Tag: Workers Comp

As the holiday shopping season approaches, retail workers are concerned about their personal safety given a recent increase in workplace incidents, according to the Retail Worker Safety Report released Monday by Motorola Solutions.

The report, which came from a November survey of more than 1,000 retail store associates and managers, showed that one in four workers considered leaving the retail sector because of workplace safety concerns, and that employers who invest in store security measures are more likely to build employee morale and retention.

Top safety concerns highlighted in the report include petty theft, hostile customer interactions, grab-and-run incidents, and loitering.

The survey showed that around 61% of retail workers expressed safety concerns heading into the holiday shopping season.

Responders also said technology can play a large role in increasing workers’ sense of safety.  

 

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Monday that it cited Cincinnati-based Zwanenberg Food Group USA following a temporary worker’s amputation injury in June.

The food processing company was cited for two repeat violations and issued $242,197 in proposed penalties after the kitchen worker, who had been on the job for seven months, had a finger amputated after reaching into a meat grinder. The incident occurred at the company’s Cincinnati plant.

OSHA cited Zwanenberg for not having required machine guarding and failing to train workers on its lockout/tagout procedures.

Another Zwanenberg employee suffered a leg amputation in 2022, which led to $1.9 million in proposed penalties. The company is currently contesting that citation and the penalties.

Zwanenberg, which has 12 production facilities across the U.S., has contested the latest citation and proposed penalties.

Eighty percent of all workers compensation claims filed in Pennsylvania between 2018 and 2020 included at least one office and physical medicine visit, and upper extremity injuries constituted the greatest number of doctor visits, according to a report released Monday by the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau.

Workers comp claims in which claimants needed at least one surgery totaled 28%, and repair to upper extremities constituted most of the surgeries, at 47%, the report states.

The figures also show that 29% of workers comp claims included costs for prescription drugs, of which 17% were opioids.

The report also shows that the median number of physical medicine visits is 11 occurrences, ranging from one visit for head injuries to as many as 55 visits for shoulder and upper arm injuries.

Knee injuries required the least surgeries, at 15.1%. 

 

 

The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office said Thursday it charged a doctor with 40 insurance fraud violations after he filed liens with the state’s Division of Workers Compensation asking for payment of bills that had already been paid in full or in part.

Dr. Gary Martinovsky, along with his assistant and mother-in-law, Raisa Rikoshinsky, were charged with insurance fraud for fraudulent billing, double billing and billing for services not rendered. Arraignment has been scheduled for Jan. 12.

Prosecutors said according to the California Department of Industrial Relations, Dr. Martinovsky has 3,005 liens worth $29,443,467 outstanding as of October.

California workers comp law permits doctors to file liens against insurers for injured worker payment services. Dr. Martinovsky submitted fraudulent documents in support of his filed liens, according to the District Attorney’s Office.  

 

 

U.S. commercial insurance prices increased by an average of 6.1% in the third quarter, matching the second quarter, with commercial property and excess/umbrella liability lines seeing double-digit rate increases, Willis Towers Watson PLC said in a report released Monday.

Commercial property saw the greatest rate increase, with a double-digit surge, though at a slightly lower rate than in the previous quarter, WTW said.

Excess/umbrella liability also saw a double-digit increase at a higher rate than the previous quarter.

In contrast, directors and officers liability and cyber coverage continued to show rate decreases, but at somewhat slower rates than in the prior quarter.

“Continuing on an upward trajectory, rates in the third quarter reflected a subtle shift from the prior quarter,” Yi Jing, director, insurance consulting and technology at WTW, said in a statement.

“While the overall increase rate was somewhat similar to the prior quarter, some coverage lines experienced notable double-digit increases,” Ms. Jing said.

A Pennsylvania appeals court Thursday reversed a lower court’s decision to dismiss an injured concrete worker’s lawsuit against a construction company and its owner.

The Pennsylvania Superior Court said the trial court wrongly granted summary judgment to Pittsburgh-based Gaydos Construction & Asphalt Paving Co. and its owner, George Gaydos, in a lawsuit brought by John Brown, who suffered a serious injury at a Pittsburgh work site in September 2016.

Mr. Brown received workers compensation benefits but later sued Gaydos, saying it negligently maintained the skid loader he was using and failed to properly train him on its use.

Gaydos Construction appealed, contending it was not Mr. Brown’s employer and was therefore immune from the suit.

Mr. Gaydos, who worked as a sole proprietor, formed a partnership with a cousin under the name of American Concrete Solutions LLC, which handled concrete and masonry jobs.

The trial court granted Gaydos summary judgment in April 2021, and Mr. Brown appealed.

The Superior Court remanded the case, saying it was prematurely dismissed because, among other things, questions remained whether Gaydos was Mr. Brown’s employer.

 

 

Health care workers who had the highest risk of COVID-19 exposure during the height of the pandemic were also the most likely to self-report nonadherence to infection prevention measures, according to a study published Thursday in the American Journal of Infection Control.

Researchers, analyzing survey responses from 191 health care workers at the University of North Carolina Medical Center between July 2020 and January 2021, concluded that new efforts are needed to enhance workplace infection prevention precautions and protect staff against dangerous pathogen exposure.

Among the study’s findings were that adherence to personal protective equipment guidelines varied by job role and that hand hygiene was the infection precaution most often performed incorrectly.

Researchers also found that repetitive job tasks and increased work demands during the pandemic may have contributed to PPE nonadherence.

The study urges increased workplace training and education for health care employees during public health emergencies.

 

New York lawmakers Wednesday introduced a bill that would allow survivors of those whose COVID-19 deaths were connected to work to refile workers compensation death benefits claims that were previously denied due to timing.

S.B. 7792, which was sent to the Senate Rules Committee, would allow the reopening of claims that were denied because they did not meet the provisions in current law that claims be filed within two years of the death and/or within 30 days of the injury.

If signed into law, the bill would immediately give families up to one year to refile claims.

 

 

Missouri lawmakers will consider a bill that would add marijuana to existing law that reduces or eliminates workers compensation eligibility for injured workers who are found to be under the influence of alcohol or nonprescribed controlled drugs.

S.B. 935, pre-filed on Dec. 1 in preparation for the 2024 legislative season, would amend current law that states workers compensation awards and death benefits of an injured employee shall be reduced by 50% if the employee failed to obey any employer rule related to the use of substances and the injury was sustained while under the influence of such substances. 

The law also states that if the substances are found to be the “proximate cause of the death or injury” all benefits and awards are forfeited.