NFL concussion payout formula would provide up to $5 million per retired player

Today's post is shared from nola.com Lawyers representing former NFL players in the proposed $765 million settlement of thousands of concussion-related claims detailed Monday how the money would be divided. The awards could reach $5 million for athletes with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease; $4 million for a death involving brain trauma; and $3 million for dementia cases. Under the payout formula, those maximum awards would go to players under 45, who would likely need more lifetime care. For a man in his early 60s, the awards top out at $3 million for ALS and $950,000 for Alzheimer's disease. An 80-year-old with early dementia would get $25,000. Individual awards would also reflect how long the player spent in the NFL, unrelated medical issues and other factors. For instance, the award could be reduced significantly if someone had injuries from an unrelated stroke or car accident. Men without any neurological problems would get baseline testing, and could seek compensation if test reveal any problems. "This is an extraordinary settlement for retired NFL players and their families -- from those who suffer with severe neurocognitive illnesses today, to those who are currently healthy but fear they may develop symptoms decades into the future," lead players' lawyers...

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IARC to evaluate carbon nanotubes

Today's post is shared from http://johncherrie.blogspot.co.uk The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has announced that the 111th Monograph meeting  (30 September - 7 October 2014) will evaluate some nanomaterials and fibres. The agents  for review are carbon nanotubes (CNT), fluoro-edenite and silicon carbide. The major concern with CNT is their elongated shape and the possibility that they may have similar toxicological properties to asbestos, but the scientific issues surrounding nanotubes are complex. Searching the recently published literature shows that there are almost ten times the number of papers investigating the use of carbon nanotubes as a way of delivering therapeutic cancer drugs as are concerned with the cancer hazards or risks of the same materials. Ken Donaldson and colleagues [1] discussed the hazard of CNT in a recent paper. They noted that when inhaled, asbestos can cause asbestosis, bronchogenic carcinoma, mesothelioma, pleural fibrosis and pleural plaques. The pathogenicity of fibres in the lung depends on their length, diameter and biopersistence. Long and biopersistent fibres can cause oxidative stress and inflammation in the lung and pleura and these processes culminate in pathologic changes. Current research suggests that fibrous CNT can elicit inflamatory effects similar to asbestos but more research is needed to determine whether they can cause fibrosis and cancer in the lung. However, given the main potential use of these materials it is perhaps more important to determine whether...

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CMS Takes a New Direction in the Proposed MSP Appeal Process

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services (CMS) has proposed rules for the Medicare Secondary Payer (MSP) appeals process that will target the “applicable plan” as the primary responsible party for recovery. 

Medicare, in pursuing recovery directly from the applicable plan, removes the beneficiary, as well as the provider or supplier, as the responsible party to initial a re-determination and all subsequent levels of the administrative process that could culminate in judicial review.

Docket ID:CMS-2013-0270

Topic(s):Administrative Practices and Procedures, Health Facilities, Health Professions, Kidney Diseases, Medical Devices, Medicare, Reporting and Recordkeeping Requirements, Rural Areas, X-Rays

Document Type:Proposed Rule

Received Date:Dec 27, 2013

Start-End Page:78802 - 78807

Comment Start Date:Dec 27, 2013

Comment Due Date:Feb 25, 2014

Click here to review the proposed rules.

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Tips To Protect Workers In Cold Environments

Today's post was shared by US Dept. of Labor and comes from www.osha.gov

Prolonged exposure to freezing or cold temperatures may cause serious health problems such as trench foot, frostbite and hypothermia. In extreme cases, including cold water immersion, exposure can lead to death. Danger signs include uncontrolled shivering, slurred speech, clumsy movements, fatigue and confused behavior. If these signs are observed, call for emergency help. OSHA's Cold Stress Card provides a reference guide and recommendations to combat and prevent many illnesses and injuries. Available in English and Spanish, this laminated fold-up card is free to employers, workers and the public. Tips include: How to Protect Workers Recognize the environmental and workplace conditions that may be dangerous. Learn the signs and symptoms of cold-induced illnesses and injuries and what to do to help workers. Train workers about cold-induced illnesses and injuries. Encourage workers to wear proper clothing for cold, wet and windy conditions, including layers that can be adjusted to changing conditions. Be sure workers in extreme conditions take a frequent short break in warm dry shelters to allow their bodies to warm up. Try to schedule work for the warmest part of the day. Avoid exhaustion or fatigue because energy is needed to keep muscles warm. Use the buddy system - work in pairs so that one worker can recognize danger signs. Drink warm, sweet beverages (sugar...

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Garment Makers Stumble on Call for Accountability

PARETS DEL VALLÈS, Spain — From a sleek gray distribution center near Barcelona, the global fashion brand Mango ships 60 million garments in a year. Automated conveyor belts whir through the building like subway lines, sorting and organizing blouses, sweaters and other items to be shipped around the world. Human hands barely touch the clothes. Five thousand miles away in Bangladesh, the Phantom Tac factory in the industrial suburb of Savar was a hive of human hands. Hundreds of men and women hunched over sewing machines to produce garments in an assembly line system unchanged for years. Speed was also essential, but that just meant people had to work faster. Last spring, as it pushed forward with global expansion plans, Mango turned to Phantom Tac to produce a sample order of polo shirts and other items. Then, on April 24, the Rana Plaza factory complex collapsed, killing more than 1,100 people in the deadliest disaster in garment industry history, and destroying Phantom Tac and other operations in the building. Now, eight months later, the question is what responsibility Mango and other brands should bear toward the victims of Rana Plaza, a disaster that exposed the murkiness and lack of accountability in the global supply chain for clothes. Under intense international pressure, four brands agreed last week to help finance a landmark $40 million compensation fund for the victims. But many other brands, including Mango, have so far refused to contribute to the...

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Shoveling snow led to shocking experience for one Jersey City employee, offical says

Shoveling snow can have a toll on the body, but one unlucky Jersey City employee got more than he bargained for when he received a shock from a utility box he touched.  Just before 11 a.m. an employee from the Jersey City Incinerator Authority was shoveling snow at a crosswalk on Ocean Avenue between Armstrong and Van Nostrand avenues when he leaned up against a utility pole and received a shock, said a city official.  The unidentified man was taken to the Jersey City Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, said Jersey City police and fire spokesman Bob McHugh.  McHugh said details of the incident were developing but confirmed "this was not an electrocution." PSE&G officials did not respond to The Jersey Journal's request for comment on the incident.

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