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

Friday, January 13, 2012

Defense Base Act Bars Convoy Drivers Lawsuit Against KBR

The U.S. Court of Appeals on Thursday ruled the convoy drivers employed by a defense contractor, KBR,  in Iraq were bared by the Defense Base Act (DBA) which is US law that shields military employers from civil actions. The drivers were injured while performing their jobs for the military contractor in providing logistical support to the military.


Read the Bloomberg news dispatch: KBR Won't Face Trial in Convoy Driver Deaths, Court Rules
"Coverage of an injury under the DBA precludes an employee from recovering from his employer,” even if the worker claims the company was “substantially certain” the injuries would occur, U.S. Circuit Judge Priscilla R. Owen said in a 30-page ruling by the panel."


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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Nanomaterial Requires More Regulation by the EPA Inspector General Reports

EPA Report Recommends More Regulation
A recent report by the Inspector General of the US Environmental Protection Agency found that EPA does not currently have sufficient information or processes to  effectively manage the human health and environmental risks of nanomaterials. EPA has the statutory authority to regulate nanomaterials but currently lacks the environmental and human health exposure and toxicological data to do so effectively. The Agency proposed a policy under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to identify new pesticides being registered with nanoscale materials. After minimal industry participation in a voluntary data collection program, the Agency has proposed mandatory reporting rules for nanomaterials under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and is also developing proposed rules under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

Nanomaterials are currently being used in many applications including: consumer products, health care, transportation, energy, and agriculture.

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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 occupational accidents and illnesses.
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Top Disability Research Papers

The Social Science Research Network [SSRN] compiles published academic research papers and makes abstracts or the full articles available for download online. The database includes 376,944 abstracts, 308,704 full text articles and 177,289 authors, To date over 50,293,537 research paper downloads have occurred.


The TOP 4 Papers for the Journal of Disability Income & Work Injury Compensation eJournal hits for the last 90 days have been the following:

RankPaper Title
1
Pregnancy as 'Disability' and the Amended Americans with Disabilities Act Jeannette Cox,
University of Dayton School of Law,
Date posted to database: November 19, 2011
Last Revised: November 19, 2011
2
What Should We Do About Social Security Disability Appeals? Richard J. Pierce,
George Washington University Law School,
Date posted to database: November 8, 2011
Last Revised: November 8, 2011
3
What Can We Learn from Analyzing Historical Data on Social Security Entitlements? Joyce Manchester, Jae Song,
Government of the United States of America - Congressional Budget Office (CBO), U.S. Social Security Administration,
Date posted to database: November 4, 2011
Last Revised: November 4, 2011
4
The Complex World of Workers' Compensation and Pharmaceutical Benefits Jon L. Gelman,
Attorney,
Date posted to database: November 17, 2011
Last Revised: November 17, 2011
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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 occupational accidents and illnesses.
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US Supreme Court Rules Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Covers Work-Related Injuries

English: Clarence Thomas, Associate Justice of...Image via Wikipedia
Justice Clarence Thomas

In an historic ruling yesterday the US Supreme Court held that The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act [OCS] governs those who work on oil drilling platforms and other fixed structures beyond state maritime boundaries, and workers are eligible for compensation for "any injury occurring as the result of operations conducted on the [OCS]." 


For complete coverage of this case click here: The Jurist

"Although the Ninth Circuit’s test may not be the easiest to administer, it best reflects the text of §1333(b), which establishes neither a situs-of-injury nor a "but for" test. We are confident that ALJs and courts will be able to determine whether an injured employee has established a significant causal link between the injury he suffered and his employer's on-OCS extractive operations. Although we expect that employees injured while performing tasks on the OCS will regularly satisfy the test, whether an employee injured while performing an off-OCS task qualifies—like Valladolid, who died while tasked with onshore scrap metal consolidation—is a question that will depend on the individual circumstances of each case." Justice Clarence Thomas

Pacific Operators Offshore LLP v. Valladolid 
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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 occupational accidents and illnesses.

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The Law School's Roll in Workers' Compensation Law To Be Discussed

At the American Bar Association Midwinter Seminar & Conference, Co-sponsored by Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section and the Labor Law Section of the ABA, members of The College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers will present a special panel discussion addressing the issue of teaching workers’ compensation in the nation’s law schools. All of the panelists have experience as adjunct professors teaching workers’ compensation. The program is scheduled March 8-12, 2012 in San Antonio, Texas. They will review how many law schools are featuring a workers’ compensation course, how the panelists teach the subject, and they will also provide advice on how to lobby a law school to initiate such a course. The College members will be accompanied by a special guest from Texas, workers’ compensation hearing officer Hon. Patrice Squirewell-Jean, who has taught as an adjunct at Thurgood Marshall School of Law/Texas Southern University.


The College of Workers' Compensation Lawyers has been established to honor those attorneys who have distinguished themselves in their practice in the field of workers' compensation. Members have been nominated for the outstanding traits they have developed in their practice of twenty years, or longer, representing plaintiffs, defendants, serving as judges, or acting for the benefit of all in education, overseeing agencies and developing legislation.


To read more about the conference click here.

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Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Saying "I Do" In Workers' Compensation Court

Just in time for Valentine's Day, a bill was introduced into the NJ Legislature to permit workers' compensation judges (administrative agency employees) and Administrative Law Judges to conduct marriages. 


Read the bill: NJ S.746

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Court Reporter's Brain Aneurysm Held Compensable

A court reporter who suffered and survived, with catastrophic disability, was awarded workers' compensation benefits by the NY SupremeCourt - Appellate Division as a result of stressful employment.

"On August 10, 2007, claimant, a court reporter, was found unconscious at her workplace and rushed to a local hospital, where she was diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by a ruptured basilar artery aneurysm. Although claimant survived, she apparently remains unable to communicate. A workers' compensation claim subsequently was filed on her behalf, and the employer and its workers' compensation carrier (hereinafter collectively referred to as the employer) controverted the claim, asserting that the ruptured aneurysm was not related to claimant's employment. Following a hearing, a Workers' Compensation Law Judge (hereinafter WCLJ) found that the employer did not overcome the presumption of compensability set forth in Workers' Compensation Law § 21(1). "

The Court relied upon the statutory presumption language.

"Pursuant to Workers' Compensation Law § 21(1), a presumption of compensability exists where, as here, an unwitnessed or unexplained injury occurs during the course of the affected worker's employment (see Matter of Brown v. Clifton Recycling, 1 AD3d 735, 735 [2003] ). “The employer may overcome the presumption by presenting substantial evidence to the contrary” (Matter of Steadman v. Albany County, 84 AD3d 1649, 1650 [2011] [internal quotation marks and citations omitted] )."

Read the full decision: In Re: The Claim of Vanessa Richman (Decided January 5, 2012)
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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 occupational accidents and illnesses.
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