocrisy is staggering. The federal government has spent millions to clear its own buildings of this noxious material — including taking it out of 24 Sussex Drive to protect the Prime Minister and his family. Canadian companies, schools and homeowners have also removed asbestos from their structures. Yet we happily export it.The asbestos industry in Quebec has been dying for years and employs only about 300 people. There’s no future in these operations. The miners should be given help to find new jobs or a decent pension and the mines left to wither away. This toxic trade needs to end."

"Asbestos kills. The World Health Organization calls it “one of the most serious occupational carcinogens” and notes that it’s a factor in 90,000 deaths each year. But we keep selling more than $100 million of it each year to countries such as India and Indonesia, where it is used in the manufacture of cement and auto parts. We even market it with a Canadian flag logo, leaving the impression it is stamped with government approval."

***

"The asbestos industry in Quebec has been dying for years and employs only about 300 people. There’s no future in these operations. The miners should be given help to find new jobs or a decent pension and the mines left to wither away. This toxic trade needs to end."

As the Canadian Globe and Mail posted today, "We are the Ugly Canadians."

Related articles
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , ,

Canada Called A Pariah State

Canada's activities at the UN Rotterdam Convention to prevent the listing of chrysotile asbestos as a carcinogen has been internationally denounced. Despite the knowledge of the deadly effects of asbestos fiber, Canada continues to encourage the mining of the asbestos for its pecuniary gain in Quebec.


Related articles
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, June 23, 2011

OSHA Proposes New Reporting Rules for Amputations and Fatalities


OSHA's new proposed rule require employers to report to OSHA, within eight hours, all work-related fatalities and all work-related in-patient hospitalizations; and within 24 hours, all work-related amputations. The current regulation requires an employer to report to OSHA, within eight hours, all work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations of three or more employees.

Additionally, OSHA is proposing to update Appendix A to Subpart B of its Injury and Illness Recording and Reporting regulation. Appendix A contains a list of industries that are partially exempt from maintaining records of occupational injuries and illnesses, generally due to their relatively low rates of occupational injury and illness. The current list of industries is based on the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system. In 1997, the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) was introduced to classify establishments by industry. The proposed rule would update Appendix A by replacing it with a list of industries based on NAICS and more recent injury and illness data.
Related articles
Posted by at
Labels: , ,

Accidents Caused by Fatiguing Employment Require a Remedy

Employees sometimes are directed to work long and stressful hours and then if they become injured they are left without a remedy.  A Court recently held that even though an employee who was killed as a result of fatigue related accident while driving home after working  22 hours straight on "Black Friday" for Wal-Mart was without a remedy.


The Court reasoned that the law barred any recovery. The Workers' Compensation Act is not an available remedy the Court held since the injured occurred off the premises of the employer and not under the employers control. Also a civil action was barred by the deceased's estate against Wal-Mart since the Court reasoned that, "...The imposition of a duty upon an employer for injuries sustained by an employee, arguably arising out of the fatiguing conditions of employment, yet occurring outside of the course of employment would alter the necessary balance struck by the New Jersey legislature when defining the scope of compensable injuries." 

Despite the changing economic times, the laws should keep pace with the growing momentum of making the workplace safer. Regressive employment practices are not the solution for a healthier workplace. It is more important than ever that the Legislature revisit working conditions and strike a balance to provide a regulatory response to injuries and accident caused by such adverse situations.

See: Aylward v Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CA No. 10-4799, 2011 WL 2357762 (D.N.J.) Decided June 9, 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.

Related articles
Posted by at
Labels: , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)