News Archive

Workers' Compensation News

New Mine Safety Rules Reduce Accident Chances
It's unfortunate that it took a series of major mine accidents this decade to push the federal and state governments to update underground safety regulations. But the wake-up call was heeded, and Pennsylvania's newly created Mine Safety Board will meet for the first time as federal regulators continue to hand down new rules following fatal accidents in West Virginia and Kentucky in 2006. Efforts to reform mine safety were stalled since 1961, the last time comprehensive mine safety laws were updated. However, the new legislation was pushed forward after nine miners were trapped underground in Somerset County in 2002. 

2nd Circuit Clarifies Review Standard in Awarding Disability Benefits
A change in the standard of review for denying disability benefits where the plan administrator has a conflict of interest has led a federal appeals court to award payments to a tax attorney with colon cancer. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said new guidance from the U.S. Supreme Court means a less deferential standard of review under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act where the plan administrator is conflicted because it both evaluates eligibility and pays benefits. The decision favors a long-time cancer sufferer who was denied benefits by an insurance company used by his employer. Citing the employer's actions in his case as well as its long history of "deception and abusive tactics" in denying benefit claims, the court awarded disability benefits back to 1995. The 2nd Circuit ruled that it would adhere to the Supreme Court's clarified explanation of the standard of review governing such cases, which is that a conflict of interest is to be "weighed as a factor in determining whether there was an abuse of discretion." 

Veterans with PTSD Sue Federal Government for Disability Benefits
A group of military veterans filed a class action against the federal government, alleging that they were illegally denied disability benefits despite being diagnosed with severe cases of post-traumatic stress disorder that should have qualified them for free care. The five soldiers, all veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, were discharged by the Army after it determined that their damaged mental health left them unfit to serve. Once released, they were assigned disability ratings well below the 50 percent figure needed to qualify for lifetime health care benefits. The complaint alleges that starting in 2002, the Army "systematically" ignored rules requiring that all servicemen diagnosed with PTSD receive an automatic 50 percent rating.  

Colorado to Pay Millions in Fatal Big Dig Collapse
Prosecutors will drop a manslaughter charge against the only company charged in the fatal Big Dig tunnel collapse after the epoxy maker agreed to pay $16 million to settle a lawsuit. Under a deferred prosecution agreement, the company pledged to take steps to prevent the wrong type of epoxy from being used by customers. Since the accident, the company has recalled its "fast-set" epoxy used in the collapsed tunnel and has notified its customers that the epoxy failed certain tests and is not recommended for sustained loads. The company was among more than a dozen companies and government entities sued by the state after a woman was killed when 26 tons of ceiling panels collapsed on the car she was riding in with her husband.   

City Brings Widow's Wrongful Death Suit to Appellate Court
The city of Easton will appeal a federal judge's decision not to dismiss a civil rights lawsuit against the city for the accidental shooting death of her husband. The city argues that the case is a workers' compensation case, not a civil rights or even wrongful death suit. The widow's husband, a police officer, was accidentally shot and killed by another officer inside a small gun-cleaning room inside police headquarters. The widow, who is seeking $20 million, argues that her husband's death could have been prevented by simple safety training. 

Supreme Court to Consider $500 Million Asbestos Settlement
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to consider reinstating a roughly $500 million settlement of asbestos-related lawsuits against the Travelers Companies Inc. The settlement would also block any new lawsuits against Travelers arising out of the insurance company's long relationship with Johns Manville Corp., once the world's largest producer of asbestos. Travelers has been named in dozens of lawsuits claiming that it tried to hide the dangerous health effects of asbestos. A Circuit Court of Appeals in New York overturned a lower court's approval of the settlement, saying a bankruptcy judge lacks the authority to act so broadly. 

NFL Meeting Irks Wives of Ill Retirees
Wives of former NFL players with dementia were denied access to a meeting with the commissioner of the NFL about later-life care of retirees. The women were told that the meeting was for players only and that many felt the presence of women could impede the discussion. However, the wives criticized their exclusion, claiming that their husbands are unable to participate due to their dementia and that their wives are entitled to be involved in the discussions. 

Ground Zero Lawsuits to Begin in 2010
After years of wrangling, lawyers for New York City and for the thousands of ground zero workers suing the city have agreed to begin trials in the spring of 2010. The lawsuits claim that workers suffered illnesses as a result of their exposure to dust at the site, and most the first cases to be heard will involve people with the most severe health claims. Nearly 10,000 firefighters, police officers, construction workers and others have sued the city and its contractors, saying they suffered respiratory and other illnesses because they were not given breathing masks during the nine-month rescue and recovery operation after the 2001 terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. The defendants face a liability that could reach $1 billion or more if they are found to have been negligent.  

Injured Vets Still Await Disability Appeal Process
In the Army alone, thousands of soldiers injured since the September 11 terrorist attack, including many hurt in Iraq and Afghanistan, are eligible for a review of the numerical disability rating issued by the Army's Physical Evaluation Board. A number is assigned to the disability based on its severity and long-term impact. Those rated below 30 percent disabled receive a severance payment that is taxed instead of a monthly retirement check. The veteran continues to get health care, but from the VA rather than the military. And his family, once covered by military health insurance, no longer receives government provided health care. Recently, the Defense Department has found inconsistencies in how the military assigns disability ratings. Veterans advocates claim injuries rated below 30 percent by the Defense Department were being rated much higher by the Department of Veterans Affairs, while the government's Veterans Disability Benefits Commission has found the Army consistently assigns the lowest ratings. 

Brain-Injured Troops Face Unclear Long-Term Risks
Many of the thousands of troops who suffered traumatic brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan are at risk of long-term health problems including depression and Alzheimer's-like dementia, but it's impossible to predict how high those risks are. About 22 percent of wounded troops have a brain injury. Traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a signature injury of the Iraq war. Most do not involve penetrating head wounds but damage hidden inside the skull caused by an explosion's pressure waves. It can range from a mild concussion to severe injury. And because symptoms may not be immediately apparent, troops may not seek care. Returning soldiers have reported headaches, dizziness, memory loss, confusion, irritability, insomnia and depression. 

Subcontractor Denies Confining Workers in Iraq
A Kuwaiti subcontractor doing work the U.S. military in Iraq denied a report that it confined as many as 1,000 workers without money for up to three months in warehouses at the Baghdad airport. Najlaa International Catering Services said the workers, from South Asia, were being well cared for at airport housing facilities while awaiting assignments at work site. However, workers recently staged a march outside the warehouses to protest their living conditions, which appear to violate U.S. military guidelines on minimum living spaces.  

Hurricane Ike Cleanup Workers Report Wage Theft
Hundreds of workers who were hired to clean up debris, repair damaged roofs and restore flood-soaked buildings in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike say they were robbed of wages, stranded with nowhere to stay and injured on the job. The complaints range from workers who were brought in from other cities and promised housing, then forced to sleep outdoors on concrete sidewalks to others who contracted skin and eye infections and rashes from working in contaminated buildings with no protective gear. Many workers also claim they were victimized by employers who refused to pay wages or paid less than promised.   

W.R. Grace to Pay Up to $140 Million in Asbestos Case
W.R. Grace & Co. has agreed to pay up to $140 million to settle a class action lawsuit stemming from its use of an attic-insulating product that contained asbestos. The specialty chemicals maker company will pay $30 million cash into a trust fund, an additional $30 million cash after three years, and make up to 10 additional annual payments of $8 million if certain conditions are met. The payouts stem from the company's sale of Zonolite attic insulation, a loose-fill vermiculite product that can contain naturally occurring asbestos. Zonolite was installed in millions of homes throughout the U.S. and Canada. The hundreds of thousands of lawsuits filed against the product pushed W.R. Grace into bankruptcy protection in 2001. 

Court Hears OSHA Case on Carcinogen Exposure
Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, hearing cases in a federal appeals court, asked why the Labor Department does not lower worker exposure to known carcinogens such as hexavalent chromium. An advocacy group is asking the government to reduce the exposure limit for the carcinogen, which is known to carry a significant risk of lung cancer. Hundreds of thousands of workers are exposed on the job to hexavalent chromium, including welders, ironworkers and aerospace painters. A lawyer for the government argued that OSHA has already cut the allowable limit by more than 90 percent, while the advocacy group wants exposure limited to only 1 percent.  

City of Easton Asks Judge to Dismiss Wrongful Death Suit
The city of Easton is arguing that it is not liable for the death of a police officer and should not be included in a multimillion dollar civil rights lawsuit filed by the officer's widow. The widow sued the city after her husband was accidentally shot to death by another officer during a drug raid. However, the city claims that not only did her husband accept the risks of the job, but also that the other officer was found liable, not the city. The lawsuit seeks at least $20 million in damages.  

Working in Health Care is Risky
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that health care workers are more likely to die from bloodborne infections and related illnesses than people working in other occupations. Needlesticks and other accidents on the job expose nurses, doctors and other health care workers to infection with HIV and hepatitis B and C. The research found that male health care workers are at increased risk of HIV and viral hepatitis. For men, working in health care more than doubled the likelihood of dying from HIV, while it nearly doubled mortality from hepatitis B. 

Poor Safety Training Blamed for Biologist's Death
A wildlife biologist who was never trained about disease risks he could encounter while on the job died from the plague after handling a deceased lion without protective gear. The National Park Service said that the biologist didn't wear gloves or a protective respirator while handling and performing a necropsy on a mountain lion that had died of the plague. His supervisors failed to monitor his activities or review job hazards; he was never trained on the potential of cathcing diseases; and the Park Service didn't formally assess the danger he and other workers could encounter on the job. 

2007 Local Workplace Homicides Highest in U.S.
The Philadelphia region in 2007 has the highest rate of workplace homicides of any U.S. metropolitan area. Of the 93 Philadelphia workers who died on the job last year, 27 were killed by assaults and violent acts, representing 29 percent. The national average was 11 percent. Analysts reasoned that since so much manufacturing has left the area, employment is growing at smaller companies, such as retailing, where workers can be vulnerable to violence. Besides homicides, contact with objects and equipment, transportation accidents, fires and exposure to harmful substances caused the other on-the-job deaths.  

Miners' Widows Settle West Virginia Fire Lawsuit
The widows of two men killed in a 2006 coal mine fire in West Virginia settled a wrongful death lawsuit against Massey Energy Co. The widows of the miners sued the company, its CEO and two subsidiaries. The two men died after getting lost in thick smoke from a conveyor belt fire. The lawsuit claimed the defendants knew or should have known that a series of problems at the mine, including a missing air control wall, could kill miners by allowing smoke to fill escape routes. It also claimed that the CEO was personally liable because he had strict control over activities at the mine. 

Larger Payments Sought for Families of Officers Killed on the Job
Pennsylvania police unions are pushing lawmakers in Harrisburg to approve a bill that would increase payments to the families of officers in large city departments who are killed on the job. Under current law, the state continues to pay a family 100 percent of the salary of a deceased officer from a borough or township with at least three or more full-time officers. A spouse received that money for life, and children receive it until they are 18, or 23 if they go to college. But officers from the state's largest police departments all have different health benefits. For example, whereas Pittsburgh pays half of an officer's salary, Philadelphia pays 60 percent of the officer's salary. Unions support a bill that would require the state to cover the additional costs of a 100 percent salary death benefit for all family members. 

DuPont Finds High Levels of C8 in Chinese Workers
DuPont Co. has found high levels of the toxic chemical C8 in the blood of workers at a new Teflon plant in China, despite company promises to greatly reduce exposures and emissions. Less than a year after the plant began operations, workers already have an average concentration of C8 in their blood similar to or greater than that found in previous studies of U.S. plant workers. Workers tested had an average blood concentration of about 2,250 parts per billion of ammonium perfluorooctanoate, or PFOA. That compares to an average of just less than 50 parts per billion in May 2007, before the plant was operational. 

OSHA Investigates Fatal Warehouse Fall
The death of a man following a fall at a farm warehouse is being investigated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The man was a maintenance foreman at the warehouse who was injured when he fell from a platform. OSHA is investigating the incident to see whether the workplace contributed to his death or acted negligently. 

Doctors' Testimony Enough to Prove Workers' Compensation Claimant Faking
A Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ruled that the testimony of two doctors was enough to prove that a workers' compensation claimant was feigning symptoms that were not outwardly visible. The court upheld a previous ruling to terminate the benefits of a claimant who it determined, based on medical testimony, was exaggerating symptoms such as headache and dizziness. The case in question concerned a man who claimed he was injured at work when he was hit in the face by a box of crowbars while unloading a truck. His company then sued to terminate his benefits following the opinions of two doctors who claimed he was faking his symptoms.

OSHA Ties Mill Death to Where Man Stood
A man died at a pipe factory after he was crushed between two pipes. One pipe, which was suspended from a crane, swung toward the man, crushing him between that pipe and another. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration fined the company $26,700 for allowing the man to stand where he should never have been. OSHA also found several other violations at the factory that could endanger other workers.

Law on Asbestos May be Retroactive
The Ohio Supreme Court recently ruled on a 2004 law that will result in the dismissal of more than 40,000 asbestos lawsuits in the state. The court ruled that a 2004 law requiring asbestos claimants to have specific medical evidence from a physician before pursuing a claim was retroactive. The ruling also has ramifications in Florida, Georgia, Kansas and other states that have sought to use such laws to reduce litigation related to the cancer-causing substance. 

OSHA Proposed Fines Against Hampton Company
A Hampton company faces $174,000 in penalties after citations by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration for alleged violations at a job site. OSHA claims the company failed to protect employees from cave-ins of trenches as deep as 22 feet. Officials said that the company "received repeated warnings and was well aware of the trenching hazards identified with the site, but chose not to correct them." 

Crashes Leading Cause of Death on the Job
Workplace shootings may get all the news coverage, but more workers are killed in highway crashes than any other way. Nationally, of the 5,488 people who were killed on the job, 1,311 of then died in highway accidents. In Pennsylvania, 64 or 29 percent of the 220 people who died while on the clock were killed in highway accidents. Twice as many people were killed on the job in traffic accidents as the 32 people who were victims of homicide at work. All in all, 27 drivers of heavy trucks died in accidents in the state last year.

Workers Not Liable for Horseplay Injury
The Delaware Supreme Court has ruled that a man injured when co-workers tied him up with duct tape during workplace horseplay cannot sue them for negligence because the injuries occurred within the scope of his employment. Although the workers' compensation system typically provides the means for an employee to recover for on-the-job injuries, Delaware law provides an exception when injuries co-workers caused do not arise "out of or within the course and scope of employment."

Tennessee Court Rules Against Alcoa in Asbestos Suit
The Tennessee Supreme Court has ruled that Alcoa Inc. can be sued in the asbestos-related death of a former worker's daughter. The Pittsburgh-based company had argued that it should not be held responsible for daughter's cancer. The daughter had originally filed suit against the company in 2003, claiming that the asbestos dust her father brought home on his clothes had caused her cancer. The father continued the lawsuit after his daughter died. 

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