Tag: Workers Comp

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The number of nonfatal work injuries and illnesses in California rose by more than 25% in 2022 after a lull during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released Tuesday by the California Workers’ Compensation Institute.

There were 565,900 cases of work-related injuries and illnesses in the state last year compared with around 450,000 each in 2020 and 2021. CWCI researchers attributed the increase to a post-pandemic statewide employment rebound and additional COVID-19 reporting requirements.

The CWCI figures come from the California Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, which was based on reports from public and private employers statewide.

The report noted that the increased nonfatal illness figures in 2022 include COVID-19 cases as recognized occupational illnesses.

A pest control employee injured in an accident while driving a company vehicle to his employer’s shop is entitled to workers compensation benefits even though he was just starting out his shift and commuting from his residence, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

The state high court, in affirming an appellate court decision, ruled that Henry Keim was in the course of his employment for Above All Termite & Pest Control under the “authorized vehicle rule” at the time of the accident. A workers comp judge had initially dismissed the claim.

 

 

 

Comorbidities most often associated with workers compensation claims involving lower back injuries are hypertension, arthritis, sleep dysfunction, depression, anxiety and panic disorders, and many claimants in these cases report multiple comorbidities, according to a study released Tuesday by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

The study, Comorbidities and Recovery after Physical Therapy for Low Back Pain, looked at the prevalence of self-reported comorbidities and their relationship to functional improvements.

The study found that comorbidities such as sleep dysfunction, severe obesity and kidney disease were more strongly associated with smaller functional improvements and also that the timeliness of physical therapy services for workers suffering from lower back issues correlated with improved functional outcomes.

Researchers also found that mental health comorbidities were more prevalent in chronic low back comp claims than workers suffering from acute back pain.

The study notes that statistics on comorbidities are often under-identified because these secondary injuries are rarely covered in workers comp.

Data used in the study came from Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes and looked at claimants receiving outpatient physical therapy nationwide between 2017 and 2021.

The January 2022 death of a Massachusetts cannabis worker has raised concerns about potential respiratory health hazards for those employed in the marijuana industry, state regulators said in a report issued on Thursday.

In a joint report authored by the Massachusetts Public Health Department and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, asthma exacerbation was highlighted as a potential workplace hazard for those working in cannabis flower production.

The report followed an investigation into the Jan. 2, 2022, death of a flower production technician at an indoor cannabis cultivation and processing facility.

The report doesn’t name the worker, the company or the facility where the death occurred, only saying the company operates in multiple states.  

Death contributing factors included failing to recognize ground cannabis as a potential occupational respiratory hazard, failing to adequately control the spread of airborne cannabis dust, and failing to implement a comprehensive safety and health program and overall safety training, the report states.

Massachusetts investigators recommended ensuring that all cannabis workers are trained about hazardous materials, and that companies assess and control hazardous materials in the workplace including asthmagens, the report states.

NIOSH said its investigators have conducted health hazard evaluations at cannabis growing and processing worksites nationwide that revealed irritants from working with cannabis plants as a top concern among cannabis workers. 

 

 

More retail workers were injured in January, not during November and December when many companies take on seasonal employees, according to a report released Friday by comp insurer AmTrust Financial Services Inc.

The 2023 Retail Risk Report shows that the number of comp injury claims for every $100,000 of a retailer’s payroll in the U.S. is 25% higher in January than the earlier months leading up to the holiday season.

“While one might expect injury rates to soar due to the influx of seasonal workers, there’s a hidden dynamic at play,” Matt Zender, senior vice president, workers compensation product manager at AmTrust, said in a statement.

One of the reasons for the “paradox,” Mr. Zender stated, was that younger workers, who often constitute a significant portion of the seasonal workforce, may not report minor injuries, and instead rely on private health insurance.

The report, which looked at more than 42,000 claims filed by retailers between 2017 and 2022, also shows that strains account for 26% of claims reported and 29% of claims payouts in the retail sector.

Falls came in second, accounting for 19% of claims reported and 27% paid out.

Vehicle accident injuries in retail made up only 2.5% of all work-related claims but had the highest comp claims payout at $20,451, according to the report. 

 

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced Thursday that it cited a Massachusetts pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturer and its parent company following a fatal explosion.

OSHA cited Newburyport-based PolyCarbon Industries Inc. and parent company SEQENS SAS after a worker was killed in May when a pressure vessel exploded during a process to produce and dry the chemical product Dekon 139.

OSHA cited the company for eight serious violations, two repeat violations and one other-than-serious violation and proposed $298,254 in penalties.

SEQENS SAS, which operates 24 manufacturing plants and three research and development centers in North America, Europe and Asia, failed to ensure that PolyCarbon had proper safeguards in place during the chemical manufacturing process, OSHA said.

The company has 15 business days to contest the citation and proposed penalties. 

 

 

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Thursday that it cited a global industrial gas manufacturer after several employees sustained serious injuries, including one who was propelled through a wall, following a May explosion.

OSHA cited High Springs, Florida-based Air Liquide Advanced Materials Inc. for willfully exposing workers to fire and explosion hazards by requiring them to use equipment that was unsafe around flammable chemicals and vapors.

The company was also cited for 12 serious violations. OSHA proposed $201,573 in penalties.

The employee who was blown through a wall during the incident was using a heat gun to transfer gas from an aluminum source cylinder to a steel cylinder, OSHA said. He was treated at a trauma center for brain injuries, third-degree burns and underwent a leg amputation.

Four other workers were hospitalized for injuries and numerous first responders were taken to a burn center for treatment of chemical burns.

The facility where the incident took place produces, distills, mixes and transfers diborane, which is a toxic, colorless and pyrophoric gas.

The company has 15 business days to contest the citation and proposed penalties. 

 

 

The Tennessee Workers’ Compensation Appeals Board determined Wednesday that a court prematurely ruled for an employer in a case involving an auto repair shop manager who was accidentally shot by a co-worker during a workplace discussion over a possible private gun sale.  

The manager filed for workers compensation benefits after he was injured in July 2021 when he discussed with co-workers the potential gun sale. He sought compensation for physical injuries but also alleged a mental injury.

The employer, Steve Towers Enterprises LLC, challenged the comp petition, arguing the injury didn’t arise out of the employment since a transaction involving a personal weapon was not a risk inherent to employment at an auto repair shop.

A judge determined summary judgment for the employer was warranted because the incident was not connected to work.

The comp appeal board determined that summary judgment for the employer was not appropriate at this stage of the litigation because a dispute lingered over facts in the case.

The board ruled that the employee met his burden of demonstrating “genuine issues of material fact impacting the question of whether this injury arose primarily out of his employment.”

The board remanded the case for further proceedings.