N.J. agrees to $250M pollution settlement from Exxon; state had sought $8.9B By Scott Fallon and James O'Neill staff writers |  The Record Print The Christie administration reportedly has settled for pennies on the dollar an 11-year-old lawsuit that addresses contamination around the Bayway Refinery in Linden, once owned by Exxon, as well as at a site in Bayonne. ASSOCIATED PRESS The Christie administration’s reported settlement of an $8.9 billion lawsuit against Exxon Mobil Corp. for just $250 million drew a wide range of criticism Friday against a governor who has leaned heavily on the fossil fuel industry for money to boost his national stature. Lawyers for the state reportedly settled an 11-year-old lawsuit last week just before a state Superior Court judge was set to rule on the amount Exxon would be penalized for contaminating more than 1,500 acres of wetlands, marshes and meadows in Bayonne and Linden, where it ran oil refineries for decades. AP Why would the Christie administration settle a 10-year-old lawsuit against Exxon Mobile for a reported $250 million when it was seeking almost $9 billion in damages? The former state official who brought the lawsuit against Exxon in 2004 called the reported settlement a “betrayal of environmental law enforcement” because state courts had already found Exxon liable for the damage. The only issue remaining was the amount the oil giant would be compelled to pay. “If these reports are true and...

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21 new cases of mesothelioma in Iron Range miners - KMSP-TV

MINNEAPOLIS (KMSP) - Minnesota health officials have discovered 21 new cases of mesothelioma in a group of 69,000 mine workers that have been monitored since the late 1990s. 80 cases of the rare lung cancer had previously been discovered the group of miners, bringing the total number of cases reported to 101. Mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos fibers. It's almost always fatal. The workers monitored by MDH and the University of Minnesota were employed in the state's iron mining industry between the 1930s and 1982. All 101 cases occurred in miners who worked with multiple companies across the Iron Range, so the mesothelioma cases are not limited to one location or company. These 21 new cases were not unexpected, but rather a matter of time. “This form of cancer has an extremely long latency period,” said Dr. Ed Ehlinger, Minnesota Commissioner of Health. “The interval between exposure to the agent that causes the cancer and the time when the cancer appears can be as long as 40 or 50 years, possibly even longer. We have always expected to see additional cases as time went by, in people who were exposed many years ago. We expect to see still more cases going forward.” Health officials are stressing that the spike mesothelioma cases in northeastern Minnesota is most likely an occupational health concern, and there is not any increased risk for the general public.

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Nearly One Third Of Workers’ Comp Claims Caused By Ice & Snow

(WLNS) – Last year’s snowy and icy winter in the Midwest caused slips and falls that accounted for nearly one third of all workers’ compensation claims. That’s according to the Accident Fund and United Heartland, two large workers’ compensation carriers. Their researchers found that winter-related slips and falls claims doubled in 2013-2014 over the previous year, representing 29 percent of all workers’ compensation claims. By state, the numbers peaked at: • Indiana – 37 percent • Wisconsin – 33 percent • Michigan – 32 percent • Illinois – 32 percent • Minnesota – 29 percent “Winter-related slips and falls have a significant negative impact on American businesses each year, resulting in time off work, temporary employee costs, overtime for existing employees and increased insurance costs,” said Mike Britt, president of Accident Fund Insurance Company of America. Tips for Winter Safety To help avoid injury when walking on ice and snow, Accident Fund and United Heartland offer simple tips: • Walk slowly and deliberately and wear boots or other slip-resistant footwear • Be prepared for black ice formation after melting occurs • Exercise caution when getting in and out of vehicles • Watch for slippery floors when entering buildings • Avoid carrying items, keep hands empty so arms are free to move for stabilization – use backpacks if possible The...

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NJ Beta On-Line Calculations Program Available - OscarCalc

NJ has now released an on-line Beta version of its calculation program, OscarCalc. The announcement was made today by Director and Chief Judge Peter J. Calderone.

Click below to access the Beta version of the online program.

OscarCalc

CMS Publishes Final Rule for MSP Appeals

Federal Register | Medicare Program; Right of Appeal for Medicare Secondary Payer Determinations Relating to Liability Insurance (Including Self-Insurance), No-Fault Insurance, and Workers' Compensation Laws and Plans

Supreme Court upholds Kubota liability in asbestos death case

Today's post is shared from japantimes.com/

The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling that found asbestos used at a Kubota Corp. plant caused fatal mesothelioma in a man who lived near the plant and ordered the company to pay ¥31.9 million in damages to his relatives.

It’s the first time the Supreme Court has upheld a lower court decision recognizing corporate responsibility for asbestos-related illness in someone living near a factory.

All five judges on the court’s Third Petty Bench, led by Justice Takehiko Otani, upheld the ruling Tuesday, court officials said.

The plaintiffs were relatives of Kojiro Yamauchi, who died at age 80 after working for two decades about 200 meters from the Kubota plant in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture.

He lived near his workplace.

His relatives and those of Ayako Yasui, who died at age 85 having lived about 1 km from the plant, sought damages from both Kubota and the government.

The Kobe District Court ruled in August 2012 that asbestos fibers had spread outside the plant, ordering Kubota to pay damages to Yamauchi’s family, but not Yasui’s. The decision was later upheld by the Osaka High Court, and now by the Supreme Court.

The government was not liable, the lower courts ruled, because not enough was known about the risk to nearby residents to implement regulations.

Kubota has offered compensation to residents since 2005, but it has denied there is any link between local illnesses and fibers from the plant. The plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case did not receive the...


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The Growing Industrial Accident Complex

Who is to blame for the rapidly developing problems/changes with workers' compensation programs? These issues are generating reforms that are transforming the work related social insurance remedial system into a completely different benefit program.
Today's post is authored by David DePaolo and shared from http://daviddepaolo.blogspot.com/

I was talking to a physician friend of mine yesterday.

I know - the first thing in your mind is that you didn't know I had any friends and second question is why, assuming I did have friends, a smart guy like a doctor would talk to me.

Those are beside the point - the crux of the conversation centered on his clinical observation over the past 30 plus years of practicing orthopedic medicine in both forensic (including work comp and auto) and non-forensic settings is that the forensic medical complex routinely produces worse outcomes than the non-forensic setting.

My friend has done principally defense oriented forensic work, but is also widely used as an independent medical examiner and agreed medical examiner - he was speaking from a purely interested scientist's perspective.

He relayed a couple of clinical stories - stories that I think are all too common.

The basic theme is that Patient (I'll use that instead of injured worker, because I'm trying to relay this from the physician's view), a 60 year old female worker, complains of pain, tingling and numbness in her hands.

She makes a workers' compensation claim because she BELIEVES that her work has something to do with it (and yes, there are co-morbidities and other factors).

The insurance company denies the claim. She lawyers up, they fight over causation, insurance company loses that battle.

That process takes about four years.

This is after nearly every doctor that Patient sees, whether on "her side" or for the defense, opine that there likely is SOME industrial component.

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