The Illinois Worker’s Compensation (IWCC), in conjunction with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office Special Prosecutions Division and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, has secured the first felony conviction for failure to secure workers’ compensation insurance.
Mr. Ahmed Ghosien, d/b/a Ghosien European Auto Werks, refused to comply with Illinois law despite having been given several opportunities to become compliant. After aggressive enforcement efforts, on July 25, 2013, Mr. Ghosien entered a guilty plea to the Class 4 felony (People v. Ahmed Ghosien, 12 CR 20949). This is the first felony conviction against an employer for failure to obtain workers’ compensation insurance since the penalty increase, from a misdemeanor to a Class 4 felony, was introduced in 2005 and remained a critical part of Gov. Quinn’s reforms to the Worker’s Compensation Act in 2011.
Monday, August 5, 2013
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Saving Money, Poisoning Workers
This is a case for employers to act with moral responsibility to maintain a safe work environment, stronger regulations and changes in statutory provisions to make the workplace safer. This post was shared by Jordan Barab and comes from www.nytimes.com
The workers at Royale Comfort Seating in Taylorsville, N.C., had a simple but grueling job. For 10 hours at a stretch they spray-glued pieces of polyurethane foam into shapes that became the spongy filling of cushions sold to many top furniture brands. Unfortunately, the glue contained a dangerous chemical known as n-propyl bromide, or nPB, and the spray guns left a yellowish fog in the air that coated everything in sight. Exposure to the toxic fumes left some workers so dizzy at the end of the day that they walked as if drunk.
Worse yet, many developed long-term ailments. One worker can no longer stand or sit for more than 20 minutes without feeling excruciating pain in her spine and legs. Another lost control of his hands and could not put on clothes without help.
Medicare To Punish 2,225 Hospitals For Excess Readmissions
As workers' compensation medical costs rise, the quality of care is a focus for Medicare. Medicare is focussing on hospital re-admissions in an effort to improve care and lower costs. This may have a trickle down effect on workers' compensation costs. Today's post was shared by Kaiser Health News and comes from www.kaiserhealthnews.org
Medicare will levy $227 million in fines against hospitals in every state but one for the second round of the government’s campaign to reduce the number of patients readmitted within a month, according to federal records released Friday.
Medicare identified 2,225 hospitals that will have payments reduced for a year starting on Oct. 1. Eighteen hospitals will lose 2 percent, the maximum possible and double the current top penalty.
Another 154 will lose 1 percent or more of every payment for a patient stay, the records show.
Medicare identified 2,225 hospitals that will have payments reduced for a year starting on Oct. 1. Eighteen hospitals will lose 2 percent, the maximum possible and double the current top penalty.
Another 154 will lose 1 percent or more of every payment for a patient stay, the records show.
The young and new on job most affected by heat stress: study
Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.iwh.on.ca
Study of work-related heat stress finds heat strokes, sun strokes and other heat illnesses spike over groups of days and disproportionately affect those on the job less than two months
On hot, sultry summer days, it’s common to see ministries of labour issue alerts telling workers to stay cool, drink a lot of water and take longer breaks if necessary. Public health officials will also urge people to stay indoors and check in on their elderly neighbours.
If employers were ever to issue a workplace equivalent of such alerts, they should ask workers to keep an eye on their young colleagues—especially the new ones on the job.
According to a study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) on heat stress, young men working in manual occupations are most vulnerable to extreme heat. The more inexperienced they are on the job, the more likely they are to need time off work to recover from heat stroke, sun stroke, fainting and other forms of heat illnesses.
On hot, sultry summer days, it’s common to see ministries of labour issue alerts telling workers to stay cool, drink a lot of water and take longer breaks if necessary. Public health officials will also urge people to stay indoors and check in on their elderly neighbours.
If employers were ever to issue a workplace equivalent of such alerts, they should ask workers to keep an eye on their young colleagues—especially the new ones on the job.
According to a study by the Institute for Work & Health (IWH) on heat stress, young men working in manual occupations are most vulnerable to extreme heat. The more inexperienced they are on the job, the more likely they are to need time off work to recover from heat stroke, sun stroke, fainting and other forms of heat illnesses.
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Garlock testimony switches to financial liability
Asbestos companies have for decades attempted to limit their personal injury claims liability by filing for bankruptcy protection. The Union Asbestos and Rubber Company and Johns Manville were the first in a series of companies who have sough protection. Adequately funding an asbestos personal injury claims trust is essential to protect injured workers and other victims of asbestos disease, ie. asbestosis, lung cancer & mesothelioma. As long as asbestos is not banned in the US, it is critical that these trust adequately compensate the victims and potential victims for decades into the future.
Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com
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Attorneys transitioned Friday from days of expert testimony on the carcinogenic effects of asbestos and the work practices of attorneys representing asbestos plaintiffs to arguments about how much financial liability Garlock Sealing Technologies should face in the company’s ongoing bankruptcy trial.
Garlock attorneys called on economists to give the court estimates for how much money the company should place in a trust for future mesothelioma victims who might sue the company over exposure to asbestos from their products. Doing so will allow the company to escape bankruptcy.
Health Care Workers Suffer Exposures to Antineoplastic Drugs
A recent study reveals that health care workers may be suffering from occupational exposure to chemotherapy drugs while treating cancer patients.
"Antineoplastic drugs are pharmaceuticals commonly used to treat cancer, which are generally referred to as 'chemotherapy'. Several studies have shown that exposure to antineoplastic drugs can cause toxic effects on reproduction as well as carcinogenic effects. Presence of these drugs in the urine of hospital personnel has been widely studied and dermal exposure has been suggested to be the main route of exposure.
The main focus has been on handling the concentrated drug during preparation and administration of antineoplastic drugs and several approaches have been proposed on how to control those. Handling patient excreta has been considered to be potentially harmful to nurses working with cancer patients, since antineoplastic drugs are known to be present in patient excreta (e.g. urine, saliva, sweat, faeces, vomit), but this has not been studied in great detail in occupational exposure studies.
The identification of occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs in sectors outside the hospital environment (i.e. veterinary medicine, home care, nursing homes and industrial laundries) showed that the number of workers potentially exposed to antineoplastic drugs is larger than previously estimated. "
Click here to read the series of articles in The Annals of Occupational Hygiene
Exposure to Antineoplastic Drugs in Two UK Hospital Pharmacy Units
H. J. Mason, S. Blair, C. Sams, K. Jones, S. J. Garfitt, M. J. Cuschieri, and P. J. Baxter
A Pooled Analysis to Study Trends in Exposure to Antineoplastic Drugs among Nurses
Wouter Fransman, Susan Peelen, Simone Hilhorst, Nel Roeleveld, Dick Heederik, and Hans Kromhout
Occupational Dermal Exposure to Cyclophosphamide in Dutch Hospitals: A Pilot Study
Wouter Fransman, Roel Vermeulen, And Hans Kromhout
Postulating a dermal pathway for exposure to anti-neoplastic drugs among hospital workers
Hans Kromhout, Fred Hoek, Ruud Uitterhoeve, Roel Huijbers, Roderik F. Overmars, Rob Anzion, and Roel Vermeulen
Occupational Exposure Limits for Therapeutic Substances
Raymond Agius
Read more about "occupational exposures" and workers' compensation:
Exposure to Antineoplastic Drugs in Two UK Hospital Pharmacy Units
H. J. Mason, S. Blair, C. Sams, K. Jones, S. J. Garfitt, M. J. Cuschieri, and P. J. Baxter
A Pooled Analysis to Study Trends in Exposure to Antineoplastic Drugs among Nurses
Wouter Fransman, Susan Peelen, Simone Hilhorst, Nel Roeleveld, Dick Heederik, and Hans Kromhout
Occupational Dermal Exposure to Cyclophosphamide in Dutch Hospitals: A Pilot Study
Wouter Fransman, Roel Vermeulen, And Hans Kromhout
Postulating a dermal pathway for exposure to anti-neoplastic drugs among hospital workers
Hans Kromhout, Fred Hoek, Ruud Uitterhoeve, Roel Huijbers, Roderik F. Overmars, Rob Anzion, and Roel Vermeulen
Occupational Exposure Limits for Therapeutic Substances
Raymond Agius
Read more about "occupational exposures" and workers' compensation:
Jul 12, 2013
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration today announced a new National Emphasis Program to protect workers from the serious health effects from occupational exposure to isocyanates. OSHA develops national ...
Jun 03, 2013
Chemical exposure in the workplace can have an insidious--yet devasating--effect on a worker. In a wide-ranging article, the New York Times presented an in-depth view of chemical exposure at furniture factories in North ...
Jul 19, 2013
Workers' compensation claims result from heat stress and exposure. As the Mid-West and Northeast heatwave is now soaring to records temperatures, workers should protect themselves from heat exposure. Today's post was ...
Friday, August 2, 2013
Cyclospora Outbreak Solved: Mexcian/California Salad Sold in Darden Restaurant Chain
The cause of the widespread (4000 more cases) infectious disease outbreak causing Cyclospora has been traced to a restaurant chain selling salad distributed by a Mexican and Salinas, CA based company.
"The salad mix identified in Cyclospora outbreak investigations in Iowa and Nebraska came from a Mexican company that processes foodservice salad, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today in an outbreak update.
The FDA said its trace-back investigation found that the salad mix that Iowa and Nebraska officials linked to the outbreak was supplied to restaurants in those states by a common supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, S de RL de CV. It added that its investigation has not implicated consumer packages sold in grocery stores.
The restaurants linked to the clusters include Olive Garden and Red Lobster outlets, both of which chains are owned by Darden Restaurants, FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman told CIDRAP News.
Click here to read to complete article: FDA: Salad cited in Cyclospora cases came from Mexican supplier
"The salad mix identified in Cyclospora outbreak investigations in Iowa and Nebraska came from a Mexican company that processes foodservice salad, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced today in an outbreak update.
The FDA said its trace-back investigation found that the salad mix that Iowa and Nebraska officials linked to the outbreak was supplied to restaurants in those states by a common supplier, Taylor Farms de Mexico, S de RL de CV. It added that its investigation has not implicated consumer packages sold in grocery stores.
The restaurants linked to the clusters include Olive Garden and Red Lobster outlets, both of which chains are owned by Darden Restaurants, FDA spokeswoman Theresa Eisenman told CIDRAP News.
Click here to read to complete article: FDA: Salad cited in Cyclospora cases came from Mexican supplier
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